First Aero Squadron Airfield

The squadron's eight Curtiss JN-3 Jennies were underpowered for the work, with 90-horsepower engines that struggled above 10,000 feet. On March 19, 1916, all eight took off south late in the afternoon; only one of the pilots had flown at night, and navigation errors split the flight. On the first reconnaissance, Captain Benjamin Foulois and his pilot could not climb over the foothills of the Sierra Madre. By April 20 only two planes were still flyable, and the squadron returned here. It spent the campaign mostly carrying mail and dispatches, 540 flights in all.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Pancho Villa State Park — steps away
  The site of Camp Furlong at Columbus, named for the revolutionary whose raiders attacked the town in 1916, as a gesture of friendship toward Mexico.

More markers nearby

• Susan Parks — steps away
• Pancho Villa State Park — 0.2 mi
• Pancho Villa State Park — 0.3 mi
• Pancho Villa's Raid — 0.3 mi