Meteorite in New Hampshire, 1876..in search of ordinary people's outlooks

It’s June, 1876, and a meteorite strikes the White Mountains, 60 miles north of Concord, NH. The impact gouges out a crater almost a mile in diameter, and the blast is heard in Manchester, some 80 miles away. I have a good idea where the timeline and story are going to go, but I’m trying to get some differing ideas on how people would react, from the rich and powerful, to the ordinary people, local and distant.

The governor of New Hampshire was vaporized, and thousands are dead, including a fair amount of the prominent—the area was a popular resort. Many others are injured or missing.

What’s the reaction from various people? How would you react, if you lived in 1876?
 
It’s June, 1876, and a meteorite strikes the White Mountains, 60 miles north of Concord, NH. The impact gouges out a crater almost a mile in diameter, and the blast is heard in Manchester, some 80 miles away. I have a good idea where the timeline and story are going to go, but I’m trying to get some differing ideas on how people would react, from the rich and powerful, to the ordinary people, local and distant.

The governor of New Hampshire was vaporized, and thousands are dead, including a fair amount of the prominent—the area was a popular resort. Many others are injured or missing.

What’s the reaction from various people? How would you react, if you lived in 1876?

60 miles N of Concord puts the impact site 10+ miles south of the Old Man of the Mountain, which may crumble depending on what happens when the meteorite falls. I'll give your question some thought.
 
I missed...

60 miles N of Concord puts the impact site 10+ miles south of the Old Man of the Mountain, which may crumble depending on what happens when the meteorite falls. I'll give your question some thought.

I was working from memory; I'd planned on putting it in Franconia Notch. The Old Man will come down--Profile Lake might even be part of the crater. This is a BIG explosion, in the megaton range, with a crater that looks like it was made with God's Own Artillery. At first, due to landslides, the impact site is not accessible at all easily.
 
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The scientific community is going to be very interested in the impact. I can see expoditions being organised by all the main European countries, as well as many American geologists. In addition you will have people like PT Barnum offering huge rewards for the remains of the metorite, leading to a rush of people combing the crater for the metorite.

The other interesting point is that it crashed into the USA almost 100 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Given the
superstitious nature of the age I forsee "cults" forming telling people the world is due to end (or at least the USA). These may become very powerful, to the extent that it may effect the presidential election later that year.
Assuming that some or all of the political heads of NH died in the strike then the President may step in and give Federal help, this may see the creation of an organisation like FEMA about 100 years earlier than it happened in OTL.
 
It’s June, 1876, and a meteorite strikes the White Mountains, 60 miles north of Concord, NH. The impact gouges out a crater almost a mile in diameter, and the blast is heard in Manchester, some 80 miles away. I have a good idea where the timeline and story are going to go, but I’m trying to get some differing ideas on how people would react, from the rich and powerful, to the ordinary people, local and distant.

The governor of New Hampshire was vaporized, and thousands are dead, including a fair amount of the prominent—the area was a popular resort. Many others are injured or missing.

What’s the reaction from various people? How would you react, if you lived in 1876?

So Grant's president? I wonder if he would step up to the plate and be remembered as effective in dealing with the disaster? Was he going for re-election in 1876?

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Looking into the 1876 election, I see that the DNC was in June 1876... Is it still in progress/in progress yet? Grant doesn't seem to be a candidate...

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
This was the messy election with the electoral college out of step with the popular vote, with many legal battles and backroom deals.

If one of the candidates (Rutherford or Tilden) was seen as doing good work in the impact site it may clean up the election.
 
Timing...

The explosion happens on Wednesday, June 7. I hadn't looked up the timing of the RNC until aftr choosing this date; I'm letting chance take a turn there. The convention started on June 14th. The Democratic Convention as a few days later.

How does the ordinary person take this? The Manchester, NH Mill Worker? The midwstern farmer? The southern sharecroopper? The New Yourk stockbroker? In short, the people of the United States, and also the world beyond? And how does the press play it up? After all, in the long run, the reaction of the people will determine where we go from there.

This sort of catastrophe is completely beyond the experience or knowlege of any normal folk, and even experts will be astounded that something like this could happen.
 
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