Aurora, Texas

This article is about the city named Aurora in Wise County, Texas. For the historic city named Aurora in Jefferson County, Texas, see Port Arthur, Texas.

Aurora, Texas
City
Location of Aurora, Texas
Coordinates: 33°3′21″N97°30′35″W / 33.05583°N 97.50972°W / 33.05583; -97.50972
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Wise
Area [1]
• Total	3.72 sq mi (9.64 km2)
• Land	3.72 sq mi (9.64 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation	817 ft (249 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,390
• Density	370/sq mi (140/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	76078
Area code	817
FIPS code	48-04672 [2]
GNIS feature ID	1329842 [3]
Website	http://www.auroratexas.gov

Aurora is a city ^[4] in Wise County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,390 in 2020. ^[5]

Geography

Aurora is located at 33°3′21″N97°30′35″W / 33.05583°N 97.50972°W / 33.05583; -97.50972 (33.055942, –97.509615). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.7 square miles (9.6 km²), all land. ^[6]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1890	372		—
1980	376		—
1990	623		65.7%
2000	853		36.9%
2010	1,220		43.0%
2020	1,390		13.9%
U.S. Decennial Census [7]

Aurora racial composition as of 2020 ^[5]
(NH = Non-Hispanic) ^{[lower-alpha 1]}

Race	Number	Percentage
White (NH)	951	68.42%
Black or African American (NH)	10	0.72%
Native American or Alaska Native (NH)	15	1.08%
Asian (NH)	9	0.65%
Some Other Race (NH)	1	0.07%
Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH)	78	5.61%
Hispanic or Latino	326	23.45%
Total	1,390

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,390 people, 420 households, and 356 families residing in the city.

Education

The Town of Aurora is served by the Northwest Independent School District.

• Seven Hills Elementary (K–5)
• Chisholm Trail Middle School (6–8)
• Northwest High School (9–12)

UFO incident

Main article: Aurora, Texas UFO incident

Aurora is best known for a purported UFO crash in April 1897, and the ongoing legend that the UFO's pilot is supposedly buried in the local cemetery. ^[9] Although the town has embraced the legend to a point (the city's website mentions the legend), ^[10] the cemetery association has refused all requests to exhume the alien's purported gravesite.

References

1. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
2. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
3. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
4. Census Bureau status changes Archived August 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
5. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
6. "US Gazetteer Files 2016-Places-Texas". US Census. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
7. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
8. "About the Hispanic Population and its Origin". www.census.gov. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
9. "A Town in Texas Ponders Mystery of 1897 Spaceman", The New York Times, February 26, 1979, p. A14
10. "City of Aurora, Texas" . Retrieved October 26, 2020.

1. Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race. ^[8]

Sources

• Robert Wooster: Aurora, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online

Further reading

• Reed, S. G. (1941) A History of the Texas Railroads, St. Clair, Houston; rpt. (1981) Arno, New York
• WPA Federal Writers' Project (1939) Port Arthur, Anson Jones Press, Houston
• DNAlien, A novel by Jim West (2007).