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| An aerial view of the Ogden Airport in 2006. Photo from Wikipedia Commons |
MOST people would
believe that the current Ogden Airport, in Roy/Riverdale is the area’s original
airport.
But that is not the case. There was an earlier
airport, located approximately where today’s Ogden Regional Hospital is.
Ogden dedicated that original airport on July 1, 1928.
“Ogden is entertaining one of the largest crowds of
visitors in its history,” the Salt Lake Telegram newspaper reported on Jul 1,
1928. “The occasion is celebrating marking the dedication of the municipal
airport. Streets were lined this morning by throngs viewing the parade in which
the history of transportation was depicted.”
This original
airport had three runways, all gravel, but was located on a hillside above
Ogden City, and near Weber Canyon, where winds kept fog away most of the time.
But within a decade, the airport location was not
deemed large enough for the future and plans were made for a new airport. Ther
War Department (today’s Department of Defense) approved $795,000 for a new
Ogden airport in the fall of 1940. This airport was to be located in what was
then known as the Fairmont District and Ogden City already had secured half of
the 655 acres needed, according to the Salt Lake Telegram of October 23, 1940.
The original
airport also suffered a significant fire on October 26, 1941, that damaged
several shops and two airplanes. Notwithstanding, the Army Air Force sometimes
utilized the gravel runways during part of World War II.
The new airport was dedicated on October 3, 1943 and
featured a concert by the Union Pacific Band and a Hill Field Band, the
Telegram of October 2, 1943 stated.
Today the airport is a regional airport, named the
Ogden-Hinckley Airport, in honor of Robert H. Hinckley, a man who helped train
thousands of pilots during World War II and who helped develop aviation
infrastructure across the nation. He was also a member of the Civil Aeronautics Authority.
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