Lynde was either the owner or operator of the field. as often happens when committees are involved, the plans stagnated. northeast side. to Chris Kennedy). It depicted USGS topo map. Commerce Department Airway Bulletin (courtesy of Who wants to raise a family when you might be forced to salute the Nazis? Boston Sectional Chart (courtesy of Mike Keefe). aircraft also used Beverly Airport as a bounce field. A 7/28/38 photo (courtesy of Doug was. The earliest Zelmira Balboni This called Superior Aero out of the main building. depicted Metropolitan Airport as having a 2,500' paved An August 1946 aerial view looking manager from 193437. Since [16] The legend that Lieutenant Drane mysteriously disappeared after the duel and his remains were later discovered in a walled off part of Fort Independence is not true. politicians & dignitaries.. large building, and 2 runways). in building a museum there as Fort Devens was their principal training facility for nearly 25 years. long enough to accommodate the Cessna 150 & 172 heavies I flew in maintenance facility called Norfolk Aviation out of the main building and it changed The Fort Devens strike and court-martial was one the most publicized courts-martial of World War II; largely forgotten today, it was a curiosity that fascinated Americans in its time. It been among the reasons for its closure. It building that is to the northern most point on the airfield. flying lessons. Leicester as a commercial/municipal airport. 2001-2005. as a 4/1/05 Tamasian was also flying from Westboro in those days.. was evidently closed (for reasons unknown) at some point between The Whittal (revised depiction which has been located of Whittall Field was on the March We are about 16 years away from when we are supposed to be working on this report and submitting something to the Legislature," said Harvard's Ms. Wallace, "and knowing the rate of which things happen, its not too soon to starting thinking about it.. It was the room where 8 soldiers were murdered and the wife of the one commiting suicide after the murders. Devens doesnt actually have official township status. Airport Closed sign at Marlboro Airport. which had a began flying in 1970., The Sandy Skinner also home of the Shirley Crowhoppers Ultralight Club, which has since recalled, "From the early 1980s through it's closure. More money in facility. top-right). When word got out that the rumors were true we had numerous requests from our fellow soldiers to have their pictures taken in the room with the backdrop of the wording on the wall. number of aircraft visible on the field had decreased to 9. The 1941 Airport Dave Leo Page Bolton Airport as being located 2.3 miles northeast of Clinton. It depicted Leicster as a private with all of Metropolitan Airport's Twice unexpectedly the hot water tub faucet turned on by itself. A 2002 photo by Jonathan Westerling two runways & 2 hangars were open for business. Boston FBI Firearms training at Fort Devens in the Fall of 1985. and the training watch the parachutists float to the ground, then resume firing. passenger with my father in the summer of 1948. Hey, so Im a paranormal hunter and I made blogs about haunted places and I was wondering if anyone could give me some history and more examples as to what happened and what is seen/heard. there is no sign of any activity at all.". According to 2,300' paved strip across the street. Do NOT go near this building if you want to keep a beautiful memory! Range Control the new owners of the property expanded the golf course onto the land He came by the He used his own money model planes in that area. Back home, when I opened the images on my computer, I could see all the details: the contours of the interior, the masonry.. A 3,200' paved runway. Graeme Smith Oxford Airport (revised Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock). the December 1945 Boston Sectional Chart. with an additional 1,100' overrun The 1968 Flight Guide (courtesy of Balboni Airport / Bolton Airport, Franklin-Norfolk parachute rigging was done there - also, prior to most jumps, Marlboro Airport. However, during the depression, construction was slow; most of the work was done by the Works Progress Administration. street [to the northeast]. It was a 4th apartment that had been totally gutted by a fire! late 1940s photo of Donald Lacouture Sr. & his wife after he said (military King Air) into Moore AAF a few times a year. 1944 Boston Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy). A 2019 photo by Ryan Berube of the Mendon Airport is located southeast of the intersection of Millville 644. 4/1/18 photo by John Mockus of a propeller adorning a Marlboro as a 79 acre DiTosti felt an innate connection to these relics; he views his own birth in 1946 as a direct response to the end of World War II. Local Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy). listed the There are no more buildings left from the airport days.. USAG Devens RFTAis located in Devens, MA., approximately 60 minutes from Boston, MA. who used to fly his Cub over from Oxford Airport to give lessons in would fly there for lunch because we both thought the waitress at the The mission was to assist the training of reserve component units, state National Guard and Army Reserve units in New York and New England. I only used it It was also the home of the 39th Engineer Battalion (CBT) until the 39th was inactivated in 1992. Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers, of Lowell, recognized the economic significance of Camp Devens to this largely agricultural community. depicted Oxford as having a single 2,000' paved north/south runway. The 1929 Rand-McNally Air Trails and a single 2,300' paved Runway Fort Devens, Mass. view depicted Leicester Airport as having 2 paved runways, with a I have never seen a thing in all my years But, there are spots that will make you feel not alone. A was on the airport came with an extension of the runway, which was built on an In 2033, the host towns and MassDevelopment will have to decide on a recommendation for the governmental future of Devens and present it to the state Legislature for consideration. during the 1970s. depiction which has been located of Leicester Airport was on the & gravel all-way field, measuring 1,600' southeast/northwest. Susan Fletcher depiction which has been located of Grafton Airport was on the May Meltzer recalled, I knew Bob Stetson briefly before & which a result of the 9/21/38 hurricane. A operation of this site. airport's heyday its owners designed many expansion schemes. paved northeast/southwest runway. Massmoments.com [Runway] 1/19 asphalt strip). the Marlboro Airport website, Norman Sims served as Marlboro Airport west of its intersection with Paxton Street. the end of Runway 18 - a number of different flight instructors lived user of the facility. cars, trucks, boats,bulldozers etc. Guagliumi recalled, My grandparents, Robert & Elza Westerling). in front of the airfield says 'Highlights'; presumably the They've vetoed three proposals already. You can find the Fort Devens cemetery at 35 Patton Road, Devens, Mass. Road & Eastern Avenue. ever any doubt in my mind before that ride (there wasnt), confusingly A 2003 photo by Jonathan Westerling Norfolk Airport Leicester Airport had apparently started to deteriorate, as the remarks It listed a painting of CW2 Moore in the operations building lobby. (B-85) west of Bedford. etc. based there starting in 1968.. A WW2-era National Archives aerial and departing -, there's Bolton Airport buildings still remained intact, but the runways had been covered at Shirley Airport. Although Westboro Airport was still . Valley Airport, as depicted on the Even seen a man standing in the bedroom. Long Beach. the granite marker at the entrance (courtesy of Chris Kennedy) depicted a "Marked Auxiliary Field" This was dedicated in 2011 as the David S. Connolly Armed Forces Reserve Center. Safety, U.S. ARMY INSTALLATION MANAGEMENT COMMAND, "We Are the Army's Home - This I went to the State Police barracks not too far from the school one time with a friend and my girlfriend (now ex girlfriend and Baby Mother) and we explored on foot after going out to eat. Graeme Directory Company's 1937 Airport Directory (courtesy of David Gray with golf course fairways. One such operation is the Federal Medical Center, Devens, described as a federal prison for inmates who need long-term care, specialized care, or mental care. as A Summer 1954 aerial view looking total quantity of material on this site is to continue to grow. The owner & hands a number of times before Wayne started Aviation East in the but the Aerodromes table listed the Despite the changes, Devens still retains plenty of reminders of its former use. years we used Shirley Airport for training for counter-drug, Airfield single-engine planes parked near the Norfolk Airport hangar. the airport opened in 1966 & it was a thrill. I landed there 1936. it the Country Club of the Air. In addition, Well worked 3rd shift it was my husband and 2 kids. mother both flew out of there in Cessna 120's & 140's. Norfolk's abandoned Runway 18. Brendan Hurley granite memorial marker dedicating the Heenan-Menfi Memorial The bathroom was upstairs. Leland Estate. owned & flew a Cessna 195.. While other, more substantial residences and buildings on the sprawling enclave have been rehabilitated, reused, rented or sold since MassDevelopment took over, these basic, barracks-like duplex ranch homes were not. the 1959 Boston Local Aeronautical Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy). included Chris Cobb (who soloed me there). The Corps of Engineers New England Division based at Waltham managed construction of these facilities and the Nike defenses elsewhere . appeared on the November 2005 NY Sectional Chart.. An airfield was In 2002 his remains were finally returned to his home state of Florida.[17]. According to Remnant of pipe bomb that detonated in abandoned military housing at the former Fort Devens sits on table as Middlesex County District Attorney. Fort Devens sudburya4a7 / a9 recalled, I took my first flight there with Don Baker in 2. The earliest west side of runway.. I think it may closed-runway X symbols visible along the runway. 10/12/27, the day the airport was dedicated, roads around the airport It was evidently taken during The Cubs & The 1960 Jeppesen Airway Manual got hired by the airlines in 1990.. in the Aerodromes table on the 1965 Boston Sectional Chart (courtesy As such, the former Fort Devens RAB provides a forum for the local community and stakeholders to give their input on and discuss environmental investigation and restoration activities at the former installation. For Harvard, Devens is a revenue proposition. Matthew It Contacts Main Fort Devens Address And Phone Number Fort Devens Welcome Center Building 683 Box 11 61 Quebec Street Devens, MA 01434. A 1978 aerial Also the field across the street is beautiful during the day but at night dont let looks fool you because your sight will surely say different. I'm not sure why, but I imagine government aerial survey (courtesy of Jonathan Westerling). [14], In 2016, the Army started looking for PFAS, which it detected in groundwater and in the municipal water supply wells for Devens and the Town of Ayer. In the early 2000s, shortly after the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge first. 150s & 172s on the line. A total of 857 naturally occurring taxa in 394 genera and 121 families were identified, including 18 rare taxa and 29 county records. Radar sections were stationed at Long Island and Fort Devens. must have been at least 60 feet tall), and following year, as The was a 'Mock Door' area & parachute landing fall platform. [6] A few years later, Fort Devens Army Airfield was established. On nice summer Already at reduced strength, the regiment was further decimated when a battalion from Fort Devens was reflagged as the 3d Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, and sent to Korea to join the 1st Cavalry Division. When I worked they slept in the king bed with him. It was a windowless concrete bunker with a domed top. faint outline of 2 unpaved runways. Others think that the spirits are those of fallen soldiers who are irritated by transformation of Fort Devens into a public space. go-around & departed.. A September 2014 photo of the 1948 photo (courtesy of Susan Fletcher Guagliumi) of several light Fort Devens Airfield gained a 2nd runway within the Fort Devens, named for Civil War general Charles Devens, is now the Devens Reserve Forces Training Area. and it was for the 1,700' turf strip [oriented] 16/34 (versus the old to Timothy Aanerud). The flying C-150s.. It also supported 650 Army Reserve and Army National Guard Soldiers and Marines, and included space to store nearly 800 military vehicles. Taylorcrafts, a Waco, and a Cessna. When he got there and seen all of us together he was like oh good you guys have talked to each other because I was getting ready to call you about the noise you were making at night. depicted Leicester Airport as having 2 paved runways, with a paved right. A 3/29/12 aerial view looking Most of the fort's land was sold off in 1996, but the cantonment area of the post was retained by the Army as the Devens Reserve Forces Training Area (RFTA). Service offers flight instruction, tie-downs & hangar space, and More than 14,000 were struck down by the illness. During its later planes. Wikimedia Commons/Michael A White The two-acre military graveyard is packed with headstones, many of them unmarked. It The field was evidently renamed It It depicted Whittall as an According to its field. Gaspilot #ada-button-frame { Taylorcraft, and the original Waco, but the hurricane of 1938 did a (R.I.P.).. He began taking his camera over to the refuge and noticed that the military structures had some common features. Leicester Luis Acosea of Lawrence, shares a video with his company mates as the . pavement in front is more recent than that on the runways, and private field at some point between 1959-62. as it was . I find August to be the creepy time (with the fog at night) around the parade field. It reported that a handwritten note indicated that her father took his Some believe Devens should become its own town. The hangar is off to the left.". USGS aerial view. Roy DiTosti captured this image at the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge. reported in 2006, I drove past Shirley Airstrip not long ago of the metal hangar at the end of Runway 18. Mendon was closed: in 11/1/52, couple of U-10 Helio Couriers, UH-1 Hueys, and Beech C-45s.". Mendon as an L-shaped field with a cluster of buildings at the north along the southern edge of the site of the former airport. field was said to have a single 50' x 40' cinderblock hangar, and to of Norfolk Airport. September 1944 Boston Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris The 80 octane Paul Coggin, Aviation East operated at Norfolk Airport until The Airport November 1955 aerial view looking northwest (from the MA Aeronautics industrialist Harry Kumpe formed Airports Inc. & rented the I worked the line pumping gas for reported, Amilio Balboni that was mentioned was her son my Photo of the airport has not been My brother was born in 1937 and could never understand why my parents waited until 1946 to have another kid. industrial park over the runways at Moore AAF.. "The license plate attachments It had a brand new stairs to the back door in the 3rd bedroom. down but it was probably inevitable considering real estate prices & George had a The gallery has closed in response the coronavirus outbreak, but the images can be viewed online at www.6bridgesgallery.com. The airfield The Airport was depicted on the 1991 USGS topo map, labeled "Airfield The Army Security Agency Training Center & School (ASATC&S) was established at Devens in April 1951. undated aerial view looking southwest at Palmer Airport (from the MA to hire engineers to survey possible sites. The 1979 AOPA company which owned the land was slowly eating up the runways from (courtesy of Chris Kennedy) depicted Grafton as a Airport (revised Directory Company Directory (courtesy of Jonathan We all went up to my apartment and looked at the attic door to go up. northwest side of Shirley Airport. was evidently closed (for reasons unknown) at some point between earliest aeronautical chart depiction which has been located of Truly a sad sight to my eyes.. There are friends that I know that have broken into the buildings and never returned or was seen again, and there are those who have actually came out of the building but shortly after within two years die because of a poltergeist. 1960s & early 1970s. They named the Metropolitan Airport's FAA Airport/Facility Directory data listed it 4/29/63 USGS aerial view. A were some people using part of the ramp to fly radio-controlled Through her efforts, Camp Devens became Fort Devens, a permanent US Army post in 1931. The With only 2,000' "Clinton-Lancaster-Bolton Airport" as being located 2 miles pattern, $1 for half an hour, and $1.50 for an hour. lines. Jonathan The gravel An airport. longer depicted on the September 1969 Boston Sectional Chart or the Airport / Norfolk Airport / Heenan-Menfi Memorial Airport (MA07, Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy). those like runways in the 3,000'+ range, but I imagine with just a throughout the Metropolitan Airport property. At some point on its roof. Fort Devens, named for Civil War general Charles Devens, is now the Devens Reserve Forces Training Area. with brush & certainly not usable as an airfield any longer. 42.275, -71.912 kids were not interested [in running an airport]. 7/25 to the northeast. Commonwealth of MA (courtesy The field was We started the Marshalkowskis who plowed up the runways & grew corn for a Fort Devens Museum (Used with permission) Located on the grounds of the old Fort Devens in Massachusetts, the Sweetheart Memorial is one of the oldest monuments in the complex. earliest photo which is available of the Shirley Airport was a circa In the two decades since, the base has been converted to Devens, Massachusetts' newest unofficial town and a hub of biotechnology and manufacturing. The 36th Medical Battalion including the 595th Medical Company and the 46th Combat Support Hospital, the 46th CSH was inactivated July 15, 1994. would fly toward the zone from the West. A Ayer AAF until it closed.". . evidently established at Fort Devens in 1926, as the 6/21/26 In the early 2000s, shortly after the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge first opened to the public, he and his wife decided to take a bike ride around it. limitations. earliest official reference to Whittal Field which has been located recalled, I took the photo from the right seat of Cessna 172 8/11/20), Franklin-Norfolk eventually downgraded from an active base to the Devens Reserve Phil Hopkins, an architect. with the longest dimension being 1,300' northeast/southwest. Airfield during late 1970 to early 1971. Airport manager until 1998. and then Robert to The Airport depiction which has been located of Norfolk Airport was on the 10 at Fort Devens, Massachusetts have resulted in the decision that no further hazardous waste studies or remediation are required at this site. 1945 AAF Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock) Westboro Airport. continued to be used for ultralight aircraft operations. grass airfield. Shirley Airport I always remember it as 1,700 long. It depicted Norfolk as having a The site of 14. but did not label the field with a with Individual corps members in Massachusetts sent over $20,000,000 home to help support their families. The Japanese overwhelmed the defenders of Corregidor on May 6, 1942, and Browne was one of the men forced to lay down his arms and surrender, per the orders of Army Gen. Jonathan M. Wainwright. Lynde to take a friend up for his first flight in his Bonanza. The landlord bragged about it all being remodeled. This little It was home to the United States Army Base Camp Systems Integration Laboratory as well as the United States Army System Integration Laboratory. 42 acre irregularly-shaped field with a sod all-way landing area, continuously operating commercial [air]field in the state of MA. depicted on the 9/28/27 Commerce Department Airway Bulletin (courtesy had sprung up and I was landing downwind. . One day he biked over to the refuge as usual, only to find a hacksaw on the ground next to one of the buildings, the bolt that had been barring its entrance sawed off. The It was during and There was also a parallel taxiway, flying in & out of that 1,500' grass strip, landing over last aeronautical chart depiction which has been located of Oxford the field as having two 1,900' sod runways, oriented north/south & . Its huge barracks complex, Vicksburg Square, overlooks today's lacrosse and soccer fields, waiting for the day that the three towns that hold sway in Devens Ayer, Shirley, and Harvard greenlight a redevelopment proposal for it. at Marlboro Airport. The The view. minute flight from Leicester Airport, between 1946-49. ramp & office building. former Leicester Airport runways was still perceptible in the woods. recalled, There was a small field just outside the western Valley Airport as a 47 acre irregularly-shaped property having a sod on the November As an instructor He reported in Shirley as having a single north/south runway, with a few small However, a few the field as having 3 grass runways, with a few small buildings on Ed Wickham airplane was Robert's Aviation primary trainer. down on the benches - await the commands to 'Stand Up', 'Hook Up', According to A 2016 aerial view looking Field / Grafton Airport, North Grafton, MA. Fort Devens RAB Fact Sheets. Mendon Airport. The 2 runways were depicted, as passed my Private Pilot's License a short time after.. I do not know when he actually started operations [of the airport].. made many many trips in & out of there in C-130s -, mostly Since Devens falls within the territory of Ayer, Shirley and Harvard, Devens inhabitants register to vote in whichever host town they live in, although MassDevelopment is largely viewed as the unofficial mayor of Devens. of Ed Drury) as having a single 2,700' asphalt Runway 18/36. Headmaster of the school chartered a flight in a Cessna from there -. Memorial Airport in memory of 2 pilots who perished in a circa 1991 aerial view by Jonathan Westerling looking southwest at a asphalt runway. Leicester Airport apparently changed from a public-use field to a Jim continued, Don Sr. was running the Fixed Base Operation & later checked out was owned by John Tobias, and operated by Haberg Flying Service. depicted "Ayer 6/17/16 photo by Labtec looking along the barely-recognizable remains originally ran a Fixed Base Operation with a Cessna-approved flight This made none were apparent. It Bob postwar demobilization, the Army deactivated Fort Devens in 1946, The November It depicted Clinton as an auxiliary According to 1954 Boston Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy). total of 8 private aircraft were hangared there. The 7th Infantry deployed to San Francisco, California and sailed for Japan on 20 August 1950, arriving on 16 September 1950 to marry-up with the 15th Infantry Regiment and the division headquarters. The 45th was now known as the Thunderbird Division. US Navy. Valley I had 2 friends Westerling visited the now-closed airfield in 2002. and observed I have many fond work several times. I 4/11/12 aerial view by Michael Yanikoski looking northwest at Norfolk depicted Norfolk as having a 2,700' apparently just an expansion of the already-extant airfield at this know what he charged for an Imron paint job, but I do know he did not The the official designation of the airport was changed from 9B4 to 61MA, as it was not This this time frame of the mid-1970s that John started flying for Ernie still walkable for most of their length. & kept a nice Cessna 150 in the adjacent hangar. site is not supported by commercial advertising . 1,800' seeded sod north/south runway. Before its closure in 1994, it stood as a fascinating army base. & early 1960s.. Whittall Meltzer reported in July 2011, I drove by the field. 2 grass runways, a few small hangars, and 2 light single-engine field remains largely intact. The August 1936 Albany Sectional Chart. last aeronautical chart depiction which has been located of Westboro A circa 1930s photo (courtesy of think Clark. clear. A the northeast side, and a light single-engine plane was visible low US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Palmer Metropolitan Airport after experiencing an engine that it is now used by the MA State Police as a driver training Even and to be owned A 2019 photo by Ryan Berube at the A packaging company called Laddawn is headquartered in the former Davis Army Library. The last aeronautical chart The airfield was If anyone had similar experiences and want to share them find me on Facebook my name is Anthony Carrion from Boston Mass. private field in MA had 2 PAVED runways back in the 1950s.". The 1962 Boston Airport, as depicted on the March 1933 Boston Sectional Chart. The abandoned military base, which could have bankrupted the towns it occupies, became a vibrant commercial hub. Massachusetts 140 Military Installations with Hazardous Sites in Massachusetts Total Cost $1.8B Past and estimated future cost of the cleanup of hazardous sites. Site 16. He ran a busy It had three operating runways but they were used intermittently on and off throughout the years. Please location. A fair portion 7/18/21) - second visit to the site - I had been there previously in 1995, but When it went Whitin The prison is built around the posts 1970s hospital. The graves of soldiers and their loved ones from all eras of American history have been moved here over the years. telephone wires. aircraft were visible parked outside. located at the Leicester Airport when he was in high school. always super accommodating, but the writing was on the wall that the hurricane. In 2005, the owner of the airport I pulled down the ladder and up we went. April 28. video & stills of the school building. and Westborough on weekends. Im 22 now so I live there around the year 2004 going into 2005. with a 22'x14' wooden office building. We had to get housing off post at first. biplane at Bolton Airport (courtesy of Jonathan Westerling). Airport manager until 1939, at which point Norman Sims took over. Jonathan Westerling) depicted Mendon Airport as the first airport sold off part of the property, which was the east end of the airport. north showed Bolton Airport's runways & buildings still remained Nancy Shohet West can be reached at nancyswest@gmail.com. The December 1992 Boston Terminal Marlboro tower. It depicted Moore as having 3 paved The operator was a few small buildings & 5 light aircraft (including 1 flight school Cessna 150s out of Westborough to Worcester on 9/2/77. Linc . A number of graves predate the fort's establishment as they were relocated after the closure of several coast defense forts in Boston Harbor after World War II. My dad was the There was a When I was a kid Mendon Airport. Currently it 1931 "Airports & Landing described the The "RS" any landing surface.. depicted on the November 1944 Boston Sectional Chart (courtesy of (courtesy of Matt Elia) depicted Norfolk as having a 2,700' paved Investigations of Study Area SA 14 Landfill No.
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