Kell Field Air Terminal
Wichita Falls, Wichita County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Known as "Little Adobe", this pueblo revival building was constructed in 1928 to serve as the air terminal for Kell Field, the first municipal airport for the city of Wichita Falls. In 1941 it was incorporated into Sheppard Field, a World War II Army Air Corps Training Center. Now part of Sheppard Air Force Base, the Kell Field Air Terminal has served such notable pilots as Charles Lindbergh, Wiley Post, and Amelia Earhart. (Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1981.)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Nicknamed "Little Adobe," this pueblo-revival terminal was built in 1928 for Kell Field, Wichita Falls' first municipal airport, in the heady early years of American commercial aviation. Pioneering aviators including Charles Lindbergh, Wiley Post, and Amelia Earhart passed through its doors. In 1941 the airfield was folded into Sheppard Field, a World War II Army Air Corps training center, and it endures today as part of Sheppard Air Force Base.
Why it matters
It links the daring first age of flight to the vast World War II training machine that turned Texas skies into a proving ground for a generation of American pilots.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- ¡ Charles Lindbergh
- ¡ Wiley Post
- ¡ Amelia Earhart
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Sheppard Air Force Base
Wichita Falls, TX
Named in 1941 for U.S. Senator Morris Sheppard days after his death, Sheppard Field opened as an Army Air Forces aviation mechanics school and basic training center just as America entered World War II. Training classes swelled to accommodate thousands of mechanics, glider crews, and pilots, and by October 1945 the base peaked at 46,000 personnel. Reactivated for the Cold War, it became a permanent Air Force base and a leading center for ballistic-missile and international jet-pilot training that continues today.
Ohio Street Bridge
Wichita Falls, TX
Soon after Wichita County was organized in 1882, residents planned a bridge over the river here, and the King Bridge Company of Cleveland delivered it, dedicating the span on the Fourth of July, 1886. A second bridge went up just west of the first in 1911. Together they tied downtown Wichita Falls to the city's growing northern neighborhoods until structural decay forced their closure to vehicles in 1972.
Hotter 'N Hell Hundred
Wichita Falls, TX
The Hotter 'N Hell Hundred began in 1982 as the kickoff to Wichita Falls' centennial, built around an irresistible pitch: 100 miles in 100 degrees to celebrate 100 years. Organized by the Wichita Falls Bicycle Club and named from an offhand joke that the ride would be 'hotter than hell,' the first event drew more than 1,200 riders and hundreds of volunteers. Over the decades it grew into a multi-day festival with thousands of cyclists, its famous 'Hell's Gate' cutoff, and formal recognition from the Texas Legislature.
Henry C. Luecke Pioneer, Blacksmith and Inventor
Wichita Falls, TX
Missouri-born Henry C. Luecke reached Texas around 1890 and opened a blacksmith shop at this Wichita Falls corner in 1903. There he designed and built the Wichita Gang Plow, patented in 1905, a multi-furrow implement whose three control levers gave farmers unusual maneuverability. It sold widely across the region until the steam tractor rendered such horse-drawn plows obsolete.