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Kecksburg, Pennsylvania

Coordinates: 40°11′05″N 79°27′41″W / 40.18472°N 79.46139°W / 40.18472; -79.46139
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Kecksburg, Pennsylvania
Unincorporated community
Kecksburg, Pennsylvania is located in Pennsylvania
Kecksburg, Pennsylvania
Kecksburg, Pennsylvania
Location within the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
Coordinates: 40°11′05″N 79°27′41″W / 40.18472°N 79.46139°W / 40.18472; -79.46139
CountryUnited States
StatePennsylvania
CountyWestmoreland
Founded byJohann Martin Keck
Elevation
1,209 ft (369 m)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)

Kecksburg is an unincorporated community in Mount Pleasant Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. It is located along PA Route 982 in a heavily wooded area about 30 miles southeast of Pittsburgh at an elevation of 1,209 feet.

History

Kecksburg, ca. 1860, was laid out on 5 acres of land purchased by German merchant, farmer, and businessman Johann Martin Keck. In 1868 he was appointed postmaster of the town, being the first to occupy this position after the establishment of the office and held the role for 26 years.[1]

UFO incident

Main article: Kecksburg UFO incident
A model depicting the supposedly crashed object, called the "space acorn", originally created for the show Unsolved Mysteries, and put on display near the Kecksburg fire station.

On December 9, 1965 a large, brilliant fireball was seen by thousands in at least six states and Ontario, Canada. It streaked over the Detroit, Michigan/Windsor, Ontario area, dropped metal debris over Michigan and northern Ohio, and caused sonic booms in Western Pennsylvania. The fireball crashed in the woods just outside Kecksburg and was reportedly acorn-shaped. Some speculated that it was a UFO, however the United States government officially stated that it was just a meteor.[2] It is now believed to have been the Soviet Kosmos 96 spacecraft.[3]

To celebrate this local event, the Kecksburg Volunteer Fire Department holds an annual festival featuring presentations by UFO enthusiasts, vendor booths, and a community parade.[4][dead link]

In 1990,[5] the television show Unsolved Mysteries created a large, metallic, bell-shaped object to accompany their story on the incident. After the story aired, the show donated the model to the town, and it was placed on a wooden pedestal behind the Kecksburg Volunteer Fire Department.[4][dead link] It is now mounted on a metal pedestal lit with spotlights.

See also

References

  1. ^ Boucher, John (1906). History of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania: Volume II. Dalcassian Publishing Company. p. 464.
  2. ^ Majors, Dan. "Five decades later, the Kecksburg UFO is identified (probably)". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  3. ^ "Cosmos 96". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. NSSDCA/COSPAR ID: 1965-094A. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  4. ^ a b "UFO Festival Events". Kecksburg Volunteer Fire Department. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  5. ^ "Kecksburg, Pennsylvania" at IMDb


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