Willamette Meteorite to Return to Oregon as Part of Evergreen Aviation Museum`s Collection

Ellis Hughes dug up the Willamette Meteorite in 1902 and spent thre months in 1902 moving the iron rock 3/4 of a mile to his property with a wooden cart Photo and information Courtesy: usgennet.org

(MCMINNVILLE) - The Evergreen Aviation Museum will soon display a portion of Oregon`s famous Willamette Meteorite.

The meteorite, originally found on a West Linn hillside and sold to a New York City Museum in 1906, will return 100 years later, in part, to its Oregon beginnings.

With recommendation from Oregon Congressman David Wu, Evergreen International Aviation owner and founder Delford M. Smith purchased a piece of the famed meteorite at Bonhams Auction House in New York City on Tuesday and donated the artifact to the Museum on behalf of the Evergreen family of companies.

"We plan to showcase this wonderful artifact among other aerospace pieces in our second Museum building, which is in development," said Katherine Huit, director of collections.

"The building, set to begin construction in early 2007, will house space artifacts including an Apollo Lunar Module Space Vehicle, a moon rock and a Titan II Missile."

The Museum`s 4.5-ounce, 7.5-inch piece is part of the 15 ½-ton, 10-foot whole, the largest meteorite found in the U.S. and the world`s sixth largest. The remainder is on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

"Unsuccessful efforts have been made to bring the meteorite home to Oregon, making this even more momentous for our Museum," said Huit. "We feel privileged to have it in our collection."