Cape Cod Airfield, in

Marstons Mills Marstons Mills (sometimes spelled Marston's Mills) is a village in the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States. It is primarily residential, located on Massachusetts Route 28, and rural in nature. Main roads also include Massachusetts ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

is a public airport owned by the

Town of Barnstable The Town of Barnstable ( ) is a town in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the county seat of Barnstable County. Barnstable is the largest community, both in land area and population, on Cape Cod, and is one of thirteen Massachusetts municipaliti ...

History

Cape Cod Airfield is located on the former site of

Camp Perkins Camp Perkins was a Massachusetts Army National Guard camp located in Barnstable, Massachusetts near the site of the present Cape Cod Airfield. History On June 8, 1921, Brig. Gen. John H. Sherburne announced that the 51st Field Artillery Brigade o ...

, a

Massachusetts National Guard The Massachusetts National Guard is the National Guard component for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded as the Massachusetts Bay Colonial Militia on December 13, 1636, it contains the oldest units in the United States Army. What is t ...

camp which was active on the site in 1921 and 1922. The airport was founded by Zenas Crocker, a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

biplane pilot. It opened with a flying circus on July 4, 1929. During

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

, the biggest attraction at the airport was the nearby Aviation Country Club, which ran an open bar and night club. The club was closed down by Zenas Crocker's brother - Laughlin Crocker who was the Sheriff of Barnstable County. From 1929 to 1934, the Massachusetts National Guard's aviation group held its summer encampment at the airport. In 1930, the Skyways Flying School, run by Crocker's friend Crocker Snow, opened at the airport. In 1935, the property was acquired by Hilma and William H. Danforth, summer residents of

Oyster Harbors Oyster Harbors is a gated community within the village of Osterville, Massachusetts. It is located on Grand Island (Massachusetts), Grand Island.Oyster Harborsis surrounded by water with North Bay located to the north, West Bay located to the east ...

. The Danforths used the property as a riding stable, polo field, and automobile race track as well as for their private aircraft and added a windmill to serve as an office building. The airport was opened for commercial service on May 8, 1946, when Mrs. Danforth leased the property to

John C. Van Arsdale John C. Van Arsdale (December 4, 1919 – February 7, 1997) was the founder of Provincetown-Boston Airlines and a leader in the development of regional airlines in the United States. Early life and military service He enlisted in the US Army Air Fo ...

. Van Arsdale opened a flying school to take advantage of the

G.I. Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

's flight training for

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

veterans. During this time, the stables were torn down and the Aviation Country Club moved to

Hyannis, Massachusetts Hyannis is the largest of the seven villages in the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is the commercial and transportation hub of Cape Cod and was designated an urban area at the 1990 census. Because of this, many refer ...

where it became an

Elks Club The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. History The Elks began in 1868 as a soc ...

. In 1949, Van Arsdale opened the

Provincetown-Boston Airlines Provincetown-Boston Airlines was an airline that operated between 1949 and 1989. The airline operated a route network in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida, and at one time was the largest commuter airline in the United States be ...

and eventually turned over control of the Cape Cod Airport to the Danforth's personal pilot Harry Kornhiser. Kornhiser expanded the operation to include airplane maintenance and reconditioning used aircraft for resale in addition to flight instruction. Kornhiser died in 1991 and his son Rick took over as airport manager. Under the younger Kornhiser, the airport saw gliders, blimps, and an occasional hot air balloon added to its flight operations. Kornhiser also towed advertising banners over nearby beaches. On April 17, 2000, Kornhiser died in an banner-towing accident near the

Norfolk Airport Norfolk International Airport is seven miles (11 km) northeast of downtown Norfolk, an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is owned and operated by the Norfolk Airport Authority: a bureau under the municipal government. The ai ...

. Laurel Kornhiser took over operations following her husband's death. In March 2003, a representative of the Danforth family informed Kornhiser that her lease would not be renewed and the airport would close. In 2003, the Town of Barnstable purchased the 217-acre Danforth Property, which included the airport, for $11.2 million. The airport reopened in July 2004.

References

External links

*
Article about a woman falling 2,000 feet into Mystic Lake and living
Airports in Barnstable County, Massachusetts 1929 establishments in Massachusetts {{Massachusetts-airport-stub

History

See also

References

External links