Life Magazine says, “A few months before the publication of H.G. Wells War of the Worlds, an even stranger than fiction occurred in the small town of Aurora, Texas.”
There were multiple sightings of UFOs in the area at the time. On April 17, 1897, S. E. Hayden wrote an article for ‘To The News’ newspaper.
“About 6 o’clock this morning, the early risers of Aurora were astonished at the sudden appearance of the airship sailing much nearer to earth than ever before.”
The belief was that the “machinery” was out of order since it only traveled approximately 10-12 miles an hour. It flew over the village square.
And in the north part of town, “it collided with Judge Proctor’s windmill. Exploding and destroying the windmill, water tank, and the judge’s flower garden, spreading its debris and scattering it over several acres of land.
“It’s believed that the pilot was alone on the craft. Although severely mangled, there were enough identifiable parts of him for T. J. Weems, the US Signal Service Officer and an authority of astronomy, to determine that the pilot was a native of Mars and not of this world.”
“The authorities could not decipher the papers assumed to be written in hieroglyphics and found on the pilot, which was most likely to be a record of his travels. The craft, which weighed several tons, consisted of an unknown metal resembling a mixture of aluminum and silver.
“The explosion severely wrecked the craft, so no conclusion about its construction or motive power could be deducted.”
S. E. Hayden continued that the pilot, was not “of this world.” “The town is full of people today who are viewing the wreck and gathering specimens of the strange metal from the debris. The pilot’s funeral will take place at noon tomorrow.”
The alien pilot of the craft was named “Ned. He ‘was gifted’ with a proper Christian burial, and his body rests at the local Aurora Cemetery.
There’s a tombstone with carvings depicting the spaceship. There is also a Texas Historic Monument that briefly describes the event.
