It’s these kind of uncertainties that make the researchers studying this iron anxious to get any sort of information regarding provenance. In fact, a case could be made that it is less likely that a purchased Canyon Diablo meteorite would be used as landscaping and forgotten about, as opposed to a “curiously-heavy rock” found while mining, then becomes part of a rock collection, and then ends up in the landscaping. An equally-supported scenario could be made that this could be a “cold-find” made by Doheny while he was “prospecting”. Actually, there are no “facts” or provenance regarding this iron. Unfortunately, that cannot be proven as fact. It is surmised by the University archivist that Doheny acquired this iron when he was young and was working as a “mining prospector”, and that when his estate was donated to MSM, it was forgotten about and was transferred with the greenhouse. Apparently, this iron and landscaping were originally inside a greenhouse-bathhouse enclosure back when it was part of a mansion owned by a California oil baron by the name of Edward L. He had recently taken an interest in meteorites and meteorite-hunting, so this rusty-brown object caught his eye. A graduate student from that college campus was using the University Swimming Pool when he recognized the ~150 pound mass of iron sitting in the landscaping. An article by Phillip Jordan appeared in the Spring/Summer 2017 edition of “Mount Magazine”, which is a publication of the Mount Saint Mary’s University (MSM) in Los Angeles. The story of how this meteorite was “re-discovered” has already been published. It wasn’t until I literally tripped-over this mass of iron as it sat on a pallet on the floor of the UCLA Meteorite Gallery, which prompted me to ask, “What’s this thing doing here?”, that I was told the story of this “mystery iron meteorite”. I wasn’t aware of the story behind the “discovery” of this iron meteorite until just recently. If you have any information regarding this ~68kg CD, then please contact this author. But how it traveled to Los Angeles and came to be accidentally “discovered” on the grounds of what is now a college campus, that is the mystery that the researchers would like to get answered. Make no mistake, there is little doubt in the minds of the researchers who have examined this iron meteorite, that this iron is nothing more than a transported “Canyon Diablo” (CD) meteorite. The mystery of the origin of the iron meteorite found on the grounds of the former mansion for Edward L.
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