Dense 'The Shrewsbury' meteorite found in 1907

A meteor shower amazed - and frightened - York countians in 1833. But it left behind nothing like the meteorite found in 1907 in the Shrewsbury area. Here, the Perseid Meteor Shower visits the skies in a photograph published in the York Daily Record/Sunday News in 2004. Background posts: Iron-mine-turned-into-party-spot turned into York County park and Site filled with wealth of York County geological info and Quarrying in Delta-Peachbottom.

Dillsburg is experiencing more than its share of earthquakes recently.

According to one count, about 325 tremors were reported in the Dillsburg area between Oct. 3 and early February.

But such natural phenomenons are not new in York County.

A natural event - the Leonid meteor shower - scared thousands in 1833... .

That shower reportedly made the night lighter than daylight and provided sounds with the sights.

According to "Never to be Forgotten:"

Some county residents wonder if the world is ending. "It was an awful strain on the strongest nerves. People fell on their knees that night, asking was the world ending? Or was there some great event to take place for which all heaven was illuminated?" an observer wrote. This exhibition is the brightest-on-record exhibition of the Leonid meteor shower.

A co-worker alerted me to a Web photo of a noted artifact found in York County as a result of another natural event.

A farmer plowing a field north of Shrewsbury,  in Dunkard Valley between Loganville and Dallastown, in 1907 uncovered a large meteorite.

According to "Never to be Forgotten," the farmer noted the meteorite because of its weight - it was six inches wide and weighed a hefty 24 pounds.

The Web site gives this explanation for the meteorite, called "The Shrewsbury."

In 1907 a farmer plowed up this 24 pound (10.9 kg) meteorite while working in his fields. It resembled a rusty brown, smooth-angled rhombohedron (a six-sided prism with parallelogram faces).

Go anywhere - even the Carnegie-Mellon Web site where the meteorite is displayed, and you'll find artifacts or links to York County.

Edited, 12/17/2017

Also of interest: The York/Adams day that birthed memories of falling stars and silkworms and Check out these top York County news stories of decade, 2000-2009 and In 1889, 'Bona Fide Earthquake' rattled York County.