Great Meadows, New JerseyMarch 1957

# A Mysterious Visitor Over Great Meadows

On March 6, 1957, a woman in Great Meadows, New Jersey, witnessed an unusual object hovering near her home. Dogs barking in the yard caught her attention around 2 p.m. as she looked out from a rear window. About 100 to 150 yards away, hovering low over a field behind the house, was a large white object that resembled a derby hat.

The object was roughly 30 to 40 feet high with a crown-shaped dome. Below it, a brim extended outward 12 to 15 feet on all sides. The entire structure was white, dull but clean, with no markings, spots, or stripes. The texture appeared non-metallic, like pipe clay. The witness watched from her yard as the object remained nearly stationary, gently rocking from side to side like a boat at anchor. With each rock, she heard a low growling or rumbling sound that rose and fell in rhythm.

Beneath the object, shimmering, wavery lines or rays extended downward almost to the ground, twinkling like the tinsel on a Christmas tree. These vertical streamers appeared and disappeared repeatedly as the object hovered. After watching for roughly two minutes, the object suddenly rose almost straight up into the overcast sky, moving with tremendous speed. A soft rushing sound, like air being sucked away, accompanied its ascent. Within seconds, it disappeared into the clouds above the nearby mountain ridges. The dogs stopped barking.

The witness did not immediately report the sighting officially, fearing ridicule. Three days later, her husband, a writer, persuaded her to contact a local lieutenant. The Air Force assigned the case to its technical intelligence center for investigation. Investigators were able to calculate the object's size by measuring the distance between two landmarks the witness had noted framing the object's edges. They concluded it was a detailed and credible report that could not easily be explained by a conventional object.

The case file indicates the Air Force's evaluation remained undetermined. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives (15 pages).