This Texas Cemetery Is Home To A Space Alien

Once upon a time, long before Roswell had its day in the UFO spotlight, there was a little town called Aurora, Texas. In 1897, Aurora was the it place for an out-of-this-world experience, literally. According to a Dallas Morning News article from April 19, 1897, a “mystery airship” (UFO, but make it vintage) came tumbling out of the sky. Its final resting place? Right through the poor Judge J.S. Proctor’s windmill, smashing his prized flower garden in the process. Talk about a rough landing.

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The alien pilot, described as “petite” and very Martian, didn’t make it out of the crash alive, which might explain why we never got a sequel. Being the hospitable folks they were, the locals gave our extraterrestrial visitor a full-on Christian burial under a tree branch in the town cemetery. They even placed a headstone with a “crude” depiction of the alien’s ship. Unfortunately, the headstone went the way of all great mysteries—missing. But don’t worry, UFO hunters are still begging the town to dig up the grave, though so far, nobody’s handed over the shovels.

Today, the headstone is long gone, probably swiped by some alien memorabilia collector, but there’s still a Texas historical marker at the cemetery mentioning our friendly neighborhood Martian. If you're looking for the “grave,” a large rock marks the spot. It’s covered with trinkets left by UFO enthusiasts, because if you can’t dig up a Martian, you might as well leave a keychain.

So next time you're in Aurora, skip the flower gardens and windmills, and take a moment to say hi to the one visitor who’s traveled the farthest to crash land in small-town Texas history. Just don't ask about the headstone.