Aurora Texas UFO Incident — Complete Timeline
From KB42
Aurora Texas UFO Incident — Complete Timeline
| Incident Name: | The 1897 Aurora Incident |
|---|---|
| Incident Date: | April 17, 1897 |
| Case Files : | Aurora Texas UFO Incident Case Files |
Aurora Texas UFO Incident — Complete Timeline
[edit | edit source]| Date | Event | Type | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 1896 | Great Airship Wave begins in California; Sacramento Evening Bee publishes first major accounts | Context | Documented |
| Early 1897 | Airship sightings move eastward across United States; major newspapers begin coverage | Context | Documented |
| April 13–17, 1897 | At least 20–38 airship reports in North Central Texas in five days; Fort Worth Register; Dallas Morning News carry accounts | Context | Documented |
| April 17, 1897, ~6:00 AM | Cigar-shaped airship observed flying low over Aurora; collides with Judge Proctor's windmill; explosion; debris scattered over several acres; pilot killed | The crash | Primary account |
| April 17, 1897 | Residents collect debris; pilot's remains discovered; T. J. Weems examines crash site; pilot described as "not of this world" | Discovery | Primary account |
| April 18, 1897 | Pilot buried with Christian rites in Aurora Cemetery; crude rock headstone placed at grave | Burial | Primary account |
| April 19, 1897 | Dallas Morning News publishes S. E. Haydon's article about the crash | First documentation | Documented — original article exists |
| April 1897 | Wreckage from craft dumped into well beneath windmill; some material buried with pilot | Wreckage disposal | Primary account |
| ~1890–1923 | Charles August Dellschau creates sketchbooks depicting airship designs, referencing Sonora Aero Club | Related context | Documented — sketchbooks exist |
| ~1935 | Brawley Oates purchases Proctor property; cleans well; develops severe arthritis | Physical consequence | Oates family account |
| 1945 | Brawley Oates seals well with concrete slab and outbuilding; inscription confirms date | Well sealing | Physical evidence documented |
| 1960s | Dellschau sketchbooks discovered in Houston antique store; bring Sonora Aero Club to public awareness | Related discovery | Documented |
| 1969 | MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) established; creates institutional framework for investigating historical cases like Aurora | Context | Documented |
| 1972 | Bill Case begins investigation for Dallas Times Herald; interviews witnesses; obtains metal sample from well area | Investigation begins | Case's reporting |
| 1972 | Court injunction prevents exhumation of unknown grave without family notification | Legal obstacle | Documented |
| 1973 | Bill Case locates crude rock headstone with saucer-shape etching; metal detector detects three large metal objects in grave; Jim Marrs interviews 83-year-old Charlie Stephens | Key investigation | Case and Marrs accounts |
| 1973 | Mary Evans (in late 80s/90s) provides testimony about her parents' visit to crash site | Eyewitness interview | MUFON records |
| 1973 | International UFO Bureau (Hayden Hewes) attempts exhumation; blocked by Cemetery Association | Investigation blocked | Documented |
| 1973 | Bill Case returns to grave; metal detector signal gone; three-inch pipe inserted in ground; headstone stolen | Evidence disappears | Case's account |
| 1979 | Time magazine publishes interview with 86-year-old Etta Pegues claiming story was Haydon's joke; says Proctor had no windmill | Hoax claim | Time magazine article |
| 1981 | Film "The Aurora Encounter" produced (released 1986) | Cultural response | Film documentation |
| 1986 | "The Aurora Encounter" released theatrically | Cultural impact | Film documentation |
| 1993 | "Beyond This Earth" documentary produced by Al Adamson using Aurora Cemetery location shooting | Documentary | Film documentation |
| 1997 | Jim Marrs publishes "Alien Agenda"; devotes chapter to Aurora case; claims Army recovered craft near Aurora in 1897 | Book publication | Published record |
| 1998 | KDFW-TV Dallas-Fort Worth airs lengthy report on Aurora incident featuring Jim Marrs | Television coverage | Documented |
| 2002 | "Aurora: The UFO Crash of 1897" documentary produced | Documentary | Film documentation |
| 2004 | Michael Busby publishes "Solving the 1897 Airship Mystery"; argues human airship explanation | Book publication | Published record |
| 2005 | James McGaha publishes Skeptical Inquirer article arguing dirigible and human pilot explanation | Skeptical analysis | Published record |
| December 2005 | History Channel UFO Files airs "Texas' Roswell" episode; features 1973 MUFON investigation | Television documentary | Documented |
| 2008 | Tim Oates permits investigators to unseal well; water shows high aluminum content; windmill base found near well site | New physical evidence | UFO Hunters documentation |
| November 19, 2008 | History Channel UFO Hunters airs "First Contact" episode about Aurora | Television documentary | Documented |
| 2009 | J. Allan Danelek publishes "The Great Airship of 1897"; contextualizes Aurora within broader wave | Book publication | Published record |
| 2016, April 16 | First annual Aurora Alien Encounter festival; "Aurora: The UFO Crash of 1897" documentary premieres | Festival established | Documented |
| 2020 | Monster Talk podcast argues the Aurora well is of 20th-century construction; questions windmill base interpretation | Skeptical analysis | Documented |
| Present | Aurora Cemetery Association maintains refusal of exhumation; the grave remains unmarked and unexamined; annual festival continues; tourism ongoing | Current status | Current |
