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Within 1860 Wilmington

Can the Original Wilmington UFO Report Still Be Found?

The Wilmington sky story hinges on a newspaper citation that modern researchers still cannot verify directly.

On this page

  • The disputed Wilmington Tribune citation
  • Delaware newspapers available in 1860
  • How later UFO writers repeated the claim
Preview for Can the Original Wilmington UFO Report Still Be Found?

Introduction

The Wilmington sky story is one of Delaware’s most repeated early UFO tales, but the real mystery may be the source itself. Modern retellings usually claim that the event was reported in the “Wilmington Tribune” on 30 July 1860. Yet researchers searching newspaper archives have struggled to prove that such a paper existed in Wilmington at that date, or to locate the original article. The problem is not simply academic. Without the original clipping, it becomes difficult to know whether later versions copied the story accurately, exaggerated it, or attached the wrong newspaper title altogether.

Source Mystery illustration 1 That uncertainty makes the case important within Delaware UFO history for a different reason than most sighting reports. Instead of asking whether strange lights crossed Wilmington’s skies in 1860, historians and UFO researchers are forced to ask a more basic question first: can the original report still be found at all? The answer remains unresolved. [Wikipedia]WikipediaList of newspapers in DelawareList of newspapers in DelawareDelaware State Journal · Wilmington, 1833, 1870, 1855, 1883, Semi-weekly, weekly, Henry Eckel. Delaware… [HowStuffWorks]science.howstuffworks.comHowStuffWorksUFOs in the 19th CenturyOn July 13, 1860, a pale blue light engulfed the city of Wilmington… The incident – reported in…Published: July 13, 1860 [Technical.ly]technical.lyIt's World UFO DayHere are the top 10 UFO sightings in…2 Jul 2019 — On July 13, 1860, The Wilmington Tribune reported an incident that has never been de…Published: July 13, 1860

The disputed Wilmington Tribune citation

Nearly every modern version of the story traces back to the same citation formula: “Wilmington Tribune, July 30, 1860.” The wording appears in popular UFO summaries, paranormal websites and later media roundups. One of the most widely circulated versions comes from HowStuffWorks, which describes a glowing elongated object over Wilmington followed by red balls and “sparkles after the manner of a rocket”. [HowStuffWorks]science.howstuffworks.comHowStuffWorksUFOs in the 19th CenturyOn July 13, 1860, a pale blue light engulfed the city of Wilmington… The incident – reported in…Published: July 13, 1860

The difficulty is that researchers checking newspaper catalogues have found little evidence for a Wilmington newspaper called the Delaware Tribune in 1860. The Library of Congress records for the Delaware Tribune place its publication run between 1867 and 1877, seven years after the supposed sighting. The paper is also linked to the Wilmington Daily Commercial as a weekly edition beginning after the Civil War. [The Library of Congress]loc.govThe Library of Congress Image 1 of Wilmington daily commercial (Wilmington, DelArchived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection. - Weekly edition: Del…

That mismatch creates several possibilities:

  • the citation used the wrong newspaper title;
  • the date may have shifted during later retellings;
  • the article may have appeared in another Wilmington paper and later been misattributed;
  • or the source may once have existed in a short-lived publication that survives poorly in archives.

None of these explanations automatically means the sighting story is fabricated. Nineteenth-century American newspapers were often renamed, merged, absorbed into rivals or published briefly before disappearing. Small local papers were also unevenly preserved. But the absence of a directly verifiable 1860 “Wilmington Tribune” is still a major evidential weakness. [The Library of Congress]loc.govThe Library of Congress Image 1 of Wilmington daily commercial (Wilmington, DelArchived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection. - Weekly edition: Del… [The Library of Congress]loc.govThe Library of Congress Image 1 of Wilmington daily commercial (Wilmington, DelArchived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection. - Weekly edition: Del…

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Delaware newspapers actually available from 1860

One reason the mystery persists is that Wilmington did have active newspapers in 1860, just apparently not the one usually cited. Surviving catalogues and archive listings show several Delaware titles operating during the period, including the Delaware State Journal and Statesman and other Wilmington publications that carried local and national news. [The Library of Congress]loc.govThe Library of Congress Image 1 of Wilmington daily commercial (Wilmington, DelArchived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection. - Weekly edition: Del… [Genealogy Trails]genealogytrails.comGenealogy Trails State of Delaware Genealogy and History THE DELAWARE GAZETTE,This journal has for many years been highly popular with all classes of the community throughout the Peninsula. In politics…Read more…

The Library of Congress maintains digitised issues of the Delaware State Journal and Statesman beginning in the 1850s, demonstrating that at least some Wilmington newspapers from the era survive in searchable form. [The Library of Congress]loc.govThe Library of Congress Image 1 of Wilmington daily commercial (Wilmington, DelArchived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection. - Weekly edition: Del…

This matters because it changes the research question. Instead of assuming the source vanished completely, historians can investigate whether:

  • the sighting was reported under a different title;
  • the event was syndicated from another city;
  • or later UFO writers simplified or altered the citation.

The broader archival landscape also shows why the confusion developed so easily. Wilmington newspapers frequently changed names over the nineteenth century. The Delaware Gazette, Delaware State Journal, Daily Republican, Wilmington Daily Commercial and related titles overlapped or evolved across decades. [Online Books Page]onlinebooks.library.upenn.eduOnline Books PageDelaware Gazette archivesDelaware Gazette was a newspaper published in Wilmington, Delaware in the 19th century. Its tit… [The Library of Congress]loc.govThe Library of Congress Image 1 of Wilmington daily commercial (Wilmington, DelArchived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection. - Weekly edition: Del…

In practical terms, that means a modern writer encountering a secondary UFO source could easily compress several newspaper identities into the simpler label “Wilmington Tribune”, especially if they relied on an earlier UFO catalogue instead of a scanned newspaper page.

Source Mystery illustration 2

Why the missing clipping changes the case

The inability to inspect the original article leaves several crucial questions unanswered.

First, nobody can confirm whether the surviving modern wording matches the newspaper text. Many UFO summaries repeat vivid details such as the object being “200 feet long” and only “100 feet above” Wilmington. Those measurements sound strikingly precise for an 1860 newspaper anecdote. Without the original page, it is impossible to know whether the paper itself gave those figures or whether later writers standardised or dramatised the account. [HowStuffWorks]science.howstuffworks.comHowStuffWorksUFOs in the 19th CenturyOn July 13, 1860, a pale blue light engulfed the city of Wilmington… The incident – reported in…Published: July 13, 1860

Second, the original context is missing. Nineteenth-century newspapers often printed strange sky reports alongside humour pieces, tall tales, speculative science columns and sensational filler. Seeing the article in its original layout could reveal whether editors treated it as hard local news, curiosity reporting or entertainment.

Third, the lack of a primary clipping makes comparison difficult. Historians usually test old newspaper stories by checking nearby papers for corroboration. If several independent newspapers reported the same sky event within days, confidence increases that something genuinely unusual was seen. At present, the Wilmington case survives mainly through later repetition rather than through a cluster of independently recoverable 1860 reports.

This is why the source problem matters more than the sighting description itself. The modern story sounds detailed, but the evidential chain underneath it is surprisingly thin.

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How later UFO writers repeated the claim

The Wilmington report followed a familiar pattern in UFO literature: an obscure nineteenth-century story was copied from one secondary source into another until the citation itself acquired authority through repetition.

By the late twentieth century, compilations of historical UFO reports were already circulating the Wilmington account as a pre-flight mystery. Modern online articles, discussion forums and “on this day in UFO history” posts then repeated essentially identical wording, usually without new archival evidence. Facebook HowStuffWorks Technical.ly’s Delaware roundup is an example of this transmission chain in action. Its article introduces the Wilmington sighting as a famou [science.howstuffworks.com]science.howstuffworks.comHowStuffWorksUFOs in the 19th CenturyOn July 13, 1860, a pale blue light engulfed the city of Wilmington… The incident – reported in…Published: July 13, 1860 s unexplained event but explicitly relies on the HowStuffWorks version rather than presenting a newly located 1860 newspaper scan. [Technical.ly]technical.lyIt's World UFO DayHere are the top 10 UFO sightings in…2 Jul 2019 — On July 13, 1860, The Wilmington Tribune reported an incident that has never been de…Published: July 13, 1860

Forum discussions among UFO enthusiasts show that even believers increasingly recognise the archive problem. Some posters openly ask whether the original article has ever been digitised, while others note that the quoted wording seems to derive from later UFO databases rather than directly from nineteenth-century newspapers. [unexplained-mysteries.com]unexplained-mysteries.com378364 the delaware ufo incident in 1860Location: Wilmington, Delaware Time: 21:45… The article I ve linked has quoted the Wilmington Tribune in which the…Read more…

That does not make the story false. It does show how easily historical UFO claims can become detached from their documentary origins. Once a citation enters the UFO literature ecosystem, later writers often inherit it without rechecking the archival foundation.

Source Mystery illustration 3

What researchers can say with confidence

A cautious evidence-led assessment leaves three fairly solid conclusions.

First, a long-running UFO tradition does exist around a Wilmington sky event supposedly seen in July 1860. The story has circulated for decades and is deeply embedded in lists of early American UFO sightings. [HowStuffWorks]science.howstuffworks.comHowStuffWorksUFOs in the 19th CenturyOn July 13, 1860, a pale blue light engulfed the city of Wilmington… The incident – reported in…Published: July 13, 1860

Second, the commonly cited newspaper reference is problematic. Available catalogues place the Delaware Tribune after the Civil War rather than in 1860, and no widely accessible scan of the alleged article has surfaced publicly. [The Library of Congress]loc.govThe Library of Congress Image 1 of Wilmington daily commercial (Wilmington, DelArchived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection. - Weekly edition: Del…

Third, the absence of the original clipping prevents stronger conclusions. Without the newspaper page itself, researchers cannot reliably judge the tone, accuracy, independence or exact wording of the report.

For Delaware UFO history, the Wilmington source mystery therefore stands as a useful cautionary example. Some famous early sightings survive less as verified primary documents than as traditions passed through layers of retelling. The missing 1860 newspaper source is not a side issue to the Wilmington case. It is the central issue.

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Endnotes

  1. Source: science.howstuffworks.com
    Link: https://science.howstuffworks.com/space/aliens-ufos/ufo-history4.htm
    Source snippet

    HowStuffWorksUFOs in the 19th CenturyOn July 13, 1860, a pale blue light engulfed the city of Wilmington... The incident -- reported in...

    Published: July 13, 1860

  2. Source: technical.ly
    Title: It’s World UFO Day
    Link: https://technical.ly/professional-development/its-world-ufo-day-here-are-the-top-10-ufo-sightings-in-delaware/
    Source snippet

    Here are the top 10 UFO sightings in...2 Jul 2019 — On July 13, 1860, The Wilmington Tribune reported an incident that has never been de...

    Published: July 13, 1860

  3. Source: Wikipedia
    Title: List of newspapers in Delaware
    Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_newspapers_in_Delaware
    Source snippet

    List of newspapers in DelawareDelaware State Journal · Wilmington, 1833, 1870, 1855, 1883, Semi-weekly, weekly, Henry Eckel. Delaware...

  4. Source: unexplained-mysteries.com
    Title: 378364 the delaware ufo incident in 1860
    Link: https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/topic/378364-the-delaware-ufo-incident-in-1860/
    Source snippet

    Location: Wilmington, Delaware Time: 21:45... The article I ve linked has quoted the Wilmington Tribune in which the...Read more...

  5. Source: facebook.com
    Title: ☞Today in UFO History – On today’s date 160
    Link: https://www.facebook.com/ButtermilkJunction/posts/today-in-ufo-history-on-todays-date-160-years-ago-thursday-october-19-1865-the-f/1367882444698561/
    Source snippet

    FacebookThe Wilmington Tribune, the newspaper serving the Wilmington, Delaware... 1860: a 200-foot-long (61-meter) object flying about 1...

  6. Source: unexplained-mysteries.com
    Link: https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/topic/378364-the-delaware-ufo-incident-in-1860/page/2/
    Source snippet

    23 Jul 2024 — I have linked the article which has quoted the Wilmington Tribune the newspaper who published the story in 1860.... Date...

  7. Source: facebook.com
    Link: https://www.facebook.com/CBSNews/posts/nasas-apollo-17-crew-reported-seeing-three-mysterious-dots-and-sparks-that-resem/1382182637106910/
    Source snippet

    NASA's Apollo 17 crew reported seeing three mysterious...The Wilmington Tribune, the newspaper serving the Wilmington, Delaware... 1860...

  8. Source: facebook.com
    Link: https://www.facebook.com/twistedlimbsandcrookedbranches/posts/remarkable-ethereal-phenomenonfrom-our-correspondentderry-journal-wednesday-13-m/1396585033780212/
    Source snippet

    10y · Public · The Wilmington Tribune, the newspaper serving the Wilmington, Delaware area at the time...

  9. Source: facebook.com
    Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1257874118748097/posts/1608424897026349/
    Source snippet

    Historical UFO sighting reported in 1800The Wilmington Tribune, the newspaper serving the Wilmington, Delaware... 1860: a 200-foot-long...

  10. Source: facebook.com
    Link: https://www.facebook.com/doverpost/posts/if-youve-seen-ufos-in-delaware-youre-not-alone-this-story-has-handfuls-of-exampl/4484943688182411/
    Source snippet

    les, including one from a "scared" Felton woman...

  11. Source: facebook.com
    Title: year-old postal worker and his wife see a rectangular
    Link: https://www.facebook.com/centerforufostudies/posts/on-this-day-in-2013-july-15-2013-1000-pm-a-60-year-old-postal-worker-and-his-wif/745193958230922/

  12. Source: archives.delaware.gov
    Link: https://archives.delaware.gov/digital-archives/
    Source snippet

    Archives - Delaware Public Archives - State of DelawareThe collection includes original newspapers from April 1857 to May 1859, January 1...

    Published: April 1857

  13. Source: archive.org
    Title: Full text of “Purdue University North Central Campus
    Link: https://archive.org/stream/purdueuniversity32unse/purdueuniversity32unse_djvu.txt
    Source snippet

    1860.” Mr. Jeffrey Meece, assistant director of admissions, received the... Delaware, OH 43015-9682 or can call (740) 548-4447 for furth...

  14. Source: loc.gov
    Title: The Library of Congress Image 1 of Wilmington daily commercial (Wilmington, Del
    Link: https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84020594/1875-06-26/ed-1/?sp=1&st=text
    Source snippet

    Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection. - Weekly edition: Del...

  15. Source: loc.gov
    Link: https://www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica/lccn/sn84038112/issues
    Source snippet

    The Library of CongressDelaware State Journal and Statesman (Wilmington, Del.)...Newspaper Delaware State Journal and Statesman (Wilming...

  16. Source: genealogytrails.com
    Title: Genealogy Trails State of Delaware Genealogy and History THE DELAWARE GAZETTE,
    Link: https://genealogytrails.com/del/newspapers.html
    Source snippet

    This journal has for many years been highly popular with all classes of the community throughout the Peninsula. In politics...Read more...

  17. Source: loc.gov
    Link: https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84038112/1863-05-29/ed-1/?st=text

  18. Source: onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu
    Link: https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=delgazettewilm
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    Online Books PageDelaware Gazette archivesDelaware Gazette was a newspaper published in Wilmington, Delaware in the 19th century. Its tit...

  19. Source: guides.lib.udel.edu
    Link: https://guides.lib.udel.edu/newspapers/historical
    Source snippet

    No images. Microfilm (call number: Microfilm S7) is...Read more...

  20. Source: familysearch.org
    Title: Delaware Newspapers
    Link: https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Delaware_Newspapers
    Source snippet

    28 Jan 2026 — The "Delaware Index," an index to the Wilmington, Delaware News Journal and miscellaneous books and pamphlets from 1871 to...

Additional References

  1. Source: loc.gov
    Link: https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn82014805/1879-08-29/ed-1/?st=text
    Source snippet

    10, 1883 issue. - Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection...

  2. Source: loc.gov
    Link: https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84038114/1880-06-22/ed-1/?st=text
    Source snippet

    Headings. - Wilmington (Del.)--Newspapers; - Delaware--Wilmington; - United States--Delaware--New Castle--Wilmington. Genre.Read more...

  3. Source: accessgenealogy.com
    Link: https://accessgenealogy.com/america/chronicling-america-historical-newspapers.htm
    Source snippet

    Chronicling America Historical NewspapersChronicling America is a website that offers access to information about historic newspapers and...

  4. Source: oldnews.com
    Link: https://www.oldnews.com/en/newspapers/united-states/delaware/wilmington/weekly-delaware-state-journal-and-statesman
    Source snippet

    Weekly Delaware State Journal and StatesmanOn OldNews.com, you would find scans of the Weekly Delaware State Journal and Statesman, Wilmi...

  5. Source: invisibleoranges.com
    Title: The incident lasted one minute according to the Wilmington Tribune
    Link: https://www.invisibleoranges.com/bummer-premiere
    Source snippet

    Bummer's Noisy Rock Doesn't Hold Back: "I Want to Punch Bruce...The song is loosely based on the events of July 13, 1860 in Wilmington...

    Published: July 13, 1860

  6. Source: genealogybank.com
    Link: https://www.genealogybank.com/explore/newspapers/tables-charts/usa/delaware/wilmington/delaware-state-journal-and-statesman
    Source snippet

    Delaware State journal and statesman Tables & ChartsSearch tables & charts in Delaware State journal and statesman. Research your genealo...

  7. Source: yourparanormal.com
    Link: https://yourparanormal.com/secrets-skies/america-paranormal-highway-37th-parallel/
    Source snippet

    According to the Wilmington Tribune, in 1860, residents of Wilmington, Delaware... Haunted Highway at Night with Trees and UFO...

  8. Source: everand.com
    Title: The Message on My Arm An Ascended Master Guided My Entire Life
    Link: https://www.everand.com/book/524103294/The-Message-on-My-Arm-An-Ascended-Master-Guided-My-Entire-Life
    Source snippet

    Weird stuff is supposed to happen on... A contemporary news account in the Wilmington Tribune reported that the...Read more...

  9. Source: dokumen.pub
    Link: https://dokumen.pub/what-changed-when-everything-changed-9-11-and-the-making-of-national-identity-9780300195200.html
    Source snippet

    9/11 and the Making of National Identity 9780300195200In July, in videotaped remarks to the NAACP, President Bush repeated...

  10. Source: dokumen.pub
    Link: https://dokumen.pub/ufos-and-popular-culture-an-encyclopedia-of-contemporary-mythology-1576072657-9781576072653.html
    Source snippet

    Ufos and Popular Culture: An Encyclopedia of...Ufos and Popular Culture: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Mythology 1576072657, 978157607...

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