Not too far from my house, in the town of East Alton, Illinois, there is a historic marker to an almost forgotten part of local history. It commemorates a stockyard that only stood for a few years. The East Alton stockyards were an important way and gathering station for horses, being sent on a long and perilous journey to war.
On November 13, 1833 the night became as bright as daylight, the heavens fell, and people feared that it was the end of times. The event was so dramatic that it sparked both a new religion and a new science.