By Jarred Marlowe
For more than a quarter century, residents of Martinsville and the surrounding Henry County countryside repeatedly found themselves glancing skyward with curiosity, skepticism, and sometimes unease. From the late 1940s through the early 1970s, local newspapers such as the Daily Bulletin and the Journal recorded a steady stream of unexplained sightings. Together, these accounts offer a revealing glimpse into how a small community experienced the national fascination with flying saucers and unidentified objects in the sky.
The first major wave of reports arrived during the summer of 1947, when interest in mysterious aerial phenomena was sweeping the country. One of the most striking local stories came from Figsboro, where Mrs. Ben Pinkard claimed she had counted 352 shapeless objects passing over her home during a single night. Her son Jimmie reportedly timed their movement and concluded that ten objects crossed the sky each minute. While a reporter jokingly suggested they might be cups to match the saucers, the Pinkard family stood firmly by what they had seen. That same evening, hosiery mill workers in Fieldale described glowing disks with prismatic colors moving overhead.
As the years passed, sightings continued and shifted locations. In March of 1950, L. S. Gibbs, an insurance adjuster traveling between Danville and Lynchburg, reported seeing a flying disc streak rapidly across the horizon. Gibbs was confident the object was neither an airplane nor a jet, adding to the growing sense that something unusual was occurring above Southside Virginia.
By October 1952, the phenomenon had become communal. Groups of residents gathered outdoors on Dye Plant Road and Moss Street to watch a silver-colored object move slowly across the sky. Witnesses said it appeared to be a long streak with a tail and remained visible for as long as thirty minutes. Some observers were convinced they were seeing a flying saucer, while others struggled to describe what they could plainly see but not explain.
As reports increased, so did attempts to explain them. In July 1957, W. P. Taylor of Henry Street offered a practical theory. He suggested that many sightings were caused by automobile headlights reflecting off the slanted windshields of oncoming cars, producing beams of light that could be seen for miles. Despite this explanation, new reports continued to surface.
Even official skepticism failed to quiet local interest. In November nineteen 1957, the United States Air Force announced that after investigating thousands of sightings over a ten-year period, it had found no evidence of extraterrestrial craft. Ironically, on the same night that statement appeared in print, young people in Bassett reported a rosy, pink light hovering near their car on Ridgewood Road. They insisted it was not a prank or trick of the imagination.
As the nation entered the space age, explanations increasingly turned toward science. In January 1965, a local reporter admitted that a bright object he initially labeled a flying saucer may have been a meteor. Still, he noted a strange coincidence when electrical power flickered off in his neighborhood at the exact moment of the sighting.
By October 1973, the language had changed. Flying saucers were now more commonly called UFOs. A Collinsville family reported seeing a bluish light near Route 220 that appeared motionless and lacked any clear shape. They considered weather balloons and unusual atmospheric conditions but ultimately could not reach a conclusion.
Taken together, these stories form more than a collection of odd reports. They document a community wrestling with the unknown and reflect a time when the mysteries of the sky captured the imagination of everyday people. Whether reflections, meteors, secret tests, or something never fully understood, the Martinsville sightings remain an enduring chapter of local history.
Jarred Marlowe is a local resident and historian. He is a member of the Col. George Waller Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Blue & Gray Education Society, and the committee chair for the Martinsville-Henry County 250 Committee. He may be reached at marloweja15@gmail.com.
