Aurora, Texas is a quiet city in Wise County.
“The town is actually quite small,” said Aurora Alderman Jason Priakos. “It’s only about six square miles. It goes up the hill and down the valley and that’s it. “
Priakos said it was a hidden gem with a population of around 1,700.
“Usually people say, ‘Where’s Aurora?’” Said Priakos. “You have to say, ‘Well, it’s between Boyd and Rhome, 287 towards Decatur.'”
This little town has a story associated with it that sounds like it came from a galaxy far, far away.
“Well, we had an event here in 1897,” said Priakos. “We had an alien crash site.”
This crash occurred near what is now known as Area 114. It is now a tourist landing zone. But as the story goes, an unidentified flying object and its pilot crashed into a windmill in 1897 – 50 years before the famous UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico.
Vince Sims
Area 114 is a tourist photo-op spot near the reported 1897 plane crash
“Cities heard a great noise and several went to investigate and found a wreck with material they had never seen before,” said Priakos. “They found a being they called ‘Out of this World’.”
Articles were written about it in local newspapers. The pilot, described as out of this world, died of his injuries and was buried in the Christian cemetery. The townspeople named him Ned – Ned the Alien.
Vince Sims
The alien burial site in the Aurora Cemetery.
People now visit Ned’s tomb and often leave trinkets behind.
“Watches, I’ve seen key chains, and I’ve seen electronics,” said Priakos.
Due to the Christian burial, the grave cannot be exhumed for official investigations without the permission of the next of kin. That permission seems unlikely if Ned were out of this world.
However, that doesn’t stop people from solving the puzzle.
“You brought ground radar,” said Priakos. “They have looked at the burial site and have gone to other parts of the cemetery and can confirm that something is buried.”
Vince Sims
People leave all kinds of strange trinkets on Ned’s grave.
There may not be definitive evidence that Ned the Alien crashed and was buried in Aurora. But it’s definitely a good story for business.
“I would say we can tell the story no less than 20 times a day,” said Sean Merchant, co-owner of Smokin ‘Windmill BBQ.
The dealer and his business partner opened the Smokin ‘Windmill BBQ about two years ago.
“Our best-selling item and specialty item that we carry every day is the UFO,” said Merchant. “It’s a poblano pepper, stuffed with brisket and cream cheese, wrapped in bacon.”
They are the anchor restaurant for another business called Martian Margaritas. It’s an alien-themed venue.
Vince Sims
Martian Margaritas Alien themed venue in Aurora.
“It’s a cool story and great for business,” said Merchant. “Great for conversations. We want to get to know our guests and all sorts of things and it always gives us the opportunity to meet them when they are new. “
So the story of Ned the Alien lives on, loved by the locals.
“We love the city and we love the story of the city with the aliens,” said Merchant.
An alien named Ned who puts Aurora on the map.
“It’s also quite interesting to know that you live in an area known for an alien burial in your city,” said Priakos. “Not many cities can say that about themselves.”
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