Before Roswell: The Bizarre UFO Wave That Shocked 19th-Century America

Full Video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/QePqq2LRRfc

Imagine a time before airplanes, before the Wright Brothers made history, and before Roswell became synonymous with UFOs. Now, picture the skies of 1897, where mysterious lights and eerie, cigar-shaped airships haunted the night, captivating the imaginations of thousands. Across America, from California to Chicago, reports flooded in of strange, seemingly impossible flying machines, stirring fear, wonder, and the inevitable question: what on earth—or beyond—were they? In this episode, we unravel the truth behind the bizarre wave of UFO sightings that gripped the nation decades before the world had even heard of flying saucers. Could this be America’s earliest brush with extraterrestrial visitors, or was something else at play? Buckle up, because this is a tale of mystery, imagination, and the power of belief that will have you questioning everything you thought you knew about the history of UFOs.

References:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_airship#The_airship_wave_of_1896-1897
https://daily.jstor.org/phantom-flying-machines/
https://history.nebraska.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/doc_publications_NH1979UFOs.pdf
https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/1990/01/22165233/p71.pdf 

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Transcript

“You are listening to An Ounce, Season 6, Episode 39, The Phantom Flyers of 1897: Americas first UFOs? 

 You are about to experience a fantastic tale about the great UFO craze of 1896 and 97. What did folks think they saw? And where did this happen? And were these human-made flying machines, swamp gas, critters from other worlds, or something else? 

Put on your tin foil hats and let’s get some answers – And then we’ll tie it up with a wee once of wisdom that might benefit your life today. 

Picture this: It's the late 1890s. The Victorian era, and in the United States horses are still the height of personal transportation, electricity is the new kid on the block, and the skies are reserved for birds and the occasional intrepid balloonist. Or... are they? Because according to a lot of very earnest, very excited Americans, something else was up there too—something that didn’t neigh or chirp. Welcome to the wild, wacky world of what might be referred to as the 1896-1897 airship wave… a chapter in history that could make even Roswell jealous. So, strap in , put your tray table up, adjust your seat to its full upright position, as we jet into this case and learn if there were any UFOs before Roswell? 

Let's set the scene.  

It's the winter of 1896, and in the United States, people are buzzing about a mystery—not about who won the latest cow-milking contest, but about strange lights and mysterious airships spotted in the night sky. The first sighting reportedly occurred in Sacramento, California, on November 17, 1896. Witnesses described a "cigar-shaped" craft with wings, moving swiftly through the night sky, illuminated by bright lights. And this wasn't just the ravings of a few over-caffeinated night owls. Hundreds of people—yes, hundreds—claimed to have seen this flying marvel. 

Now, before you start thinking, “Wow, those early Californians must have really enjoyed their wine,” these reports didn’t stop there. Oh no. Over the next few months, sightings spread like a 19th-century viral meme across the country, from California to Nebraska, and even as far as Chicago. 

But what did these folks actually see? Was it the work of extraterrestrial beings, or was it simply humanity’s first collective case of 'look, Ma, there's something weird up there!'? 

Theories abound 

The explanations at the time were as varied as they were… inventive. Some believed these airships were the result of secret inventions by some shadowy, unnamed genius. Imagine a steampunk Elon Musk tinkering away in his Victorian-era garage, unveiling his latest creation to the startled masses. Others were convinced the airships were harbingers of war—possibly from Spain, given the tensions of the era. A few more imaginative souls suggested these were indeed visitors from another world. Because, let’s face it, when you see something you can’t explain, why not jump to aliens? 

But let’s not forget this was the 1890s. Radio hadn’t even been invented yet. So, how would a secret inventor from, say, San Francisco, manage to fly his contraption all the way to Chicago without anyone noticing it was him all along? And why would aliens decide to make Nebraska their vacation destination – in the winter? (No offense to Nebraska—it’s lovely, really.) 

 So what did people actually think they saw? 

**[Historical context 

To answer that, we need to think about what was happening at the time. The late 19th century was a period of rapid technological change and boundless imagination. The Wright Brothers hadn’t taken flight yet, but the idea of human flight was in the air—figuratively speaking. People were primed to believe that such marvels were just around the corner. It’s like seeing your first smartphone today and assuming that, naturally, the next step is a teleportation device. 

So when mysterious lights and shapes appeared in the sky, it wasn’t too much of a leap for folks to think, "Well, I guess someone finally built that flying machine we've all been dreaming about." The human mind, after all, has a funny way of filling in the gaps with what it expects to see. 

But here’s the kicker: Despite the many reported sightings, no tangible evidence ever surfaced. No crash landings, no mechanical parts strewn about. Nothing. Just stories—lots and lots of stories. 

Take, for instance, the report from Aurora, Texas, in April 1897. According to local lore, an airship crashed into a windmill, and the pilot—decidedly not from around here—was supposedly buried in the local cemetery. Yes, folks, we’re talking about a pre-Roswell Roswell event, complete with an alien corpse. Or maybe just a very unfortunate barn owl. 

 Of course, when investigators looked into it decades later, they found no sign of a crash, and the cemetery’s “alien” grave? Mysteriously   missing. 

Can we Understand the Phantom Flyers of 1897? 

So, what were these sightings, really? Modern historians and scientists offer a few explanations. Some argue that the sightings were likely a mix of hoaxes, misidentified astronomical phenomena, and the power of suggestion. The bright lights? Possibly Venus or Jupiter, or even early versions of searchlights. The strange shapes? Maybe just clouds or birds distorted by the imagination. 

And as for those who swore they saw metallic ships piloted by human-like figures? Well, chalk that up to a mix of wishful thinking, the influence of popular science fiction, and the ever-reliable human knack for turning the mundane into the marvelous. 

In the end, the airship wave of 1896-1897 remains one of those delightful historical curiosities—an early example of our fascination  with the unknown and our tendency to let imagination soar as high as those mysterious lights in the sky. Whether it was all a mass hallucination, an elaborate hoax, or something else entirely, we’ll probably never know. 

 But hey, the next time someone tells you that UFOs began with Roswell, you can smile knowingly and say, “Actually, it all started back in the 1890s, when America was buzzing about aliens, airships, and—believe it or not—Nebraska.” 

Somewhere in this deep dive into Victorian Era UFO’s there is at least An Ounce wisdom and insight – and probably more than one. But for now, let’s focus on just this one. 

 If you were to travel back to 1896 would you be able to convince the folks who saw a phantom flyer in the sky, that they didn’t see anything. 

You, being from the future, would know better. Wouldn’t you? More sophisticated, have superior knowledge and understanding. Such things just don’t exist. It must be that they were seeing something they didn’t understand – their minds and imagination filling in the blanks, so it makes some kind of sense. Surly it was misidentification, misunderstanding, mass hysteria, – or maybe a secret government project. 

But these were people, who unlike many of us, had the privilege of a night sky mostly void of man-made light streaming from the earth itself – and bleaching out the wonders of the heavens. They were familiar with that sky, they knew what was normal, and what was extraordinary. 

So… here’s an ounce: 

Be careful when you decide to fill the role of the smarter and wiser one.   As simple as those around you might seem they understand some  things much better than you. 

And, that’s it. An Ounce, submitted for your consideration.