Did a UFO crash in Texas in 1897, or was it a hoax?

Hey folks,

There is a very old legend in UFOlogy which tells that, in 1897, a 'mystery airship' (the term 'UFO' was not yet coined) crashed into a windmill near the town of Aurora, Texas... leaving behind a dead alien pilot who was, with proper ceremony, buried by the inhabitants of the town in their local cemetery.

Now, the lion's share of noted UFOlogists believe that this was a hoax designed to drum up business for a town that was on the verge of economic collapse.... a stunt which made use of legitimate 'mystery airship' sightings that were going on in the 1890s. They also like to point out that the windmill the UFO supposedly hit was on the property of a politician who NEEDED to drum up business for the town...

...However, though I also think it's probably a fake, the story is extremely interesting. It has a certain charm to it... even if it's just a tall tale. Something about the idea of giving a 'Martian' a funeral after he crashed seems more civilized and honorable than all of our 'they are souless bugs' comments...

Anyways, here are some links about the tale. the last one is purely skeptical, while the first two are on the fence and give some interesting background info:

www.alien-government.com...

www.worldofthestrange.com...

perdurabo10.tripod.com...

Enyoy... also, remember that this was the era of Lowell and 'martian canals'.... But, also, as yet there was not a body of ET tales for a hoaxer to draw on (little man, hieroglyphic writing, bendable but unbreakable materials, etc.).






[Edited on 29-8-2003 by onlyinmydreams]

If the story is true and the alien was buried in the local cemetery, then I'm sure disinterment has already taken place. Of course, this is all speculation.

something I`ve come across before and am none to sure on. Seems slightly suspect in my opinion....

pages.prodigy.net...

ufocasebook.com...

We visited the Aurora cemetary two weeks ago, traveling back from a family get-together in Boyd.

The graveyard is small, thank goodness, and I did look in the section where the graves from that era are located. I found a number of Civil War veterans and some other graves... an interesting mix of the old and new, but very small because the town has stayed so small. There is not, of course, a headstone for the "unknown aviator."

The cited website ( perdurabo10.tripod.com... ) seems to match the facts.

[Edited on 29-8-2003 by Byrd]

well,

99% of my brain says that this is just a cute hoax... but that 1% says something sounds right here. Could rural Texans, in 1897, have conjured up a tale about a spaceship from mars and a 'little man' who had a hieroglyphic like written language? Maybe... But it should be noted that, prior to HG Well's 'War of the Worlds" in 1898, almost all 'men from Venus' type fantasy stories involved angelic beings (that is, humans with wings)... that is, these folks had no material to work from... and, more or less, presented a story that could have fit into 1947 (with exceptions for terminology, though).

Also, note that one of the newspaper articles quotes and officer from the US Army Signal Corps, which, at the time, was america's 'air force' (it operated the balloons and dirigibles we had). He's on record as saying that the thing was 'not human'. Now, I am NOT saying that this story is on par with the 1947 Roswell Army Air Field press release that said, directly, that the USAAF had captured a flying saucer... But, would an army officer lie about something like that? perhaps, if he was just a good old boy helping out a local town...

Also, so far as 'Brookings' issues go, would people in 1897 have been more or less accepting of ET life? I almost believe that, worldwide, you might have less of a panic in those pre-atomic bomb days than you would have had in the atomic era.

Originally posted by Byrd
We visited the Aurora cemetary two weeks ago, traveling back from a family get-together in Boyd.

The graveyard is small, thank goodness, and I did look in the section where the graves from that era are located. I found a number of Civil War veterans and some other graves... an interesting mix of the old and new, but very small because the town has stayed so small. There is not, of course, a headstone for the "unknown aviator."

The cited website ( perdurabo10.tripod.com... ) seems to match the facts.

[Edited on 29-8-2003 by Byrd]

Cool,
yeah, they said the little guy's headstone had been removed in one of those other links. I don't mean to stake my rep on this one, but I still think it's more worthwhile to look into than some better known cases.

1897/04/17 AURORA, TX: CGR hits Judge Proctor's WINDMILL: Fragments all over. Alien dies.


Actual residents ( still alive in 1960 ) recalled no such event.


Judge had no such windmill.



This was a newspaper hoax to prevent the railroad from bypassing town! /Larry Robinson.


www.larryhatch.net...

Originally posted by quaneeri

1897/04/17 AURORA, TX: CGR hits Judge Proctor's WINDMILL: Fragments all over. Alien dies.


Actual residents ( still alive in 1960 ) recalled no such event.


Judge had no such windmill.



This was a newspaper hoax to prevent the railroad from bypassing town! /Larry Robinson.


www.larryhatch.net...

Most UFOlogists, like I said before, also think this is a hoax... as do I. I brought it up because it is an interesting story... and even a hoax can tell you something about how the public will react to aliens (and how it perceives them). The way the story was constructed, among other things, provides a glimpse into how people in the 1890s viewed the possibility of ET life. Even if fictional, the tale of the alien burial underlines differences between our time and theirs. Can you imagine, in the so-called 'abduction era' we're in now, a town having a Christian ceremony for a dead grey? Yes, it's a story, but a story can only be told as a succesful hoax if it is believable... that is, even hoaxes must not suspend disbelief too much... and so are a window into a particular culture's attitudes.

I was watching a ufo files about this which offers some very intersting views and things strange like how one spot on the ground has no vegetaion, then theres the guy who says he moved into aurora in and had to remove some metal from the well and now he's got a bad case of arthritis. personally I think it may have happened but thats just me.

I think it happened myself. I also think that it is interesting that a name for a top secret craft we are supposed to have is Aurora.

Originally posted by onlyinmydreams
Could rural Texans, in 1897, have conjured up a tale about a spaceship from mars and a 'little man' who had a hieroglyphic like written language? Maybe... But it should be noted that, prior to HG Well's 'War of the Worlds" in 1898 ... these folks had no material to work from...

"Canals" were first reported on Mars in 1858, and the speculation ran rampant from that time on. So, the popular imagination had almost 40 years to build up pictures of advanced, space-faring Martians.

Those early drawings of Martian canals probably look suspiciously like hieroglyphics to most people (although I've always thought they were mosr rune-like).

ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov...

This was on the History channel last night and a very disappointing show to say the least. I watched the thing for an hour and nothing was resolved.

The "windmill" denial is correct, there was none. However, there was a tower and it was misidentified as a windmill. The headstone was removed after the investigators were lobbying to dig up the grave in 1974. They discovered a signal from their metal detector over the grave site and asked to exhume the body. They were turned down and the police barricaded the entrance to the cemetery. The stone was removed and a 3 inch pipe was driven down into the grave by someone and the metal was removed in the pipe slug.

They are now trying to get inside he fence where the concrete slab has sealed the well at the crash site. Apparently the grass will not grow around the well.

The Aurora Encounter

I remember seeing a movie based on this a long time ago but can't remember whether I liked it or not. Just checked Amazon and it is out on DVD. Anyone recommend it?