The Famous Aurora Texas UFO Incident 1897

This incident is likely the oldest (well-documented) UFO crash story there is, and not too long ago, some new information surfaced that supports the story, and dismisses some of the criticisms. Further in the post, I’ve included links to some of the television show investigations into the case.

In the late 1800’s, just a few years prior to the Wright Brothers’ first flight, numerous sightings of fast moving cigar-shaped airships were reported across the United States, especially over the skies of Texas.

Sightings of Cigar-Shaped Craft in Texas, between 1896 and 1898
Note the cluster near Aurora in the upper right


         Here is a description from Milam County, Texas.

"The monster had the appearance of the pictures of the great whaleback ships of which so much has been written, with immense wings both fore and aft, with great fins beneath and on the sides. The noise of its approach was not great, but it produced a humming sound, which he thinks was caused by the machinery that propelled it."


Here is a description from Hunt County, Texas.


"I saw an immense cigar shaped vessel resting on the ground in front of me. I saw three men walk out of the vessel. Two of them went to work about the rigging of the ship. The other asked if I would mail some letters for him."


Here is a description from Stephenville, Texas.


"It consists of a cigar shaped body about sixty feet in length to which is attached two immense aeroplanes, and the motive power is an immense wheel at each end, in appearance much like a metallic windmill. It is driven by an immense electric engine which derives its power from storage batteries. The crew consisted, as stated, of two men who gave their names as S. E. Tilman and A.F. Dolbear."


Here is another description.


"A. B. Ewing, as he was going home from his store, says he was startled by a strange buzzing noise overhead. Looking up, he saw what seemed to him to be a mammoth alligator with wings outstreatched and when nearly overhead the lights went out and only a glimmer could be seen all along the side of the long body."


Here is another description.


"The ship was seen travelling in a southern course, moving at the rate of about forty five or fifty miles an hour. It looked to be from 75 to 100 feet in length, carried what seemd to be a headlight, not unlike those used on a locomotive and was some quarter of a mile from the earth."


Here is another description.


"It seemed to be whaleback in body with bat-like wings, windows with lights inside with a powerful headlight in front. It was not over 500 feet above the ground, but ascended rapidly until almost out of sight. It had almost meteor like speed."

From the accounts, it almost seems more like some kind of terrestrial invention, and human pilots. However, this was also a period largely considered to be run by “yellow journalism”, with sensationalized stories made to sell papers. So, was this such a story? Or, did something really crash in Aurora?

The article states that around 6am local time, on April 17, 1897, it was reported that a flying craft hit a windmill on the property of Judge J.S. Proctor and crashed, killing the pilot.

Artist Depiction of Crash

The pilot was said to be “not of this world” and buried in the local cemetery, according to correspondent S. E. Haydon.

Newspaper Article

The wreckage was reportedly dumped into a well on the property. Nothing much happened with the story after this time, as it then faded into the town lore.

Historical Marker in Aurora’s cemetary

Interestingly, there is a mention in the hotly debated Majestic documents that mentions 1897 as a starting point. Seems to be an odd date in retrospect, but a strange coincidence, don’t you think? (skip down to the last paragraph, where he ordered an investigation of all War Department files regarding unconventional aerial phenomenon reported since 1897).

www.majesticdocuments.com...
Link to the document, allegedly by George C. Marshall.

Around 1945, Mr. Brawley Oates purchased the property, and reportedly cleaned the debris out of the well (it is not known what he did with it). He later developed a debilitating case of arthritis, which he claimed was due to contaminants in the well water.

Mr. Brawley Oates

Mr. Oates’ hands

The old story goes that he sealed the well for these reasons, however in 2008, during a UFO Hunters investigation, an interview with Oates’ nephew (and new owner of the property), Tim Oates later revealed the well was sealed due to the pipes being corroded, and the well no longer being functional. The well was sealed in 1957, and this is indicated in the cement slab covering.

Tim Oates

In 1979, Time Magazine did a story on the case, and interviewee Etta Pegues claimed that Hayden (spelled Haydon in some accounts) fabricated the story, and that it was a joke, to get interest in the town, which was suffering financially. However, later details would illustrate the accuracy of Hayden’s story.
(the article is easily found in their archives, but you’ll need to be a subscriber to view it)

Interest was then renewed in the case in 1998. KDFW, a Dallas-based TV station did a story on the incident. Our own conspiracy master Jim Marrs was interviewed, along with locals (and pretty much in all of the later investigations). The reporter, Richard Ray, was unable to find any conclusive evidence.

www.myfoxdfw.com...
Link to the story by KDFW

In 2005, UFO Files aired an episode about the crash. MUFON was also involved in this investigation. They identified two new eyewitnesses to the crash. Mary Evans (15 at the time) recalled her parents going to the crash site (she wasn’t permitted to go) and the discovery of the body. Charlie Stephens (10 at the time) said he saw the ship trailing smoke as it headed north towards Aurora. He said his father went to town the next day and saw the wreckage.

MUFON investigated the cemetery, and found a grave with a marker that appeared to depict a saucer of some sort, and had readings from a metal detector. They were not able to get permission to exhume the body, however. Soon after MUFON’s investigation, the marker vanished from the grave. However, pics were taken of it, and a later investigation used these pics to triangulate the position of the grave.

Old photo of the Grave Marker that used to indicate the grave.
The marker was missing after the MUFON investigation.

At this time, Brawley Oates did not allow investigators access to the well. In addition, the earlier report of Etta Pegues still caused doubts and lent some credence to the idea of a hoax. In addition, she claimed there was never a windmill on the property, which was supported by examining the plans of the property. However, a later investigation (see the 2008 investigation, later in this article) addresses this issue.

 The MUFON investigation did net some other finds as well. Metallic debris was found on the property, including a curious piece of metal embedded in a rock. This established that the metal must have been molten at the time. An independent lab tested these pieces of metallic debris. The test results indicated the pieces were largely aluminum with trace amounts of iron. Nothing to indicate an ET origin, but also not a ratio that was consistent with normal production practices of the time (and, aluminum would have been costly at the time). Still, the aluminum content was consistent with reports of the debris after the crash.

In 2008, UFO Hunters investigated the case. Unlike previous efforts, this time, they did get permission to remove the cap and investigate the well. In doing so, they discovered the supports of a windmill, which negated the criticisms of those saying there was never a windmill on the property. The evidence shows the Judge did have a windmill there, even though it was added after the plans seen in previous investigations.

Uncovering the well

The well, once uncapped

Small pieces of debris were retrieved from the well and tested. The analysis was similar to the previous one in 2005. High aluminum content, traces of iron. In addition, the water was tested, and the only anomaly was a high aluminum content. This is consistent with the accounts of the debris being in the well for a long period of time, but the possibility of a natural anomaly could not be ruled out. The water tests seem to indicate that Brawley Oates’ condition wasn’t caused by the well water.

Examining the debris

In addition, they used old photos to triangulate the position of the now unmarked grave, and found it using GPR (ground penetrating radar). Like the 2005 investigation, investigators were not permitted to exhume the body in the graveyard. However, using GPR, they did determine the grave was in the right part of the cemetery, by both triangulation of the photo locations, the GPR readings, and the ages of the surrounding graves. Another oddity is that it seems a good deal of space surrounds the unmarked grave. The grave lies in line with other surrounding ones, but with a large area of no graves immediately surrounding it. The grave appears to be collapsed, so it was difficult to make out any other details such as a body.

Where they found the grave (see the site that is set apart from the others, circled)
Note how it is in line with other, surrounding graves)

CONCLUSION

So, was this an embellished tale of lightning destroying a windmill, a crashed ET craft, a crashed terrestrial inventor’s failed experiment, or an outright hoax to sell papers? For me, the hoax seems to be somewhat in doubt by the finding of the windmill supports, and other witness statements, etc. However, the jury is still out on what crashed, and who was flying whatever it was. Regardless, it is always an interesting case to examine.