1 July 1925 - This Day in History - Cleveland Airport Begins Operations

We live in a time of email and overnight packages. However, back in 1918, the US government had only begun experimenting with airmail service. Cleveland was a city they were eyeing closely, because if its geographical location, and its two privately held airfields - but there was a hitch. The airfields here were not designed for night landings or takeoffs.

William Hopkins with Amelia Earhart (center) – credit airrace.com

The city manager at the time, William Hopkins, was not about to let this opportunity for his city get away. Through his tireless efforts, City Council approved a $1.25 million bond issue to buy land and build a proper city airport in January 1925. Operations for the first city-owned airport in the nation began on July 1st of the same year. It was the nation's first with airfield lighting systems.

 
By 1929, the famed National Air Races were held at Cleveland Municipal Airport. The very next year, it became the first airport in the world with a radio-equipped air-traffic control tower. Celebrities of all kinds graced Cleveland Municipal Airport in these golden years, and for the Air Races, including Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh.

New Terminal at Cleveland Airport in 1929 – credit airrace.com

Since most Northeast Ohioans know this airport well, the airport represents different things to each of us. We've used it for business trips, to visit family, to leave for school, to take vacations, and the list goes on and on. Today, however, I'm thinking about all of the incredible family history trips it could lead me to. I dream of Northumberland in the UK, where some of my ancestors fought in historic battles and lived in castles that remain to this day. I dream of Erlach, Switzerland - where my great-grandfather fell through the ice one cold, cold day (and lived to tell the tale!). I dream of Alsace-Lorraine, where my Klein/Cline ancestor originally lived - only to come to a new country and serve next to General Washington in our Revolutionary War. I dream of going to China, to Sweden, to Ireland and so many other locales that hold special genealogical meaning to me.

Cleveland-Hopkins Airport today

Sometimes I dream of going someplace much closer, and while I could drive there, a quick plane trip sounds nicer: the 2014 NGS Conference, where you can learn a bunch and be surrounded by family history geeks just like you and I. Tickets are available, and rooms are ready to be booked! You can read about it here: NGS 2014 Conference Brochure.

Thank you, Cleveland-Hopkins Airport....and all the other airfields around the world that lead to some of the best of life's discoveries.