Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
Southwestern Ohio
© 2002, © 2008 by Paul Freeman. Revised 7/2/08.
Clickenger Airport / South Columbus Airport (revised 7/2/08) - Fairfield Air Depot / Wright Field (revised 8/17/07)
McCook Field (added 6/10/04) - Norton Field (revised 10/22/06) - (Original) Springfield Municipal Airport (revised 7/2/08)
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(Original) Springfield Municipal Airport, Springfield, OH
39.9 North / 83.73 West (Northeast of Dayton, OH)
Springfield Airport, as depicted on the 1928 Air Navigation Map (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The original airport for the town of Springfield was located approximately 4.5 miles southeast of the town.
The date of construction of the original Springfield Airport has not been determined.
The earliest depiction of the field which has been located
was on the 1928 Air Navigation Map (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The 1934 Air Pilots Register (courtesy of Michael Banks)
depicted Springfield as having 2 macadam runways:
a 2,850' northeast/southwest strip & a 2,450' east/west strip.
A number of buildings were depicted on the northeast corner of the field.
An aerial view of Springfield Municipal in The Airport Directory Company's 1937 Airport Directory (courtesy of Bob Rambo).
The directory depicted Springfield Municipal as having 2 macadam runways:
a 2,660' northeast/southwest strip & a 2,375' east/west strip.
Several buildings were located east of the runway intersection.
The April 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer)
described Springfield Airport as having a 2,700' runway.
The field was said to conduct "Extensive training."
According to Durward Lewis, “There was a great deal of flying activity at the old airport,
as the operator ran a CPT [Civilian Pilot Training] program during the war.”
The May 1945 Huntington Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
still depicted the original Springfield Municipal Airport.
The original Springfield Municipal Airport was apparently abandoned at some point between 1945-51,
and the property was reused as a fairgrounds.
Phil Brust recalled, “When I was five (1951), my parents took me to a circus at the fairgrounds.
There was an abandoned B-25 or B-26 still on the property
and my father boosted me up into the cockpit (tragic how surplus equipment was treated back then).
So the airport had been converted to fairgrounds by 1951.”
The 1953 Flight Chart (courtesy of Scott O'Donnell)
depicted a new Springfield Airport on the southwest side of the town,
but no longer depicted the original field to the southeast.
The new airport had much longer runways.
Presumably the original Springfield Airport was constrained from being expanded with longer runways.
The 1983 USGS topo map labeled the site of the former airport as the Clark County Fairgrounds.
As seen in the 1994 USGS aerial photo,
the 2 paved former runways were still completely intact,
and at least 2 original hangars (the arch-roofed buildings in the northeast corner of the photo) still remained standing.
A large number of more recent buildings had been constructed for the fairgrounds around the runways
(including one built over the runway).
The former runways of the Springfield Airport were still quite recognizable on the 1995 USGS topo map.
Dave Noordeloos reported in 2004, "I was on a trip in Springfield a few weeks ago
and stumbled on the Clark County Fairgrounds while on the way back to the highway.
I noticed some old hangars & a very wide concourse for the fairgrounds & pulled in."
Durward Lewis reported in 2005, “The runways are still there.”
A circa 2006 aerial view looking north at the 2 hangars which remain at the site of the original Springfield Municipal Airport.
The pavement of the 2 former runways is also visible at the top & bottom.
The site of the original Springfield Municipal Airport is located
west of the intersection of Interstate 70 & Route 41.
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McCook Field, Kettering Park, OH
39.78 North / 84.19 West (North of Downtown Dayton, OH)
A 1921 aerial view of the hangars at McCook Field.
A 1922 photo of hangars at McCook Field.
An undated photo of the entrance gate of the "Engineering Division, Air Service, McCook Field" (courtesy of Jos Heyman).
An undated aerial view of McCook Field" (courtesy of Jos Heyman).
In 1915, Orville Wright & fellow aeronautical pioneers Charles Kettering
(inventor of the "Kettering Bug", one of the first guided missiles) and Edward Deeds
had scouted out a site just north of downtown Dayton for a possible airport.
The next year, the Army decided to establish its very first aeronautical research & development base,
and chose the "North Field" site which had been scouted out by Orville Wright.
The resultant McCook Field was established in December 1917;
named in honor of the "Fighting McCooks" of Civil War fame.
An undated photo of the museum buildings at McCook Field" (courtesy of Jos Heyman).
McCook Field had a museum (established in 1923) which was not accessible top the public.
It has been reported that the collection went in storage upon America's entry into WW2
(implying it had been transferred presumably to Wright Field),
and it does not appear that any of these aircraft found their way into the current USAF Museum's collection.
McCook Field, from the very beginning,
was never intended to be anything but a temporary set-up for the Army’s aeronautical engineering activities.
McCook’s main hangar bore the sign in big bold letters "THIS FIELD IS SMALL, USE IT ALL."
Sometimes it was too small & an airplane overshot the airfield & had to be fished out of the Great Miami River.
Sometimes a plane crash-landed in a north-end backyard.
Wilbur Wright Field had a longer runway than McCook
and began to serve as a flight test field for McCook’s Engineering Division.
Furthermore, McCook Field was built on land leased from the Dayton Metal Products Company,
and every year the firm raised the rent.
McCook’s buildings, moreover, were built largely of wood,
and presented a constant fire hazard.
After a much larger parcel of land had been acquired,
a replacement installation - Wright Field - was dedicated by the Army in 1927.
During the balance of 1927 & into 1928,
caravans of trucks & rail cars carted all that was portable from McCook Field
across & out of town to Wright Field:
wind tunnels, propeller test rigs, dynamometers -
even manhole covers bearing the designation U.S. Army Signal Corps.
Nothing went to waste.
When this had all been accomplished by the end of 1928,
McCook, like ancient Carthage, was demolished & laid level with the dust.
Indeed, the ground was regraded so that nearly nothing remained of America’s first "Cradle of Aviation."
No airfield at all at this location was depicted on the 1928 Air Navigation Map (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
On the 1992 USGS topo map, the location of the former McCook Field was still commemorated,
as 2 parks occupying portions of the former airfield (Kettering Field & Deeds Park)
were named after 2 of the people who figured in the founding of the airfield.
A street just to the north of Kettering Field is also named McCook Avenue.
As seen in the 2000 USGS aerial photo, the site of the former McCook Field is occupied by several athletic fields.
The site of McCook Field is located northwest of the present-day intersection of Interstate 75 & Route,
along the eastern bank of the Miami River.
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Fairfield Air Depot / Wright Field, Dayton, OH
39.78 North / 84.11 West
A circa 1924-27 aerial view of a large number of biplanes at the Fairfield Air Depot.
A circa 1924-27 aerial view of biplanes & hangars at the Fairfield Air Depot.
In 1904-05 the Wright brothers set up their experimental flying field on Huffman Prairie in southwest Ohio.
In 1917, Wilbur Wright Field and, adjacent to it in order to provide support,
the Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot, were established in the general area.
After World War One, the 2 were merged & redesignated Wilbur Wright Air Service Depot,
but was commonly referred to as Fairfield Air Depot.
In 1927 the 2 fields & surrounding area (amounting to over 4,500 acres)
was dedicated as Wright Field in honor of the Wright brothers,
and became headquarters for the Army Air Corps' Material Division.
Wright Field, as depicted on the 1928 Air Navigation Map (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
A 1928 aerial view of Wright Field (USAF photo).
In 1931 a portion of Wright Field was redesignated Patterson Field in recognition of the efforts of the Patterson family
to relocate the mission of the Airplane Engineering Division of the Army Air Corps
from too-small facilities in Dayton, known as McCook Field, to the base.
A 1930s photo of the entrance to Wright Field.
Building 12 (which originally served as the Army Air Corps Museum) is on the left.
An undated (circa 1930s?) aerial view of a large assemblage of biplanes at Wright Field.
An undated (circa 1930s?) aerial view of the unusual arrangement of hangars at Wright Field.
Wright Field, as depicted on the 1935 Regional Aeronautical Chart.
Beginning in the World War II era, and continuing afterwards, the adjacent complexes saw tremendous expansion efforts,
eventually becoming one of the AAF's largest research & development facilities.
The 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer)
described Wright Field as having a 6,000' hard-surface runway,
and the remarks included, "Daily glider flying."
In 1945, Wright Field was merged with Patterson Field (adjacent to the northeast).
The 1946 USAAF Pilot's Handbook (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Wright Field as having 3 paved runways (with the longest being the 7,200' Runway 10/28),
with a taxiway & a ramp on the east side of the field, along with a control tower & several other buildings.
In 1949 the entire complex was renamed Wright Patterson AFB.
The 1960 Jeppesen Airway Manual (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
depicted Wright Field as having 3 paved runways (with the longest being the 7,147' Runway 9/27),
each of which had a parallel taxiway, along with a large ramp on the east side of the field.
Wright AFB was still depicted as an active airfield on the 1964 Cincinnati Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy),
with Patterson AFB shown with a separate label to the northeast.
The runways of Wright Field were closed to flying operations at some point after 1964,
with all flying operations at Wright-Patterson conducted since then from Patterson Field exclusively.
The Air Force Museum was built over the western runway of Wright Field,
and other portions of the runway were reused for automobile parking & for display of museum aircraft.
A circa 1997-98 aerial view of Wright Field by Dick Merrill, looking southwest,
with the buildings & display aircraft of the USAF Museum along the former runway on the right.
USAF Museum buildings along west runway.
As it still exists, the Wright Field airfield consists of 3 concrete runways (the longest is approximately 7,700'),
taxiways, ramps & hangars.
A circa 2006 aerial view looking east at a group of planes from the Air Force Museum's collection
on static display along Wright Field's former Runway 5/23.
A circa 2006 aerial view looking north at a group of planes on a ramp on the southeast side of Wright Field,
presumably a storage area for the Air Force Museum's collection.
A circa 2006 aerial view looking east at a group of hangars along the southeast side of Wright Field.
A circa 2006 aerial view looking east at 2 hangars & the former Wright Field control tower along the east side of the field.
A circa 2006 aerial view looking west at a hangar on the east side of Wright Field.
An Air Force historical report gives further details of the history of Wright Field.
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39.97 North / 82.88 West (South of Port Columbus Airport, OH)
An aerial view of Norton Field from The Airport Directory Company's 1937 Airport Directory (courtesy of Bob Rambo).
According to the Fall 2000 "OH Aviation News" (via Billy Spiropoulos),
the genesis of Norton Field began with the formation of the Aero Club of Columbus,
shortly after the end of the First World War.
After the first convention of Associated Aero Clubs of Ohio in 1920,
various members set about the serious business of getting an airfield established in the Columbus area.
A 100-acre property was located & a 10 year lease was secured from Jim Lamp & paid for by the Pure Oil Company.
This property was then provided to the War Department.
For $1 a year as the community’s part of the deal,
Norton Field was equipped by the War Department with 2 steel hangars, a fueling dock & a beacon light on a tower.
Regulations stated an Army field must be named after a deceased flyer.
An outstanding local person eminently fit the need for the name.
Fred Norton was an outstanding Ohio State University student athlete
who had gone on to become a member of the 27th "Eagle" Pursuit Squadron in France,
and was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross & the French Croix de Guerre with Palm.
Thus, Norton Field was named for this heroic pilot who was also the first Ohio State graduate to be killed in the war.
Norton Field was dedicated on 6/30/23.
The Army furnished aircraft to establish the 108th Observation Squadron, to be used by Army pilots.
Although the squadron was administered under Ft. Hayes
it also accommodated any civilian flying activities that adhered to the Army’s regulations.
The Aero Club secured a WW1 surplus barrack from Ft. Hayes purchased for $1
to later be refurbished for use as a clubhouse.
The Army was experimenting in establishing model airways (a scheduled military air service over established air routes)
and the ability to conduct operations at night.
Thus the 1st Lighted Airway (which later became the model for the airways system of the US)
was established with beacon lights between McCook & Norton Fields.
The experiments were flown regularly to perfect aviation lighting systems & night flying.
Experiments in aerial photography at night were also conducted.
Over the succeeding 6 years, many prominent pilots utilized this airfield
including Jimmy Doolittle, Charles Lindbergh, and the Wright Brothers.
In 1928, a Columbus native & Ohio State University student Curtis LeMay obtained a commission in the Army
and while awaiting his application to Army flight school took unofficial instructional flights at Norton Field.
He went on to flight training in the fall of 1928 as a National Guard Officer
and after graduation was recommissioned as an Army Pursuit Pilot at Selfridge Field.
While there he arranged to return to serve at Norton Field as Assistant Engineering & Operations Officer
in order to complete his final quarter at Ohio State.
He later went on to fame as the Cold War commander of the Strategic Air Command (SAC).
Charles Lindbergh returned to Norton Field on May 29 1928
as a Technical Advisor for Transcontinental Air Transport in surveying a cross country train-plane route.
He found the field to be too small for TAT’s needs
and recommended the city find a larger facility adjacent to the railroad tracks.
This brought about the construction of Port Columbus in 1929.
In 1929 the Army set up & conducted a large scale mock war maneuver
of Red & Blue Army & Air Forces between the cities of Dayton & Columbus.
Between May 15th & 25th air fleets composing more than 200 aircraft (the largest up to this date)
were based at Wilbur Wright Field & Norton Field,
and were employed in mock air warfare in this maneuver.
The Army remained at Norton Field for 2 more years until relocating to larger facilities at Port Columbus in June 1931,
effectively abandoning Norton Field.
Harold Distelhorst came to the rescue of Norton Field in October 1931 & took over the operation.
In so doing he promoted & hosted such aviation activities as Air Carnivals, Air Shows, Air Races
and several times did emergency medical flights in the romantic years of civil aviation.
Distelhorst kept vigorous activity at the airport until the Denton family of Northway Cab Company took control in 1936.
The Denton family & Herb Stump set up the Mid West Aviation Corporation,
which operated Norton Field through the WW2 days.
An advertisement for Norton Field from The Airport Directory Company's 1937 Airport Directory (courtesy of Bob Rambo).
The Airport Directory Company's 1937 Airport Directory (courtesy of Bob Rambo)
described Norton Field as consisting of a 2,250' x 2,000' rectangular sod field.
A single hangar was said to be in the northwest corner,
with "Norton Field" painted on the roof.
Norton Field was depicted as a commercial airport on the June 1939 Huntington Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Norton Field was depicted as a commercial airport on the 1941 Regional Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
An aerial view looking north at Norton Field from The Airport Directory Company's 1941 Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The field was described as a 100 acres square sod field.
A hangar was said to have "Norton Field Midwest Aviation Corp." painted on the roof.
During the Second World War, Norton Field conducted a very active training program,
under the government sponsored War Training Service & Civilian Pilot Training programs,
utilizing a large fleet of training aircraft.
These government programs provided an introduction to the regular Army & Navy pilot training programs.
along with the taxicabs of the Northway Cab Company also owned by the Denton family.
Norton Field, as depicted on the 1943 USGS topo map.
Norton Field was described by the April 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer)
as having a 2,800' unpaved runway,
and it was listed as conducting Army flight operations.
Parks Aircraft Company purchased the Norton Field property from the Lamp family in 1944.
A 1945 view of several Pipers in front of the Norton Field control tower & hangar (courtesy of the Whitehall Historical Society).
An aerial view of Norton Field from the Haire Publishing Company's 1945 Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The directory described Norton Field as having a 2,200' x 2,000' sod field, with a single hangar.
The manager was listed as Herman Swingle,
and the operator was listed as the Northway Flying Service.
The Denton family moved their operation from Norton to their new field in 1947.
After the move Norton Field continued to be used for the operations
of H. R. "Dutch" Swingle (who operated a flight training school)
and Vern Acheson of the Columbus Aircraft & Sales Company.
A 1949 aerial view of several aircraft parked next to the Norton Field hangar (courtesy of the OH Historical Society).
The date of closure of Norton Field has not been determined,
but the airfield property was sold to become a housing subdivision on 11/16/1949.
The control tower reportedly survived longer than the rest of the airfield buildings,
but the last remaining original Norton Field building was demolished in December, 1979.
The original role of the site of Norton Field has been somewhat remembered,
as the 1994 USGS topo map depicted a "Norton Field Playground" at the location of the former airfield,
and some of the residential streets on the site have names including "Norton Lane",
"Rickenbacker Avenue", "Langley Avenue", and Wright Avenue".
The 1994 USGS aerial photo showed that the site of Norton Field had been covered by a housing development,
and not a trace of the airport remained visible.
The Ohio Bicentennial Commission dedicated a Norton Field Historical Marker at the site on June 24, 2000.
A 2004 photo by Christopher Trott of the Norton Field historical plaque.
A 2004 photo by Christopher Trott of the site of Norton Field.
Christopher reported, "They are trying to sell the field that's still there for retail development.
I don't know how long or if it'll be sold & developed, but that's the last signs of Norton Field as it is."
As seen in a 2006 aerial photo,
the site of Norton Field has been covered by a housing development,
and not a trace of the airport remains visible.
The site of Norton Field is located southwest of the intersection of East Broad Street & Hamilton Road.
Thanks to Billy Spiropoulos for pointing out this field.
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Clickenger Airport / South Columbus Airport (4I2), Columbus, OH
39.88 North / 82.97 West (North of Rickenbacker Airport, OH)
"Clickenger" was depicted as an auxiliary airfield on the June 1939 Huntington Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
This former small general aviation field was originally named Clickenger Airport.
The date of construction of Clickenger Airport has not been determined.
The earliest reference to the field which has been located
was in The Airport Directory Company's 1933 Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy),
which described Clickenger as a commercial airport having 3 graded earth runways
within a 3,200' x 1,900' rectangular field.
A hangar was said to have "Clickenger Airport" painted on the roof.
The Airport Directory Company's 1938 Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
described Clickenger as an "Auxiliary" airfield having 2 sod runways,
with the longest being a 2,640' north/south strip.
A hangar was said to be located along the north side of the field.
Clickenger was depicted as a commercial airport
on the 1941 Regional Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Clickenger Airport, as depicted on the 1943 USGS topo map.
Clickenger Airport was described by the 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer)
as having a 2,600' runway.
The layout of Clickenger Airport, as depicted in the 1955 OH Airport Directory (courtesy of Stephen Mahaley).
The directory described Clickenger as having 3 runways, with the longest being a 2,750' northwest/southeast strip.
A single hangar was depicted on the north side of the field.
The operator was listed as Jones Flying Service.
The 1953 Flight Chart (courtesy of Scott O'Donnell)
described Clickenger as having a 2,700' unpaved runway.
By 1962, it had been renamed South Columbus Airport,
which is how it was listed in the 1962 AOPA Airport Directory.
It was described as having a single gravel runway, and the operator was listed as Jones Flying Service.
The layout of South Columbus Airport, as depicted on the 1966 OH Airport Directory (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted the field as having a single 2,700' unpaved north/south runway.
The runway at South Columbus was evidently lengthened & paved at some point between 1966-82,
as the 1982 AOPA Airport Directory (courtesy of Ed Drury)
described the field as having a 5,150' asphalt Runway 18/36.
The operator was listed as E.C. Aviation.
John Berryman recalled, “I begin my flight training at the old South Columbus Airport as a 15 year old in 1987.
At that time it was already in decline but there were active pilots who kept their aircraft hangared there
as well as the FBO 'American Aviation Services' where I trained.
It was ran by a man named Bob Maroldy who had recently retired from the Army & just opened it when I flew there.
As a matter of fact I worked as a ground crewman on the banner towing planes
during the Ohio State Football games in exchange for flying time.
When I returned briefly in 1993 to get a picture of the plane I trained with,
the FBO was closed & a friend of his still had one of the planes & was trying to get investors to revitalize the airport.
But this was highly unlikely as that area had become mostly industrial
and Bolton Field & Don Scott are 2 class D airports very close by, much more convenient to get to.
However, I do believe that there were people who wanted to see the airport fail & had their eyes on the land.”
As of the 1994 aerial photo, the airfield consisted of a single paved 5,400' runway,
and a ramp on the west side with at least 3 hangars.
A total of nine single-engine aircraft were visible parked on the ramp.
Unfortunately, by this time, development around the field had become extensive,
with several large industrial buildings having been built immediately along the east side of the runway.
As seen in a circa 2000 aerial photo,
South Columbus Airport was evidently closed (for reasons unknown) at some point between 1994-2000.
In the circa 2000 aerial photo, 2 large buildings had been built over the central portion of the runway,
and a housing development had been built over the southern portion of the runway.
However, about half of the runway remained intact on the northern end,
complete with the circular turn-around characteristic of a runway at the north end.
The remaining runway portion was evidently being used to store trailers or containers.
The former terminal building also remained intact.
At some point after the airport closed, the former main hangar was apparently reused as the “Airport Tennis Club”.
A 2003 photo by Billy Spiropoulos of the former main Hangar of South Columbus Airport.
Billy observed, “The place is indeed an industrial park now.
It had an eerie, desolate, decrepit atmosphere,
even though there are several businesses operating on the site."
A 2003 photo by Billy Spiropoulos of the runway.
Billy observed, "The runway is all cracked up & potholed, with endless rows of cargo trailers parked on it,
but still plainly evident as you look down its length."
A 2003 photo by Billy Spiropoulos of the former main Hangar of South Columbus Airport.
A 2003 photo by Billy Spiropoulos of the what used to be an office attached to the main Hangar of South Columbus Airport.
Note the faded lettering on the windows, which apparently used to read, "Airport Tennis Club".
A 2003 photo by Billy Spiropoulos of the former Hangar 6 at South Columbus Airport.
Billy Spiropoulos noted, "I spotted the ramp & the remaining hangars as well.
The 2 narrow buildings are rusty sheetmetal with numbers still on the walls;
each of the 2 smaller hangars still has an older style Shell Oil logo hanging on it."
An "artsy" 2003 photo by Billy Spiropoulos
of one of the many junked autos resting at the former South Columbus Airport,
one of Detroit's finest, an early 1970s Ford Torino.
Billy noted, "The ramp area is littered with abandoned older cars
(for example: two 1970 or '71 Ford Torinos,
rusty but still complete & still sitting on old-fashioned bias-ply tires)."
A circa 2006 aerial view looking south at the 3 former hangars which remain at the former South Columbus Airport.
The site of South Columbus Airport is located
southeast of the intersection of Lockbourne Road & East Williams Road.
The road leading into the former airport is still labeled "South Columbus Airport Road".
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