Last Updated on June 29, 2026
When did the largest recorded meteorite drop by Slabtown?
The Cosmic Origins of Tomanowos
Long before it arrived in Oregon, the Willamette Meteorite had a truly stellar backstory. It is believed to be the iron core of a planet that shattered in a collision billions of years ago.
Roughly 12,000 years ago, this massive rock traveled from Canada or Montana to the Willamette Valley, carried by the catastrophic Missoula Floods. To the indigenous Clackamas people, the 15.5-ton artifact held deep spiritual meaning and was named “Tomanowos.”
The 90-Day Meteorite Heist
The chain of events that separated Tomanowos from its rightful caretakers began in 1902, when an early West Linn settler named Ellis Hughes spotted it. There was just one problem: it was sitting on land owned by his neighbor, the Oregon Iron and Steel Company.
After trying and failing to buy the land, Hughes decided to just take the rock.
- The Effort: Using horses and the help of family members, it took him 90 days to drag the 15.5-ton meteorite three-quarters of a mile onto his own property.
- The Catch: Hughes was brash enough to immediately start charging the public admission to see it. The Oregon Iron and Steel Company noticed, sued him, and won the meteorite back.
Slabtown and the 1905 World’s Fair
The Oregon Iron and Steel Company eventually sold the meteorite to a New York socialite, but before it headed east, it made a stop in Portland. In 1905, the meteorite came to Slabtown to be displayed at the Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition.
Remarkably, its short trip to Slabtown on a specially-built, horse-drawn wagon was barely recorded by the press at the time, completely overshadowed by the sheer volume of other 1905 Fair activities.
Following the exposition, the New York socialite donated the historic rock to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, where it still resides today.
Where to Find Tomanowos Today (Without Leaving Oregon)
While the main 15.5-ton meteorite now lives in the Big Apple, you don’t need to buy a plane ticket to New York City to experience it. You can find pieces and replicas of it right here in Oregon:
- Full-Scale Replicas: * The United Methodist Church in West Linn
- The University of Oregon in Eugene
- Pieces of the Original Meteorite:
- The Museum of the Oregon Territory in Oregon City
- The Oregon Historical Society (where Executive Director Kerry Tymchuk loves to personally show it to visitors)
The Legend of the “Sky People”
If you do ever visit the original meteorite at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, you will find a plaque detailing its deep spiritual roots.
According to the traditions of the Clackamas, Tomanowos is not just a rock, but a revered spiritual being that has healed and empowered the people of the valley since the beginning of time.
“The Clackamas believe that Tomanowos came to the valley as a representative of the Sky People and that a union occurred between the sky, earth, and water when it rested on the ground and collected rainwater in its basins.”