September 6, 2010

In the early morning of February 17, 1930, many of the residents of Paragould (Greene County) were alarmed by a bright light in the sky, followed by a tremendous explosion. This turned out to be what is today known as the Paragould Meteorite, one of the largest meteorites ever recovered. Upon striking the earth, it broke into at least three large pieces. Once recovered by local farmers, the largest chunk, weighing over 800 pounds, was sold to a Kansas college professor who, in turn, sold it to the Chicago Field Museum of Natural Science. Today, the largest piece of the meteorite is on loan to the University of Arkansas (UA) in Fayetteville (Washington County), where it is on display at the UA Library.