Ashburn Flying Field

Ashburn Flying Field was the first airport built to serve Chicago, Illinois.[1] It opened in November 1916 in Ashburn, a community at the southwest corner of Chicago.[2] The airfield site was a marshy area approximately a square mile in size, and devoid of trees or buildings. It was offered for the use of the US government by the Aero Club of Illinois.[3] Its opening was shortly before the start of a pioneering airmail flight in 1916 by Victor Carlstrom, in a Curtiss biplane, from Chicago to New York City, sponsored by the New York Times.[4][5] During World War 1, it was a Signal Corps training camp. After the war, it had airmail contracts. It was supplanted by nearby Midway Airport as a major aviation center for Chicago. It closed in 1939. The site is now Scottsdale Shopping center and subdivision.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Laffey, Mary Lu, "Ashburn thriving on a strong sense of community," Chicago Tribune, 19 November, 2010. Retrieved 7 December, 2011
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Ashburn," Encyclopedia of Chicago. Retrieved 7 December, 2011
  3. ↑ "Aviation Day at the Chicago Advertising Association," Aerial Age Weekly, September 18, 1916, Page 10. Retrieved 7 December, 2011
  4. ↑ "Carlstrom will fly tomorrow," The New York Times, 29 October 1916, Page 1. Retrieved 7 December, 2011
  5. ↑ "Times flier off at 6 A.M. today; due here at 4 P.M." The New York Times, 2 November 1916, Page 1, Column 1. Retrieved December 7, 2011.