Airport History Of Kanawha County
Extracted From
Moving Mountains To Build Kanawha Airport
1929 - City of Charleston purchased site at Institute, W. Va., six miles downriver from city limits, named it Wertz Field.
1930 - City lacked funds to develop and operate field so leased tract to group of business men who formed West Virginia Airways, Inc. West Virginia Airways, Inc., was able to provide aviation facilities for the next 12 years.
July 4, Wertz Field was dedicated. Later, with help of federal funds, a large administration building was completed.
1933 - West Virginia up to this time was one of
but two states which did not have airmail services.
In October American Airlines was awarded an airmail
contract route, and opened passenger service
between Washington and Chicago, via Charleston,
serving intermediate cities of Elkins, Huntington,
Cincinnati, and Indianapolis.
1935 - Pennsylvania Central Airlines (now Capital
Airlines) established a branch route passenger
service between Charleston and Pittsburgh.
1937 - Larger passenger planes having been put
into service by air carriers, Wertz Field began
showing its inadequacy. American Airlines notified
City of Charleston that it would be forced to
discontinue service because Wertz Field was too
limited for landing of larger planes. City's aviation
enthusiasts prevailed on American Airlines to
continue service, using smaller DC-2 planes.
Leaders in Charleston Chamber of Commerce
realized that site for a new airport must be found.
Committee appointed consisted of D. M. Giltinan,
D. N. Mohler, D. C. Kennedy, Charles E. Hodges,
Fred Alley, J. B. Pierce. This committee was asked
to make survey of airport needs and to study all
possible airport sites within 25-mile radius.
1938 - After a year examining on foot, by car
and topographical maps every possible site, committee
reported that the valley floor offered no
suitable site large enough to meet area's growing
needs. Even Wertz Field did not permit expansion.
Committee decided that "We must build on the
hilltops."
1940 - Harry Campbell, City Engineer, and Fred
Alley, a committee member and airport manager
for West Virginia Airways at Institute, suggested
site known as "Coonskin Ridge," a series of hills
not far from Charleston's city limits. Fred Alley,
after studying topographic maps, had made the
first visit to the location on Saturday, September
12. From this visit all later developments stemmed.
Committee approved location after examining it,
and requested preliminary surveys and sketches to
show possibilities. Sketches were made by Louis
Hark, assistant city engineer; aviation consultants
were called in for consultation. The "upstairs"
airport met with general approval, though all
agreed that the undertaking would be expensive.
City engineers prepared plans for construction
of three 4,000-foot runways, and a fourth of
3,400 feet, submitted them to WPA, with the proposal
that the site would be provided by the City
of Charleston, the building costs be borne by the
WPA. The offer was rejected because the contribution
of the City was disproportionate to the
estimated cost.
Because Charleston had no levies to support a
bond issue, the Charleston Chamber of Commerce
proposed to the County Court of Kanawha County
that the project be made a county project. The
County Court agreed to the proposal.
1941 - Bond issue of $1,000,000 was ratified by
overwhelming majority. (This issue, however, was
never used.) An active program to enlist Federal
Aid was begun. Federal government, however, was
engaged in huge national defense program, and
aid was restricted to projects certified as essential
to national defense. Pearl Harbor intensified this
situation.
1942 - Charleston lost its airport on May 12, 1942,
when Wertz Field, after 12 years of operation, was
closed when approaches were blocked by the erection
of the government's synthetic rubber plant.
Efforts to obtain federal aid were continued.
1943 - The president of the County Court, W. T.
Brotherton, proposed a new bond issue of $3,000,000,
which would enable the project to go ahead
without waiting for federal assistance. Charleston
and Kanawha County had become a highly important
defense area, and air transportation was
needed greatly.
In November the larger bond issue was approved
by an overwhelming ratio of 22 to 1. The firm of
Whitman, Requardt & Associates, Baltimore, was
retained to prepare a master plan. The County
Court proceeded in ensuing months to acquire by
negotiation and condemnation the title to the
Coonskin Ridge area.
1944 - In June of this year the bonds were sold,
bids were advertised for such portion of the work
within available funds. Bids were opened in Sep-
tember and the "first stage" contract was awarded
to Harrison Construction Co., of Pittsburgh. This
"first stage" included approximately five-eighths
of the total grading, sufficient to permit two runways
and their completion to a point where commercial
air service could be resumed.
On October 18, ground for the construction of
Kanawha Airport was broken, and work proceeded
continuously thereafter until grading was completed
in May 1947.
1945 - Charleston Chamber of Commerce representatives
appeared before a U. S. Senate Appropriations
sub-committee, and with able assistance
from its two senators, Harley Kilgore and Chapman
Revercomb, obtained a recommendation for an
appropriation of $2,750,000 to supplement money
raised by Kanawha Countians. This appropriation
was subsequently approved by Congress and the
remainder of the original contract for grading
added to the original contract awarded the Harrison
Company. The government's contribution was
based on the fact that Charleston's airport had
been made useless by the erection of a synthetic
rubber plant, which, during the war years, was
the nation's largest producer of that essential
product.
1947 - In January the 167th Fighter Squadron,
West Virginia National Guard, was established,
activated three months later. This squadron began
with 13 officers and 30 enlisted men. Col. James
K. McLaughlin, commanding officer. The 167th
made an outstanding record as a fighter group in
World War II.
Kanawha Airport was formally dedicated on
November 3. President Truman sent his plane,
the "Independence," the presidents of all the participating
airlines were on hand and many governmental
officials. Though a cold, rainy day, the
event was attended by thousands. Kanawha Airport
was presented ready to go, representing one
of the most unusual construction jobs in aviation
history. The first night landing at the port was
made shortly after 10 the evening before by the
president of American Airlines.
On December 1 Kanawha Airport began operations
with 10 daily scheduled flights.
1948 - In March an additional $1,100,000 in
bonds was voted by Kanawha County citizens for
the completion of the airport, including the administration
building, paving remainder of taxi
strips, and so forth. Approximately $800,000 of
federal matching funds was obtained to supplement
the local financing.
Kanawha Airport at the end of its first calendar
year of operation handled a total of 98,733 passengers,
179,029 pounds of airmail, 325,154
pounds of air express and 459,099 pounds of air
freight, and operated within its own income.
Ground for the new administration building was
broken July 7.
1949 - Kanawha Airport is awarded the Haire
trophy as the outstanding airport in the U. S. for
the year 1948.
National Guard hangar is completed.
By the end of the year Kanawha Airport had
broken its first year's amazing records. From
January 1 through December 31, 132,932 passengers
were handled, 223,384 pounds of airmail,
417,191 pounds of air express, 808,435 pounds
of air freight, again operating within its own income.
1950 - On June 27-28 "Operation Coonskin"
transformed the area to the southeast of the airport
into a public park. The total area is 850
acres. This outstanding operation, detailed elsewhere
in this booklet, was carried out as a public
service by the cooperative enterprise of scores of
individuals and firms who constructed roads, shelters,
game areas, ponds, picnic sites, and other
appointments. This work supplemented $200,000
in bond funds voted by the Kanawha County citizens
to provide a recreational park in the lower
areas of the airport site.
The federal government made a grant of $370,000
for the construction of an administration-operations
building, and a warehouse for the 167th
Fighter Squadron.
In September, the beautiful new administration
building was visited by thousands, and formally
dedicated.