Daniel Field, Augusta, Georgia.

What is now Daniel Field was once the parade ground for Camp Hancock, during World War I. Right after the war pilots began using the area for flying and referred to it as Camp Hancock Field. What is thought to be the first air freight shipment in aviation history left this field in a Martin Bomber in June, 1923 with its cargo of two bales of cotton and some peaches sent by the Barret Company to Wamseutta Mills in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Bothwell Lee, a local flyer and business man, urged the Chamber of Commerce the following year, to lease the cornfield which comprised the airport, for $150 per year. It was called the Augusta Airport. In 1927, the property, 140 acres, was purchased by the city of Augusta for $110,000. Mayor Raleigh Daniel, for whom the airport was named, influenced by Bothwell Lee and other aviation enthusiasts, persuaded the city council to authorize the purchase for a municipal airport. Mayor Daniel was serving one year of the unexpired term of Mayor William White, who died in office. The airport endeavors ended his political career. His opponents used "$110,000 for a cornfield" against him and he was not re-elected. By the end of the decade, Frank Hulse had founded Southern Airways by giving lessons in his airplane.

In 1934, Delta began airline service to the field. Bevo Howard, who became the world acrobatic champion for many years, learned to fly at Daniel. His Bucker Jungmeister hangs in the Smithsonian National Air Museum today. Buster Boshears, Snookie Hunter, and Billy Lee, who achieved national fame as the world's youngest pilot at age eleven, were among those who started their aviation careers at Daniel during this period. Many colorful stories have been told about the flying at Daniel during the thirties. Mayor Richard Allen was an aviation enthusiast who frequently accompanied local pilots to Georgia Aero Club meetings. In 1937-38, federal funds were received for a paved runway and buildings, constructed by the WPA. By 1940, spectators were going to the airport to watch the run up and departure of the powerful "mail plane", the DC-3.

Daniel Field was taken over by the military in 1941 and used as an Army airbase. Jimmy Doolittle's group of pilots, who later made the raid on Tokyo, was in the 17th Bombardment Group, which trained at Daniel, flying B-25s. When the Air Corps returned the field to the city after war, the facilities and property had been extended. The large hangar you see today was built by the military.

During the time of postwar optimism, there were five fixed-base operators in the area, three at Daniel Field. One of these, Cromelin's Air Activities became bankrupt in 1947. The Augusta School of Aviation, operating since 1940 at North Augusta Airport, purchased its assets from the National Exchange Bank and operated at both fields. Termination of the G.I. Bill in 1949 created hardships in the industry which eliminated all the fixed-base operators in the area, except the Augusta School of Aviation, which then confined its operation solely to Daniel Field, expanding its services to include crop dusting, power line patrol, spraying for mosquito control, aerial advertising, charter service and other industrial flying, in addition to its flight school and aircraft servicing.

If you click on the letter, it will be displayed large enough for you to read it.

Airport funds of a 1948 bond issue were used to purchase Bush Field and in the mid 50s, Delta and Eastern airlines, the Weather Bureau and all FAA facilities moved from Daniel to Bush. On December 15, 1952, the city council voted 9 to 5 in favor of abandoning Daniel Field as an airport. The approximately 200 acres it now occupied was wanted for real estate. Although the Augusta Airport Commission had refused to recommend the abandonment of Daniel Field, some city officials were in favor of the step. A group of citizens, spearheaded by Clarence Mobley, a member of the commission, urged the city council to rescind the action. Augusta School of Aviation, holding a 10 year lease to expire in 1957, filed an injunction to prevent moving of the hangars. In the end, the airport was kept and a little over 13 acres of the original 140 purchased in 1927 was sold at a price of $132,000 for Daniel Village Shopping Center. Both hangars were moved in 1955 from the north side of the field to their present location on the east side at a cost of approximately $85,000.

The field became known as Augusta's downtown, executive airport and transient traffic gradually increased. The number of flying visitors to the Masters Tournament also increased regularly. Parked cars surrounding the field during the Masters became a regular sight as spectators watched the arrival and departure of the many types of aircraft. The use of private aircraft in business started in the 50's and has steadily increased since then, both in numbers and sophistication of equipment.

In 1974, Mayor Lewis Newman announced the appointment of a separate governing authority for Daniel Field and named Frank Christian as its first chairman. The field is a general aviation airport and today has its own General Aviation Commission and airport manager to handle the day to day chores of overseeing the airport.

See what Daniel Field is like today by visiting the Augusta, GA Government website.

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