Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
Western Minnesota
© 2002, © 2006 by Paul Freeman. Revised 12/31/06.
Dawson Municipal (revised 12/31/06) - Original Litchfield Municipal (revised 11/29/03)
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(Original) Litchfield Municipal Airport (Y69), Litchfield, MN
45.14 North / 94.52 West (West of Minneapolis, MN)
The original Litchfield Airport, as depicted on the April 1956 Twin Cities Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Photo of the airfield while open has not been located.
This small general aviation airport was located adjacent to the County Fairgrounds.
Litchfield Municipal Airport was evidently established at some point between 1945-56,
as it was not yet depicted at all on the June 1944 Twin Cities Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy)
or listed among active airfields in the Haire Publishing Company's 1945 Airport Directory(according to Chris Kennedy).
The earliest reference to the field which has been located
was on the April 1956 Twin Cities Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy),
which depicted Litchfield as having a 2,800' unpaved runway.
The 1962 AOPA Airport Directory described Litchfield as having a 2,800' turf runway.
The original Litchfield Municipal Airport,
as depicted on the May 1989 Approach Procedures (courtesy of Timothy Aanerud).
The original Litchfield Municipal Airport was closed
when it was replaced by the larger & more modern new Litchfield Municipal Airport
(a few miles to the southeast) in 1989.
As of the 1991 USGS aerial photo, the airfield consists of a single 3,900' paved runway,
a taxiway & a small group of hangars.
Thanks to Timothy Aanerud for pointing out this airfield.
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Dawson Mills Airport / Dawson Municipal Airport (72D), Dawson, MN
44.93 North / 96.02 West (West of Minneapolis, MN)
Dawson Mills Airport, as depicted on the 1981 USGS topo map.
Photo of the airport while open has not been located.
This former general aviation airport opened in September 1977,
according to the files at the MNDOT Office of Aeronautics (according to Wayne Petersen).
However, no airport at Dawson was yet depicted
on the February 1978 Twin Cities Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
The earliest directory listing of the Dawson Airport which has been located
was in the "Undiagrammed - Low Use" section of the 1980 Flight Guide (according to Chris Kennedy).
It described the Dawson "Mills" Airport as having a 3,700' hard surface Runway 16/34.
The earliest depiction of the Dawson Airport which has been located
was on the 1981 USGS topo map.
It labeled the airport as “Dawson Mills”.
The "Undiagrammed - Low Use" section of the 1987 Flight Guide (according to Chris Kennedy)
described the Dawson Municipal Airport as having the same runway configuration.
Dawson Memorial Airport was still listed as an active airfield
in the 1989 North Central Airport/Facility Directory.
According to Jon Melby (via Timothy Aanerud), the Dawson Airport
"belonged to 'Land O Lakes' food company for a while, then the feed mill.
They didn't want to maintain it, so it was abandoned."
Dawson Airport was closed on October 30, 1990,
according to the files at the MNDOT Office of Aeronautics (according to Wayne Petersen).
As of the 1991 USGS aerial photo, the airfield still remained intact.
It consisted of a single 3,700' asphalt Runway 16/34,
a taxiway & a single small hangar.
Dawson was depicted as a closed airfield on the February 1995 Twin Cities Sectional Chart (courtesy of Timothy Aanerud).
Dawson was still depicted as an abandoned airfield on 2003 aeronautical charts.
Thanks to Timothy Aanerud for pointing out this airfield.
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