Meteor Crater Excavations – Odessa TX

Description

Multiple websites report an unusual WPA project that took place in rural Texas:
“Archeological digs employed WPA labor, including [the] excavation at the site of the Odessa meteor crater in Ector
County, Texas.” (Marist)

“[I]nterest [in the site] swelled after a theory was put forth that the meteor responsible for the impact was more than 500 feet wide and was very likely buried beneath the surface. In 1939, the state, the county, the University of Texas and the Works Progress Administration combined forces to locate the specimen.” (Weird U.S.)

“To explore the Odessa meteor crater, WPA crews constructed an 8′ by 12′ wooden lined shaft 165 feet down into the heart of the crater.” (Waymarking)

“Their valuable space rock was nowhere to be found. Scientists would later come to understand that the meteor would have destroyed itself on impact.” (Weird U.S.)