Historical Marker · No. 464

Central Nebraska Regional Airport

Hall County · Nebraska

Erected by Hall County Historical Society and Nebraska State Historical Society, 2009

United's service lasted long after the sod runways. The airline kept Grand Island as a stop on its transcontinental route between San Francisco and New York, moving from Boeing 247s to Douglas DC-3s and Convair 340s, until Frontier Airlines took over in 1959. Frontier flew a Denver to Kansas City route with stops across Nebraska, brought Boeing 737-200 jets in 1970, ended jet service in 1984 and was gone by early 1985. GP Express, headquartered in Grand Island, then flew the Platte River route from 1987 until it shut down in 1996.

What the plaque says

Central Nebraska Regional Airport The first Grand Island airport, a grass field, was located approximately 1½ miles south of the present terminal building on land owned by H. O. "Doc" Woodward. It was used by the Grand Island Aero Company, organized in 1919 by former World War I pilot Floyd B. Thompson. The city took over the airfield in 1928. United Airlines began air service in 1933 using the 1/2 mile-long sod runways for its Boeing 247s. On September 27, 1937, Arrasmith Field was dedicated on 640 acres north of the original field in honor of Dr. W.W. Arrasmith, who was instrumental in arranging the necessary financing using Department of Commerce, W. P. A., and city funds. In 1942 the U.S. Government assumed control of the airfield for army air forces training, expanding it to 1,920 acres and 173 buildings. During World War II, 3,500 airmen, including those from the 6th, 502nd, and 376th Bombardment Groups, trained here in B-17 and B-29 heavy bombers. The airfield was returned to the city for civilian use in 1948 and is now operated by the Hall County Airport Authority. Hall County Historical Society Nebraska State Historical Society 2009

Where it stands

40.96928, -98.31912 · Directions

Worth the stop nearby

Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer — 6.7 mi
Edward Durell Stone's island pavilion in Grand Island and an 1890s railroad town of moved buildings, among them the cottage where Henry Fonda was born in 1905.

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