| Ca. 1935
Gordonsville Municipal Airport Charter 1937 We have found documentation and charts to support GVE’s existence as early 1935. The town of Gordonsville first purchased the airport in 1937 as a currently operating airport/landing field (which proves the field was active prior to 1937). A bank purchased the airport/landing field from a farmer prior to the air strip being sold to the city. 3 plantation owners were known to use the field before it was sold to the city. (Gordonsville, VA court house documents) Gordonsville municipal airport can be found on some of the first sectional charts as early as 1935 and can be viewed at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum archieves. ( 1937 Chart idenifier and pic to be added soon.) VIEWS OF THE 1933 HANGAR! This first picture is the a depiction of the langley hangars before being dissasembled and re-constructed over different airports through-out Virginia includidng Gordonsville.
Gordonsville Muncipal Airport:
Thomas, William H. B. Gordonsville, Virginia; Historic Crossroads Town,. [Verona, Va.]: McClure, 1971. Print. |
| We have purchased a 1935 Huntington sectional chart showing GVE located at its orginal site where it is currently in use. The current operating field is often confused with the old reliever field which several miles away to the south of Gordonsville Airport. This map shows both fields. (picture to be placed soon)
Below is a contribution made by Burnie Herndon. He found copies of the orginal charter document for GVE stating it was orginally chartered in 1937. We know it was in operation prior to being chartered as it was purchased by the city of Gordonsville as an operational “air field.” We continue to look for newspaper articles or pictures to show it in operation prior to the charter of 1937 and the statement of purchase by the city as an active “air field.” |
Circa 1933 and during the time the plantation owners were using the airport/airfield, local folklore claims that Marion DuPont Scott had an airplane which was hangared (the Dupont’s participation currently being researched)in the old re-constructed Langley air base hangar that was brought to the field. These are pictures of the re-construction. The pictures were provided by the Whitmore family (Mr. Whitmore was the FBO, Fixed Based Operator 1945-mid 1970’s).
The author of the book, Gordonsville, Virginia: historic crossroads town says “…Under the leadership of Mr. Acree Mayor of Gordonsville ( and Chief of the Gordonsville Volunteer Fire Company), the town participated in the mid-1930’s in establishing an airport. Involved also in the project was Barton Haxall Cameron, grandson and namesake of Barton Haxall of Rocklands. The airport, located on the Orange road about two miles from Gordonsville, has been enlarged and improved during the intervening years. Partly because of the existence of this facility, National Air Mail Week was recognized in Gordonsville in 1938 by the sssurance of a special cover displaying a view of the Gordon Inn and an appropriate inscription.