Those who study a UFO mystery are always asked for proof. The proof is hard to find. Sometimes there are eyewitness accounts of physical evidence, but that evidence has been removed, lost, or stolen. So it is in the case of the Aurora, Texas UFO Crash of 1897. The case bears many similarities to Roswell.
Aurora is a legendary "historical site" as designated by the state of Texas. Why would a small farming community get such notice? One reason-an alien spaceship crashed there in 1897. At least that's what the residents say, and what the newspaper reports claimed.
Although it would be five years or so before the Wright brothers would make the first controlled aircraft flight, this pre-flight era would become known as the "great airship" period in UFOs. Many of today's unexplained UFO sightings are put off as flying planes etc., that luxury did not exist in 1897. Anything flying that was not a bird, blimp, or balloon could be from outer space.
These early space ships were slow moving, and so was the one that crashed into an Aurora windmill on April 19. According to the legend, the space ship was destroyed, and the remains of an alien pilot were discovered among crash remnants. Also found among the scattered debris was a strange material with hieroglyphic-type etching. The alien creature was buried in the one and only cemetery in town. The alien body has long since disappeared.
During that time period news of this event was everywhere. Many new visitors made their way to the little town to see what all the gossip was about. Second and third hand stories changed into eye witness accounts. No one really knows where the information came from that supplied newspaper accounts.
Local papers carried this story;
About 6 o'clock this morning the early risers of Aurora were astonished at the sudden appearance of the airship which has been sailing around the country. It was traveling due north and much nearer the earth than before. Evidently some of the machinery was out of order, for it was making a speed of only ten or twelve miles an hour, and gradually settling toward the earth.
UPI Coverage:
"Aurora, Tex. -- (UPI) -- A grave in a small north Texas cemetery contains the body of an 1897 astronaut who was 'not an inhabitant of this world,' according to the International UFO Bureau. The group, which investigates unidentified flying objects, has already initiated legal proceedings to exhume the body and will go to court if necessary to open the grave, director Hayden Hewes said Wednesday."
UPI also picked up the story, and the legend was spread far beyond the borders of Texas. There were numerous eyewitness accounts published later, and they all agreed with basic facts. An unknown craft had crashed into the town, strange debris was found, and a creature "not of this world" was found in the wreck. One intriguing account, although second-hand, came from a 15-year-old girl. Her parents had visited the site, and claimed that the alien pilot was a "small man."
There is also evidence of a military cover-up. Soon after the crash, military personnel came to Aurora. Could they have been responsible for the removal of the alien body? For a time, there was a headstone for the body, but even it has disappeared. All that remains are photographs of the headstone.
Every so often people lobby to dig up the alien grave and see what evidence may remain. Local townsfolk have kept this from happening however. What histeria would run through UFO circles if alien DNA was found there. We may never know.
