# No; nothing is written down before 1945

> Still possible: No; the earliest written report found is from 1945, and the 1880s stories were first written down decades after the events they describe.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/answers/ANS0DCKMQPNX9HT/no-nothing-is-written-down-before-1945  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Questions](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions)[Marfa lights](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights)[Is there any record of the lights from before motor traffic reached the Marfa plain?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/questions/QST0DCKKQ0VS3WG/is-there-any-record-of-the-lights-from-before-motor-traffic)Answer

Answer · Marfa lights

# No; nothing is written down before 1945

No; the earliest written report found is from 1945, and the 1880s stories were first written down decades after the events they describe.

**Still possible** Answers **1** questionPublished0

## Where it stands

**Still possible** Three pieces of evidence for, one against. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

## What it predicts

- No dated written account from before 1945 turns up in archives or newspapers.

## What would rule it out

- A dated written account of the lights from before motor traffic on the Marfa plain.

## Evidence 3 for · 1 against

[Ellison's 1937 memoir of the 1883 drive has no clear reference to the lights; the story reaches print only through his…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/evidence/EVD0DCKPNN6KCPS/ellisons-1937-memoir-of-the-1883-drive-has-no-clear)

Supported

FOR

[The earliest known written report of the lights is a San Angelo Times story of February 1945, "Ghost Light Appears in…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/evidence/EVD0DCKPNA220JE/the-earliest-known-written-report-of-the-lights-is-a-san)

Supported

FOR

[The viewing-centre plaque says O. W. Williams wrote of the lights in the 1880s, but his grandson thinks he probably…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/evidence/EVD0DCKPP0NCTXX/the-viewing-centre-plaque-says-o-w-williams-wrote-of-the)

Suggestive

FOR

[Coronet in 1957 said settlers had reported the light more than 70 years earlier.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/evidence/EVD0DCKPPC9RQQK/coronet-in-1957-said-settlers-had-reported-the-light-more)

Speculative

AGAINST

## The questions it answers

[Is there any record of the lights from before motor traffic reached the Marfa plain?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/questions/QST0DCKKQ0VS3WG/is-there-any-record-of-the-lights-from-before-motor-traffic)

Part of [Once vehicles, ranch and other artificial lights, fires, stars and mirages are excluded, do any Marfa lights remain unexplained?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/questions/QST0DCKKKFZBKJA/once-vehicles-ranch-and-other-artificial-lights-fires-stars)

Open3 answers, none ahead

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). No; nothing is written down before 1945 [Answer ANS0DCKMQPNX9HT]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ANS0DCKMQPNX9HT
```

Key

**ANS** 0DCKMQPNX9HT

Kind

Answer · hypothesis

Origin

Published

Proposed

[Session 1](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/marfa-lights/sessions/SES0DCKT02BYWPQ/session-1-the-marfa-lights-added-history-instrumented) · 28 Oct 2026

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