Beacon Field Airport (Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this roadside historical marker:

Beacon Field Airport:
In 1929, Airway Beacon No. 55, a pilot’s navigation aid, was installed on this site owned by W.F.P. Reid. Beacon Field is named for the beacon tower. Under the Civilian Pilot Training Program established in 1938, Ashburn Flying Service trained hundreds of pilots at Beacon Field for military service to support World War II. In 1942, the airport was temporarily closed for security reasons. The Civil Aeronautics Administration Region One Safety Office moved here following the war. Veterans of World War II and the Korean conflict trained under the GI Bill at the Lehman/Reid flying school. Many became commercial pilots. Beacon Field Airport closed 1 October 1959.

Marker Erected 2009 by Fairfax County History Commission.
Marker was installed on August 18, 2009, and the dedication ceremony held August 19, 2009. In attendance for the marker unveiling were U.S. Congressman Gerry Connolly, Harry P. Lehman, and Supervisor Jeff McKay.


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Also see . . .
The History of Beacon Field website. “Initially the airfield was named Groveton Flying Field and was used for recreational flying and U.S. Air Mail pilots. The exact date of airport establishment is not known as W.F.P. Reid owned the pasture land on which a light tower, a beacon for US Air Mail pilots, was installed by the US Government in the late 1920s. The beacon was designated Airway Beacon No. 55 on Mt. Vernon Highway. At elevation of 249 feet, the area commanded one of the highest points in Fairfax County.”


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