Hinton's Flying Saucer...Debunked??

Hinton, WV (ca 1940)
Source: WV History on View

Back in July 1947, when the world was abuzz with news that a flying saucer...or was it a weather balloon?...had crashed near Roswell, New Mexico, a woman in Hinton, WV was also claiming to have seen visitors from outer space. The local papers reported that Mrs. Lee Ramsey of 419 Summers Street was on her front porch one Saturday afternoon when she noticed a series of flying saucers about the size of a small plate, coming up over Cemetery Hill directly following a flyover from an airplane. She called for her husband, but by the time he came out to look, they were gone. 

About six saucers were observed in total, and they were standing up on edge. 

I shared this story here on Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State in August of 2022...but it seems as if I may have jumped the gun and failed to do my due diligence. After nearly four years, while doing some unrelated research, I came across ANOTHER article with two more witnesses to that incident. Unfortunately, the two additional witnesses, while corroborating that an event did take place, both claimed that it wasn't actually a flying saucer or UFO. 

Mrs. Fannie Johnson of 615 Ballengee St. was on HER porch a short distance away at the same time as Mrs. Ramsey. However, she got a somewhat better look. She noticed that after a plane flew over from Cemetery Hill, it was followed by something black, and then more of them. She does note that she felt the items were paper. 

Mrs. H.C. Porter of Greenbrier Drive agreed. She and her neighbor, Mrs. Lough, also saw items falling from the sky and chalked it up to being a plane throwing out handbills. 

The consensus agreed that a plane was throwing out some type of advertising leaflet or handbills, a conclusion that was printed in the 09 July 1947 edition of the Hinton Daily News. It certainly does sound like Mrs. Ramsey's description of what she saw was nothing more than pieces of paper. The size fits, and the description of them standing on edge, cutting through the air also makes sense. 

What doesn't make sense to me is why would only so few leaflets be dropped? And if they were actually part of an advertising campaign, why didn't any of the ladies who witnessed the drop actually RECEIVE a leaflet? I've spent a little time poking around and couldn't find any additional information about anyone coming forward to say that they had picked up one of the flyers, or any businesses coming forward to say that they were the ones dropping them. 

Mrs. Ramsey may have been influenced by the news of the Roswell incident and misidentified a normal event, or maybe there is more to the story. While this was cited as being Hinton's first UFO/Flying Saucer report, it certainly would NOT be its last. UFOs continued to be seen over the city and surrounding areas, with notable events in 1948, 1950, and 1952. You can read all about those sightings right here on the blog. But, whether or not any were of actual visitors from outer space, it's important to keep your eyes to the skies. You never know what's going to fall from it. 

Sources and Further Reading:

Lee Ramsey Blog Post (Original Story)

Hinton Furniture Store Uses Flying Saucer Story in Ad

1948 Monroe County Report

April 1950 UFO Report

July 1952 UFO Flap Comes to Hinton

1958 Talcott Report

09 July 1947
Hinton Daily News

10 July 1947
The Leader