Roswell of Texas: The Aurora UFO

Aurora, Texas, has a rich historical tapestry marked by early optimism for economic growth that eventually led to its near abandonment due to a series of misfortunes.

Aurora Was Founded In 1882 to Build a Texas Train Line, Promising Economic Growth

Aurora was established with the plan of a train line passing through, which residents expected would boost the local economy.

Aurora's Misfortunes Led To Population Decline and Near Abandonment

The community suffered numerous setbacks. Overplanting and subsequent soil erosion significantly hampered cotton production, a key economic activity. This agricultural decline was further exacerbated when an infestation of weevils ravaged the few remaining cotton crops.

A devastating fire compounded the town's miseries by destroying Aurora's economic heart, leaving behind ashes where businesses once prospered. In the wake of these economic disasters, a health crisis i ...

In April of 1897, the small town of Aurora, Texas, became the center of a bizarre historical incident involving a reported UFO crash.

In April 1897, Aurora Residents Reported a Craft Crash on a Farm, Leaving Debris and an Unidentified Body

Eyewitnesses Described the Craft As a "Giant Flying Cigar," Emitting Smoke, Malfunctioning, and Colliding With a Windmill on the Proctor Farm, Breaking Apart On Impact

Residents of Aurora described seeing a strange craft in the sky, likened to a "giant flying cigar" with a bright light, emitting smoke, and sputtering as it malfunctioned. This craft eventually collided with Judge J.S. Proctor's windmill, breaking into fiery debris upon impact.

Town Recovers Wreckage, Alien Body, Notebook With Hieroglyphics

Evidence Was Hidden by Townspeople, Leaving Only Anecdotes and a Gravestone As Proof

Following the crash, citizens reportedly found the pilot's body amidst the wreckage. The pilot was described as small, having multiple limbs, and being possibly extraterrestrial, as noted by an army official who had observed the body. Along with the body, a notebook filled with strange hieroglyphics and a heavy alloy made of aluminum and iron were discovered.

The townspeople took it upon t ...

UFO enthusiasts have long been drawn to the mysterious events surrounding the 1897 Aurora UFO crash. With new efforts to uncover the truth, investigators face several challenges in their quest.

Ufo Enthusiasts Probe 1970s Aurora Crash, Search Proctor Farm and Cemetery For Evidence

Back in the spring of 1973, a group of UFO enthusiasts, led by pivotal figures such as Hayden Hughes and Bill Case, ventured into Aurora, intent on unraveling details of the historical UFO crash.

Metal Debris Suggests Alien Origin; Investigators Can't Exhume Grave or Recover Evidence

At the Proctor farm, the alleged site of the crash, the investigators unearthed various piece of metal that appeared to have endured high heat from an explosion. One such remnant suggested an aluminum alloy mixed with iron, unusual for a craft supposed to be airborne without wings. Notably, when a physics professor examined the metals, their non-magnetic and soft characteristics perplexed him, although a metallurgist later aligned them with typical iron alloys.

A grave in the town cemetery produced similar metal detector reading to the strange metal pieces found at the Proctor farm. After initial misdirections, a new lead pointed them to another location.

Failed Investigations: High Aluminum Levels in Proctor Farm Well

Despite finding intriguing evidence, Hughes and Case were denied permission to exhume the body from the cemetery. To add to the disappointment, all collected metal shards and the pilot's grave headstone mysteriously disappeared, eliminating any chance of further examination. The Aurora Cemetery Association enforced a strict prohibition on the graveyard, leaving the investigators and their requests at bay and even hiring guards to enforce this.

Access Denial to Gra ...

The Aurora UFO incident remains mired in contention. Questions about the incident's legitimacy have been at the center of debates, with historians and residents offering conflicting accounts and interpretations of the events that allegedly took place in 1897.

Historian Etta Pagays Argued the Incident Was a Hoax by Prankster Reporter S.E. Hayden

Historian Etta Pagays challenged the veracity of the Aurora UFO incident, suggesting that it was a fabrication by the reporter S.E. Hayden. She disputed core tenets of the UFO story in her book "The Town That Might Have Been," after conducting in-depth research in Aurora. Pagays claimed that the reported crash into a windmill on Judge Proctor's farm couldn't have occurred because there was no windmill on the property. She interviewed numerous residents, none of whom could recall a windmill on the farm, leading her to believe that the event was concocted by Hayden to stimulate business activity in the area.

Pagays Challenged Hayden's Account Details, Like the Proctor Farm Windmill, as Fabricated and Unreliable Eyewitness Testimonies

Further to her argument, Pagays brought into question Hayden's credibility, noting that he was a part-time journalist with a penchant for practical jokes. She found discrepancies in the accounts provided by the reported eyewitnesses, many of whom allegedly heard only rumors or discussed the incident many years later, casting doubt on the presence of firsthand witnesses to a crash.

Residents Dispute Pagays' Claims: Witnesses Saw Strange Aircraft and Crash Aftermath

Contradicting Pagays' assertions, local residents such as Charlie Stevens provided accounts that conflicted with her findings. Stevens relayed that his father, Jim, had indeed witnessed the airship and the aftermath of the crash. Jim Stevens clarified that what was on Judge Proctor's property was a windlass, not a windmill, potentially explaining some of the discrepancies in the story.

Brawley Oates, who purchased the crash site known as Proctor's Farm in 1945, discovered metal pieces around the old well that supported the existence of a previously-standing structure, countering Pagays’ claim that there was never a windmill or similar structure on the property.

The veracity of the story was further called into question as the townspeople themselves seemed divided. Some leveraged the eve ...