By Dr. Tommy Stringer, Navarro College Foundation
Established in 1850, the small community of Aurora is located southeast of Decatur in Wise County. During its first two decades of existence, the town grew rapidly, developing into a commercial center for area farmers. By 1882 when Aurora incorporated it had two schools, two cotton gins, two hotels, and 15 other businesses to serve its 3,000 residents. But by the end of the decade the town’s fortunes began to decline. In 1888 a spotted fever epidemic swept through the community resulting in a mass exodus from the town. When the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad changed its plan to extend its line through Aurora, more residents left, realizing that a town without access to a rail line was virtually doomed to die. To add to Aurora’s problems, the cotton crop, which was the foundation of the local economy, was infested with boll weevils, and a fire on the town’s west side destroyed several buildings and claimed a number of lives.
But in April 1897, the nation’s attention was drawn to Aurora. A story written by a local cotton buyer named S.E. Hayden was published in the Dallas Morning News describing the crash of a cigar-shaped flying apparatus on a farm outside the town. The pilot of the aircraft who was described as “not of this world “was killed when the aircraft struck a windmill. His remains were buried in an unmarked grave in the local cemetery. The debris from the wreckage was purportedly dumped in a well near the crash site, but according to other reports some was buried with the pilot. Some years later the new owner of the property cleaned out the well in hopes of using it as a water source. However, he developed severe arthritis which he claimed was caused by water contaminated by the debris in the well. Consequently, he sealed the well with a concrete slab and constructed an outbuilding on the slab, making it inaccessible.
The tale has been generally dismissed as a hoax. Likely Hayden published the account to generate attention for the dying town. At the time, stories of sightings of unidentified flying objects in the Fort Worth area made it somewhat believable. But Hayden’s efforts to revive Aurora proved to be futile. By 1901 the post office closed and the population continued to decline. Some recent UFO groups have investigated the story, and it has been featured on some cable television productions. Aurora has recently enjoyed somewhat of a rebirth by becoming a bedroom community of sorts for the Fort Worth area, and today has a population of about 1,000.
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Dr. Tommy Stringer is executive director of the Navarro College Foundation. He may be reached by e-mail at tommy.stringer@navarrocollege.edu. Want to “Soundoff” on this column? E-mail: soundoff@corsicanadailysun.com.
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