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The Traveling Fool
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The Traveling Fool
Aurora Texas Mystery: The Curious Story Behind the Legend of Ned
A strange 1897 newspaper report turns Aurora, Texas into a place with a curious story, a lasting legend and a mysterious visitor named Ned. We weigh thin evidence against rich folklore, then share nearby spots to explore if you go chase the story yourself.
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Hi, and welcome to The Traveling Fool, the show where we talk about travel destinations and the history and culture around those destinations. I'm your host, Bob Bales, and today I'm taking you to a small town in North Texas where something happened in 1897 that people are still talking about today. So, I mean it's just plain weird. So, stay tuned, we'll be right back. Welcome back. Now before we get started do me a favor and hit the like or subscribe button and you can also go to the website, thetravellingfool.com and sign up for the monthly newsletter. I send it out once a month, usually towards the end of the month, and it's just travel news, what's going on in the travel industry as far as cruises, hotels, flights, things like that. Every now and then, some stupid tourist stories. And travel contests. You can sign up for a contest and maybe win a trip somewhere in the United States or even internationally. So, you might want to check that out.
Bob Bales:Alright, now let's get started. Alright, picture this. It's 1897 in the small town of Aurora, Texas. That's a little bitty town about twenty miles northwest of Fort Worth. It's got maybe three hundred people living there. Has a general store and a school and a cotton gin. The folks are hard working, God fearing, and mostly concerned with just making ends meet, where there's a world that railroad is king and the telegraph is the fastest way to send a message. But lately, in the news across the United States, there's been stories being reported about people seeing weird things in the sky, and nobody knows what in the world they are. And this was at a time when science was pushing the boundaries and folks were ready to believe the impossible and they were starting to experiment with flight and all kinds of stuff.
Bob Bales:Now Aurora wasn't exactly on the map for big news. It was the kind of place where, you know, a good rain or a bad harvest was the talk of the town, but on April 17th, 1897, something happened that put Aurora in the headlines. Not just locally, but across the nation. A story broke that would spark debate for over a century, and it all started with a single newspaper article. Now according to a report published two days after the incident on April 19th, 1897, in the Dallas Morning News, something extraordinary happened in Aurora. The article, written by a local correspondent by the name of SE Hayden, claimed that around 6am on April 17th, an airship of unknown origin crashed into a windmill on the property of Judge JS Proctor. Now here's how it went in Hayden's own words.
Bob Bales:Around six o'clock this morning, the early risers of Aurora were astonished at the sudden appearance of an airship which had been sailing through the country. It was traveling north and much narrow to the ground than any of the previous reports. It sailed over the public square and when it reached the north part of town collided with Judge Proctor's windmill and went into pieces with a terrific explosion, scattering debris over several acres of ground, wrecking the windmill and the water tank, and destroying the judge's flower garden. Now that alone would have been enough to get people talking, but Hayden's story didn't stop there. He claimed that the wreckage contained the body of the pilot, described as, not an inhabitant of this world. The article went on to say the papers found in the wreckage were written in some kind of unknown hieroglyphic, and the metal of the aircraft was unlike anything known, neither aluminum nor silver, but some strange alloy. Now the supposed pilot's body mangled in the crash was buried the same day in the Aurora Cemetery. They gave it a good Christian burial, overseen by a local man named TJ Weems, who was said to be a signal officer for the government of some kind and an authority on astronomy.
Bob Bales:Now the townsfolk, according to Hayden, were talking about this thing like crazy, and some speculated the pilot was from Mars, which was popular at that time, when Percival Lowell’s series about Martian canals were all the rage. Now others thought it was some kind of secret government or military project that had gone wrong. Either way, the story painted a vivid picture, a strange craft, an otherworldly being, and a small town left to pick up the pieces, literally and figuratively. So, let's talk about this. First, we're going to talk about SE Hayden, the man who wrote the article. He was a local correspondent, not a full-time journalist, but a cotton buyer who occasionally sent stories to the Dallas Morning News. Now in 1897, newspapers often relied on contributors for small town stories and scoops and things that were going on. Hayden's account was colorful, but it fit a broader pattern. From the late 1896 to early 1897, the US was gripped with a wave of airship sightings, hundreds of reports of mysterious lights and flying machines from California to Illinois. And these stories were published in local papers, and they were all described, or most of them, as some kind of cigar shaped object with bright lights, and sometimes being piloted by strange beings. Now the Aurora incident wasn't isolated. Just weeks earlier, papers in Texas, Kansas, and Nebraska reported similar sightings. The Fort Worth Register and Dallas Morning News carry stories of airships hovering over farms, startling livestock and puzzling onlookers. Some accounts claimed inventors were testing some kind of secret aircraft, while others just immediately went to, “We're looking at people from Mars”. This was the time before airplanes. I mean, you gotta remember, Orville and Wilbur Wright wouldn't fly until 1903. So, the idea of anything airborne was pretty fantastical.
Bob Bales:Now Hayden's article, it stood out for its specificity, a crash, a body, and a burial. But here's where things get a little murky. No other contemporary newspaper corroborated the story. The Fort Worth Register, published nearby, didn't even mention it, and no official records, court documents, police reports or cemetery logs confirm a crash or burial on April 17th, 1897. Judge Proctor? No, he's a real Aurora resident. He never publicly commented whatsoever. TJ Weems, a signal service officer who worked for the government? Well, he was actually a blacksmith, not an astronomer. And the hieroglyphic papers? Well, nobody ever saw those again. So, let's dig a little deeper because the story's got more layers than a Texas onion. So, let's dig a little deeper because this story's got a lot of layers.
Bob Bales:Now in the decades that followed, the Aurora incident became a lightning rod for UFO researchers and skeptics alike. By the 1970s, with UFO Mania in full swing after Roswell, investigators started descending upon Aurora to uncover the truth. The Mutual UFO network, MUFON, and others interviewed older residents and scoured the cemetery and even used detectors on Proctor's Land. Now one key witness was a ninety something year old lady named Mary Evans, who was interviewed in 1973 by the Fort Worth Star Telegram. And she said she was 15 in 1897, and recalled her parents visiting the crash site, but didn't see it herself. She said the airship hit the windmill and the pilot's body was buried but offered no details beyond hearsay. Now other residents, like an eighty something year old Charlie Stevens, claimed to have seen the airship pass over, but people sent him home before the crash occurred. Now these accounts, while compelling, were secondhand and decades old, which raises the questions about memory and maybe embellishment of the story a little bit.
Bob Bales:Then the Aurora Cemetery became a focal point because the supposed pilot's grave, marked by a crude stone, was said to be near the Proctor plot. In the 1970’s, Mufon requested permission to exhume the body, but the Cemetery Association refused, citing respect for the dead. Metal detectors found no significant debris at the crash site, though some claim to have found unusual metal fragments in the 1940’s, long since lost. A 2004 study by the University of North Texas analyzed a well on Proctor's property, which was supposedly filled with crash debris but found only typical household items. Now skeptics like historian Gerald Posner argue the story was just a plain hoax. Aurora was struggling in 1897 after a failed railroad project and a boll weevil infestation that just devastated the cotton crops. Posner and others suggested Hayden fabricated the tail to draw attention to the town, which was a common tactic in those times. The Dallas Morning News itself was known for colorful reporting and airship stories sold papers. Supporting this, there was no physical evidence, wreckage, body or documents which has ever surfaced, and Hayden's account lacks corroboration. Yet believers point to the consistency of the oral histories and the cemetery's mysterious marker. UFO researcher Jim Mars in his 1997 book, Alien Agenda, argued the lack of records could indicate a cover up. Though no evidence supports this, the International UFO Museum at Roswell has featured the Aurora case, noting its place as one of the earliest recorded UFO crashes.
Bob Bales:Now, let's step back a minute and ask, well, why did this story keep popping up and enduring over time? Well, part of it is timing. In 1897, America was on the cusp of modernity. Is that the way you pronounce it? Modernity? Anyway, times were getting modern. Electricity was spreading, and the telephone was new, and science fiction like HG Well's The War of the Worlds, which was published in 1898, it was capturing people's imaginations. Airships symbolized the unknown. Were they human inventions or something else? And the Aurora tale tipped into that wonder, blending frontier old time history with cosmic mystery. Now the story also reflects small town pride. Aurora embraced its legend, especially in the twentieth century. By the 1970’s locals were hosting UFO themed events and the cemetery marker became a tourist draw. But sometime in late 1990’s or it might have been the early 2000’s, somebody stole the marker for the alien. Now, I have my opinion on this. I figure it was a Yankee because no self respecting Texan would desecrate a grave, even if it was some heathen alien from outer space. It just wouldn't happen. So, I figure it was one of those Yankee tourists. But the Texas Historical Commission placed a plaque there in 1976, noting the spaceship crash as part of local lore, and it reads this site is also well known because of the legend that a spaceship crashed nearby in 1897, and the pilot killed in the crash was buried here. So, supposedly that heathen little alien from outer space is buried in the cemetery, and there have been ground penetrating radar that indicate that there's something near the Proctor grave buried there, but there's no marker on it. And locals have gone so far as to name the little heathen Ned. They lovingly call him Ned. So, Ned is evidently buried there in the cemetery somewhere.
Bob Bales:But let's not get carried away. I mean the evidence or lack thereof suggests a tall tale. Newspapers of the era often printed unverified stories, and Hayden's account, well, it has all the hallmarks of a just a tall Texas tale. The hieroglyphics and the Martian pilot? It echoes of just science fiction dime store novels of the time. And the absence of any physical trace after 128 years seems a slanted a little heavily towards fiction. Still, the story's charm lies in its ambiguity. Did a spacecraft crash in Aurora, Texas? Maybe, maybe not. But could it have? Now that's what keeps people talking. Now as the twentieth century rolled on, Aurora's story just kind of faded, only to be revived by UFO enthusiasts. In 2005, a TV special, UFO Files Texas’s Roswell. It brought renewed attention, and it interviewed locals and reenacted the crash. The show found no new evidence, but amplified the legend. In 2012, the grave marker was stolen, prompting a replacement, but it's the replacement didn't occur until later and nobody really knows where the grave is now. And the town still fields inquiries from visitors. They want to know where the little heathen as I call him, or Ned, as the locals call him, is buried.
Bob Bales:Now the Aurora incident remains a footnote in UFO history. It's overshadowed by Roswell, but it's still cherished for its little quaint pre modern favor. Now what's fascinating is how Aurora's residents have handled it. Some, like longtime residents there, embrace the story as part of the town's identity. One of them told Texas Monthly in 1998, “It's our claim to fame, whether it's true or not”. And others, like the Cemetery Association, guard the site's sanctity, wary of treasure hunters and people who only try and dig up the little heathen. The truth, as often does, lies somewhere in the middle between the town's desire for recognition and a fantastic tale that got maybe a little bit out of hand.
Bob Bales:So, there you have it at the end of our journey to Aurora, Texas on April 17, 1897. Was it a spacecraft from outer space? Was it a clever newspaper stunt? Or was it just a windy day that knocked over the judge's windmill? We may never know. The facts are a little thin, just a single newspaper article. And a few old stories, and a grave marker that well, who knows what happened to it. But the story's got legs, and it speaks to something bigger. Our curiosity about the unknown, our love for a good mystery, and the way that small towns can hold on to a moment that makes them special. Now whether you believe in little green men or think Hayden was just pulling a fast one with his story, it's a reminder that history's best tales aren't always about what happened. They're about what we want to believe. Now if you're thinking about visiting Aurora to chase this little legend, well you're in for a treat because close by there's a lot of things to see and do, blending history and culture and just plain old Texas charm.
Bob Bales:Here's a couple of things you might want to check out if you're in that area. Besides checking out the Aurora Cemetery, the Wise County Heritage Museum, which is in Decatur, about eight miles away. It's housed in the 1899 Baptist College building, and it dives into the county's past with exhibits on ranching, pioneer life, and yes, the Aurora UFO incident. It's open weekdays and it's a great stop for history buffs. And Decatur is one of those towns that has the town square. Well, there's a museum on the town square. And it's a free museum, and it showcases artifacts from the Chisholm Trail era, included Native American tools and early settler relics. It's open Tuesdays through Saturdays, and it's just a quick stop and you'll enjoy the stuff that's in there, trust me. Downtown Decatur also has their little square, like I said, with it's full of antique shops and boutiques and little restaurants and cafes and stuff. It's a typical Texas square that if you haven't experienced one, they're great. I mean, that's the hub of the town.
Bob Bales:Now the LBJ National Grasslands, it's kind of like a national park, but they call it National Grasslands. It's about 15 miles away. A 20,000 acre expanse. It offers hiking, horseback riding, camping along rolling hills and oak tree groves. The Black Creek Lake Trail is a two-mile loop, perfect for just walking on a fall day. It's free entry, but you need to bring your own water. There's not a lot of water out there. So stop at one of the local convenience stores and pick up some of the bottled water and take it out there with you. But it's a beautiful area. And the Fort Worth stockyards, well, they're only twenty miles away. And you can spend the entire day wandering around the stockyards. I mean they've got the I don't know if it still is, but Billy Bob's at one time was the largest honky tonk in the world. May still be. Think Texas country bar, dance floor, rodeo, all inside the building. And then uh they do a daily cattle drive where they take their long they have a longhorn herd there, it's I don't know, 30, 40 longhorns. Once a day they take them out and ride them down the main street. So, they like they're coming back into the stockyards. There's also a train there, there's shopping there, there's several old bars. The stockyards go back to way back in the 1800s when they were built. So, it's a great place to visit.
Bob Bales:Now Fort Worth also has the Sid Richardson Museum, which is it's located in Sundance Square and it showcases Western art by Remington and Russell and captures the cowboy spirit. It's just a real quick stop, fun place to stop and take a look at. And all these spots offer a mix of history and outdoor adventure and local flavor, making a trip to Aurora a perfect blend of alien curiosity and Texas hospitality. And you can check out the hours and things online for some of these museums, but there's a lot to see and do up in that area. Well, that's the tale of the Aurora UFO crash, the story that's kept us guessing for over a century. And whether you're a believer or a skeptic, there's something about this little town that kind of sticks with you. So next time you're passing through Texas, anywhere up in the Dallas Fort Worth area, it's just a short little drive away, just swing by Aurora and take a look at the cemetery. And maybe, just maybe, keep an eye on the sky.
Bob Bales:So that's it for this week. I hope you get the chance to travel somewhere and get out and see someplace new and exciting. So, until next time, safe travels.
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