Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
West Virginia, Northeastern
© 2002, © 2006 by Paul Freeman. Revised 7/3/06.
Burlington Airport / Baker Air Park (added 7/3/06) - Dawson AAF (1st location) (added 5/30/05)
Harman-Swecker Airfield / Windwood Fly-In Resort
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Burlington Airport / Baker Air Park, Burlington, WV
39.34 North / 78.91 West (Northwest of Washington, DC)
The Burlington Airport, as depicted on the 1944 Huntington Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
This small general aviation airport was located in the small community of Burlington.
It was originally called Burlington Airport as can be seen on the following 1944 Sectional.
The date of establishment of the Burlington Airport has not been determined.
The earliest depiction of the Burlington Airport which has been located
was on the 1944 Huntington Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The April 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer)
described Burlington Airport as having a 2,000' unpaved runway.
According to Bo Bowman, “This airport was a typical small-town country airport,
offering passenger rides primarily on weekends.
The aircraft used for this purpose in the late 1940’s were 2 Aeronca Champs.
The airport was owned & operated by David S. Baker.
This is where flying began for me at the age of about 8.
I have lots of memories from there.
Dave Baker took me for my first airplane ride in an Aeronca Champ - both my Mother & I in one seat.”
Bo Bowman continued, “A 1945 Airport Directory described it as having a sod east/west 2,200’ x 500’ runway.
One interesting fact recalled is that a German Messerschmidt that had been brought down in WWII
was obtained & shipped to this airport by a local Army Air Corps man.
The plane was restored, painted a bright red,
and was sometimes flown on weekends for the local airport spectators’ enjoyment.”
A still image of the “Baker Air Park” hangar from a 16mm film taken on September 11, 1949 (courtesy of Bo Boman).
The boy with the sailor hat in the foreground is Bo Bowman, with his younger cousin Paul leading him to the hangar.
At some point between 1944-54 the official name of the airport had changed to “Baker”,
that is how it was labeled on the 1954 Huntington Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It was depicted as having a 2,400' unpaved runway.
By the time of the 1969 USGS topo map,
the Baker Air Park was no longer depicted at all.
“The airport was closed by the early 1970’s”, according to Bo Bowman.
By the time of the 1972 USGS topo map, the Baker Air Park was no longer depicted at all,
but another (unrelated?) airfield was depicted just to the southeast on the opposite side of Route 50.
A June 2006 aerial photo by Bo Bowman looking north at the site of the former Baker Air Park.
According to Bo Bowman, “It was located parallel to & on the north side of Route 50,
bounded on the other side by the tree-lined road.”
The former airport property appears to have been reused as a highway department facility.
No trace appears to remain of the former airport.
The site of the former Baker Air Park is located on the north side of Route 50, east of its intersection with Route 11.
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Harman-Swecker Airfield / Windwood Fly-In Resort (WV62), Canaan Valley, WV
39.05 North / 79.43 West (West of Washington, DC)
Harman-Swecker Airfield, as depicted on the 1969 USGS topo map.
This nice little fly-in resort complex is located in the highest valley east of the Mississippi,
facing the slopes of the Timberline & Canaan Valley ski resorts.
The date of construction of the airfield has not been determined.
The earliest depiction of the airfield which has been located was on the 1969 USGS topo map,
which labeled it as "Harman-Swecker" airfield.
The 1981 USGS topo map depicted the “Landing Strip” as consisting of a single unpaved northeast/southwest runway.
The 1982 AOPA Airport Directory (courtesy of Ed Drury)
described the Harman Swecker Airfield as consisting of a 2,450' turf Runway 5/23.
It was labeled as Tallheim Airport on a later World Aeronautical Chart
(Tallheim is also the name of a condo development which still exists adjacent to the airfield).
An undated (circa 1990s?) summer view looking east at the Windwood Fly-In Resort.
At some point between 1982-97,
the Windwood Fly-In Resort was developed on the property,
as West Virginia's only resort community located on an airstrip.
A paved runway was added (3,000' Runway 6/24, lighted),
along with a a paved ramp area, and a small hotel/restaurant.
The land along one side of the runway was subdivided into 40 lots for private homes,
and 2 hangar-homes were constructed.
USGS aerial photo 1997.
Paul Freeman flew into Windwood several times in 1997-1998,
to find it a very nice destination in either Summer or Winter.
A 1998 aerial photo looking southwest by Paul Freeman, taken while flying a Diamond Katana toward a landing on Runway 24.
However, on Paul Freeman's last flight into the resort (1998),
I was surprised to find that the hotel/restaurant was closed,
with the building being leased out as a school for problem teenagers.
Furthermore, the two hangar-homes that were constructed were no longer occupied by aircraft owners.
That left the runway basically abandoned.
During a drive through the property in 2001,
it could be seen that the runway was no longer being plowed of snow, and was effectively closed.
However, as of 2002, the facility is once again active.
It is listed in the Airport Facility Directory as an active airfield,
and the resort has a web site describing the field.
As of 2006, the airfield is still in operation.
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Dawson Army Airfield (1st location), Kingwood, WV
39.45 North / 79.67 West (South of Pittsburgh, PA)
The original Dawson Army Airfield was depicted as a “Landing Strip”
on the northwest bank of the Cheat River on the 1976 USGS topo map.
Camp Dawson was established in 1909, when the WV State Legislature
authorized the purchase of 196 acres of land on Dunkard Bottom along the Cheat River in Preston County.
The camp was named in honor of William M. O. Dawson, a native of Preston County, who served as Governor from 1905-08.
Troops began training at Camp Dawson during the summer of 1909 and continued until the start of Word War I.
The camp was not used again until 1928 when it was reestablished as a training site for the West Virginia State Militia.
Units trained regularly at the camp until the outbreak of World War II
at which time the United States Government leased the camp for use as a Prisoner of War camp.
The original airfield for Camp Dawson was located on the northwest bank of the Cheat River.
This original Dawson Army Airfield was evidently constructed at some point between 1970-76,
as no airfield at Dawson was depicted on the 1967 (or earlier) Huntington Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy),
or the February 1970 Cincinnati Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
The earliest depiction of the field which has been located was on the 1976 USGS topo map,
which depicted a single 2,500' unpaved runway, labeled simply as “Landing Strip”.
However, that airfield on the northwest side of the river may have already been replaced,
as the map also depicted two buildings superimposed over the southwest end of the runway.
At some point between 1970-76, the original Dawson AAF
was evidently replaced by a new airfield on the opposite side of the river,
as only the field on the southeast side of the river was depicted
on the August 1976 Cincinnati Cincinnati Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
As seen in the 1997 USGS aerial photo, only the slightest trace is still recognizable of the outline of the runway of the original Dawson AAF.
The original Dawson AAF is located in between Route 72 & the Cheat River.
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