In 1972, on County Road S southwest of Elmwood, Hobbs Wilson allegedly saw a UFO, marking the start of a decade of sightings that would place the small town on the map. This period transformed Elmwood, turning it into a hub for UFO enthusiasts and ultimately inspiring the town's annual UFO Days festival.

Elmwood, established in 1885 and named for its grove of elm trees, only gained national fame in the 1970s when residents began witnessing inexplicable phenomena. Throughout the '70s and '80s, the town’s UFO encounters attracted media attention nationwide. Townspeople, including police officer George Wheeler, reported strange objects in the sky, mysterious lights, and even interactions with UFOs, with Wheeler once witnessing an orange, saucer-shaped object near the quarry in 1976. Wheeler’s sighting—where he claimed to see figures inside the craft before being struck by a blue light—had lasting effects, impacting his health until his death two years later.

While some attributed the sightings to government experiments or divine signs, others were more skeptical, brushing off witnesses as overly imaginative or intoxicated. However, the stories persisted, and in 1978, Elmwood launched its UFO Days festival, welcoming curiosity-seekers and cementing its reputation as a UFO hotspot