A legendary western town, the city of Aurora, Texas, is located about 30 miles northwest of Fort Worth. For almost 125 years, the Wise County location’s claim to fame has been an alien named Ned.
Ned’s voyage to Aurora was reported in The Dallas Morning News on April 19, 1897. The report tells of a cigar-shaped spaceship sailing over Aurora’s public square before making its crash landing a few hundred feet north of what is now Texas 114.
“About 6 o’clock this morning the early risers of Aurora were astonished at the sudden appearance of the airship which has been sailing around the country. It was traveling due north and much nearer the earth than before.
“Evidently some of the machinery was out of order, for it was making a speed of only 10 or 12 miles an hour, and gradually settling toward the earth. It sailed over the public square and when it reached the north part of town it collided with the tower of Judge Proctor’s windmill and went into pieces with a terrific explosion, scattering debris over several acres of ground, wrecking the windmill and water tank and destroying the judge’s flower garden.
“The pilot of the ship is supposed to have been the only one aboard and, while his remains were badly disfigured, enough of the original has been picked up to show that he was not an inhabitant of this world.”
Townsfolk reportedly buried the alien pilot in Aurora Cemetery, but the story was not buried with it. While some residents prefer not to associate with unproven lore, many have embraced “Ned” — as the alien has come to be called — and all things space-creature related.
It’s not unusual for alien-themed haunted houses to attract visitors to Aurora this time of year. Conferences commemorating the alleged crash have taken place in the city, and the Aurora website even features a photo of Ned’s tombstone.
Etched with a cigar-shaped aircraft, the tombstone was stolen in 1972 shortly after an investigative story about Ned’s crash landing was published on the Mutual UFO Network. In 2012, the marker that replaced the original was stolen as well, and now a boulder reportedly sits in its place.
A state marker outside the cemetery notes it may be the home of an alien grave, reading, in part: “This site is … well-known because of the legend that a spaceship crashed nearby in 1897 and the pilot, killed in the crash, was buried here.”
Trinkets and gifts can regularly be found at the site, where visitors come after learning of Ned through various sources. Time magazine published an Aurora alien-based article in 1979, and in 1986 a film, The Aurora Encounter, was shot in Ferris, Texas, based on the legend of Ned.
More than one book has been published surrounding Aurora’s mysterious guest, and a few TV programs have focused on alien investigations in the town. The FOX network and two TV series, UFO Files and UFO Hunters, covered the story, as did an episode of History Channel’s Ancient Aliens.
Earlier this year, D Magazine reminded folks of a $5,000 reward offered by a Dallas lawyer interested in the return of Ned’s tombstone, no questions asked. And, today it’s easier than ever for people to learn about Aurora’s famous alien through online news articles, YouTube videos and social media sites like @auroraned on Instagram and NedAlien on Twitter.
While not linked to Aurora’s alien, a 2020 Jim Henson Disney series coincidentally features a blue-skinned creature, Ned the Alien, who was sent to earth to prepare for invasion. Becoming obsessed with the planet’s pop culture, however, Ned abandons his mission to host a talk show instead.
Current Aurora residents may take the town’s alien legend with a grain of salt, but a spacecraft and the windmill it destroyed, can be found on city gear including cups and T-shirts, and even the official town logo. Believe it or not, it seems the story is here to stay, and Ned will likely forever be Aurora’s most famed resident.
Sources:
1. https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/13501
2. https://www.star-telegram.com/news/state/texas/article207085784.html
3. http://www.auroratexas.gov/board-of-commisions/historic-preservation/ned/
Photos courtesy of TuiSnider.com.
Written by Angel Morris
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