One Meteorite Fall, Two Family Stories

An afternoon near Sylacauga

Ann Hodges was resting on a couch when a fragment broke through the roof, struck a large radio and hit her. The event drew officials, reporters and spectators. A strange afternoon became a public story that she could not easily set aside. [2]

The rock in the road

Nearby farmer Julius Kempis McKinney found the other piece. Smithsonian’s account describes him driving a mule-drawn wagon when the animals balked at a dark rock. He moved it out of the way. After hearing what had happened to Hodges, he returned for it. [3]

The account says his children played with the stone and that he sought help through his postal carrier to arrange a sale. Later reports credited the proceeds with helping him obtain a home and a car; another history describes a farm and used car. The exact purchase details still need the underlying records. What the accounts agree on is the practical value the find brought his family. [3] [2]

The collector between the farm and the museum

The second fragment eventually reached the Smithsonian through a collector. HISTORY This Week identifies Stuart Perry as McKinney’s buyer and places the museum transfer in May 1955. The Smithsonian’s 1955 annual report lists a 1,682-gram Sylacauga stone among meteorites donated by S. H. Perry. [6] [7]

These records support a sale to a collector followed by a museum donation, rather than the often-repeated shorthand that McKinney sold directly to the Smithsonian. The annual report establishes the donor, but does not supply McKinney’s sale price. The original bill of sale is still needed to settle that part of the story.

A photograph preserved by the Encyclopedia of Alabama shows McKinney with his family and the fragment. [4] It gives the second half of the story a face. A discovery remembered through headlines was also something a family held, discussed and eventually let go.

What Ann chose to give

Hodges’s experience took a different course. Ownership was disputed because she and her husband rented the house. Accounts describe litigation and buying offers that did not lead to a profitable sale. Her fragment eventually went to the Alabama Museum of Natural History. [2]

But stopping there leaves out an important part of her decision. In a University of Alabama account, collections manager Brooke Bogan reports that transaction records show reimbursement for debts caused by the strike, rather than a profit. Bogan also says the correspondence emphasizes Ann’s desire to give the meteorite for the benefit of Alabama’s people. [1]

Her decision deserves a place beside the famous accident. In the museum’s account, Ann was also someone choosing what this unusual object could mean for others. [1]

The museum’s specimen record keeps the event concrete: it identifies the Hodges living room near Sylacauga, the date and Ann as collector. [5]

These two families did not have the same experience. Reading their histories together makes room for both the burden of sudden attention and the usefulness of an unexpected find. The rock is remarkable. The people deserve equal care.

Sources and further reading

Sources reviewed October 29, 2026.

1. University of Alabama, November 29, 2022: A Gift Like No Other
   Interviews with museum staff, including the collections manager’s account of transaction records and correspondence. This review examined the article, not the underlying letters.
2. John C. Hall: Hodges Meteorite Strike
   Historical overview and family outcomes; financial details differ from other accounts.
3. Alice George, Smithsonian, November 26, 2019
   McKinney’s discovery and reported proceeds; later secondary narrative.
4. Encyclopedia of Alabama: McKinney Family
   Photograph identification and caption; not a reproduction license.
5. Alabama Museum of Natural History: Geo:20
   Primary collection catalog record. Lists meteorite/core and thin-section material, locality, collecting date and collector; it is not an acquisition-price record.
6. Smithsonian Institution: annual report for 1955
   Indexed text lists S. H. Perry’s donation of a 1,682-gram Sylacauga stone. Full scan and printed page not verified; this is not a sale-price record.
7. HISTORY This Week, episode 404: A Meteorite Hits Ann Hodges
   Transcript p. 13 names Stuart Perry as buyer and dates the museum transfer to May 1955, citing Smithsonian records. Secondary reporting; underlying accession correspondence not supplied.