Utah is Rich in Aviation History

Before radio, pilots followed arrows on the ground. When Western Air Express flew the country's first regularly scheduled overland passenger service — Salt Lake City to Los Angeles, May 23, 1926 — the airway was marked by giant concrete arrows like this one, fifty feet long, set every ten miles across the desert. Four stood in the St. George area alone. Steel towers beside them held coal-oil lamps so the arrows could be seen after dark, a chain of lights guiding the mail and its passengers south through country with no other landmarks.

What the plaque says

The first regularly scheduled overland passenger flight in the USA was made by Western Air Express on May 23, 1926, from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles. This 50-foot concrete arrow was one of four here in the St. George area, placed every 10 miles, for navigation of mail and passenger planes. The steel posts held coal oil lamps to illuminate the arrows after dark.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm — 4.1 mi
  Real dinosaur footprints preserved in ancient sandstone
• Snow Canyon State Park — 9.6 mi
  Red and white sandstone cliffs with ancient lava flows
• Hurricane Canal Trail — 19 mi
  The hand-dug canal that built Hurricane, now a walking trail blasted into the Virgin River gorge

More markers nearby

• Brigham Young's Vision — 0.9 mi
• Jedediah Strong Smith - St. George — 1.0 mi
• Tonaquint — 1.0 mi
• The Temple Quarry — 2.2 mi