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.


<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>
<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

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.”


<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>
<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

Here follows an excerpt from the Fall 2009 edition of the "Franconia Legacies" newsletter published by the Franconia Museum:

New Fairfax County Historical Markers in Lee District/Franconia
By Jim Cox

Beacon Field Marker Unveiled
August 19, 2009

From the Friends of Beacon Field Website:
Friends of Beacon Field Airport joined in with Lee District Supervisor Jeff McKay, US Congressman Gerry Connolly, and Harry P. Lehman to dedicate the Historic Marker at the site GPS coordinates 38º46'12.20"N : 77º4'58.33"W . Master of Ceremony Supervisor McKay welcomed everyone to Groveton and introduced notable personalities in the crowd,

Congressman Connolly spoke of the Importance of airports in the County's history, how much history is in Fairfax County, and the importance of preserving this history, and Harry P. "Butch" Lehman who grew up at City View on the airport property provided a lively brief personal history and significance of the economic impact and pilot training that Beacon Field brought to the area. Mr. Lehman pointed out that no other airport in the United States is named Beacon Field.

The three speakers unveiled the marker with the guidance of Mr. Jack Hiller, Fairfax County History Commission Marker Committee, Chairman. The historic marker program started in January 1998 and is the highest level of recognition awarded by the History Commission. Beacon Field Airport is the 26th marker approved by the commission. The distinctive Fairfax County markers display the colors derived from George Washington's Fairfax Militia uniform.

The marker was installed the day before (in 95 degrees local temperature) by Paynes Lines and Signs of Bealeton using a crane truck to erect the heavy sign onto its post. Marker installation was a significant task, using 250 pounds of concrete to secure the stanchion in the ground three feet deep. The total height of the marker is over 10 feet.

Harry Lehman and Anna Marie Hicks assembled the marker package for Beacon Field with very little help from Lee District History Commissioners Jim Cox and Don Hakenson. Their research was so detailed and to the point that the request sailed right through the marker committee, and was approved by the Commission with virtually no discussion. The Fairfax County History Commission generously funded one-half the cost, and the only hang-up was where to actually place the marker. Eventually the maker was placed just inside the parking lot at one of the entrances from Memorial Street into the shopping center. I believe this was an excellent choice because visitors can easily stop to read the marker information without impeding the traffic flow. If you are interested in more information about Beacon Field there is an excellent website maintained by Harry and Anna Marie.

Editor’s note: The website shows that Don Hakenson’s father, Harry Hakenson worked at the airport. Harry was an airplane mechanic for Capital Airlines so he was probably working part-time to earn extra income for his large family. According to Don his dad had a private pilots license and used to actually fly the airplanes he worked on.


<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>
<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

Here follows an excerpt from the book, “Snake Hill to Spring Bank” which was an oral history project conducted by students at Groveton High School in the mid-1970s. The interviews were transcribed under the direction of their teachers and local historian Edith Moore Sprouse.

From the interview with Kent Crowther:
"The airport was owned by Reid. There was a big white house on it sort of like a mansion. It had a big sun porch, and from that sun porch you could see the river because you were so high. It was built about where the filling station portion of Memco is though it was closer to the road. The Reids had lived there at least two generations and Reid remembered clearly before World War I. They built a road from Alexandria to Fort Humphrey, which is now Fort Belvoir. It was a dirt road about the equivalent of three lanes wide but just mud, and went past Mr. Reid's place where #1 highway is now. Just before World War II, his son became interested in aviation.

He was interested in aviation and so he built him an airport. It was a hill top and it was cleared. During World War II the Navy rented out the airport for pilot trainings, and also the area down in Hybla Valley.

Reid's son came back from the war and started a flying school there. He had hangars and fueling facilities, gasoline, and a small tower that had a beacon light. That's why it's called Beacon Hill. The beacon was on the nautical charts for the ships going up and down the Potomac River. The beacon was timed. They had it timed how long it was white and how long it would show red, so it could be distinguished from others along the river.

Reid leased the airport for a commercial airport after the war. It was approved as a school for the veterans. He had instructed flying for a long time. He flew an awful lot himself.

After Reid died his son closed this airfield and opened up an airfield on the other side of the river. Each morning he would take off and fly to the airport on the other side, and each night he would come back. No landing lights or anything, so he would use Marshall street as a guide.

During the time they were using the airport for pilot training they had a lot of accidents because the people who were learning to fly were not familiar with the airport. When they crossed #1 highway the cement and temperature would create air currents. Very often the planes would misjudge, hit the high power electric lines next to the airport, and flip over. We had one fellow that had just gotten himself a new plane -- he ran out of gas just before he reached the airport and he tried to coast on in. He crashed into the bank and drove the nose back into the cockpit. I don't think the occupants were killed, but it certainly tore the plane to pieces. We had quite a few accidents like that.

They had two runways. One running parallel with #1 highway, the other perpendicular to #1, back where the cemetery is. There was a small plane coming in for a landing parallel to #1 highway. Using this runway they would have to fly right over the school (Groveton Elementary) or right next to the school. The house on the west side was hit by a plane which flew into the second floor and ended up inside the building. Nothing caught fire and luckily no one was up in the bedrooms. There was a lot of commotion about what might've happened because school was in session. But generally speaking, Beacon Hill was a safe airport.

The airport was never torn down. They just stopped using it and started building on to it. First thing was built was the Giant. While the Giant was there Reid was still landing on the strip directly behind the Giant.
Giant was built somewhere around the early 60's."