Ranger Municipal Airport
Ranger, Eastland County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Texas Department of Transportation's Aviation Division lists this field as the third oldest operating in the state. The earlies documentation for an airplane landing in Ranger was on November 24, 1911, when Robert G. Fowler landed his Wright biplane on the V.V. Cooper, Sr. field just west of the present airport building, on the eastern edge of Ranger College. Fowler, an early aviator, landed in Ranger during his transcontinental attempt to win publisher William Randolph Hearst's $50,000 prize for the first person to fly across the United States in 30 days. In the spring of 1928, C.J. Moore and various aviation boosters determined to build an airport for Eastland County began searching for a suitable site. They purchased the 135-acre V.V. Cooper, Sr. tract, and officially dedicated the airport on Armistice Day, November 11, 1928. Called Haugland Airport in the 1930s, the airport was renamed Ranger Municipal Airport in September 1939 when the Ranger Flying Service, owned by Russell B. Miller, Hall Walker and O.G. Lanier opened a civilian pilot training program at the airport. Several noteworthy aviation events have occurred at Ranger Field. On June 16, 1931, aviatrix Amelia Earhart landed her Pitcairn Autogiro here. In the 1930s, Ranger Airport served as a midway point for glider races from Grand Prairie to Sweetwater and back. During World War II, Army Air Forces Piper L4 Cub pilots flew into Ranger Municipal Airport on multiple occasions for two to three days of practice in the clear skies around Ranger. Since World War II area citizens have worked continuously to make Ranger Municipal Airport an asset to the city, county and state. (2006)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Ranked among Texas's oldest operating airfields, Ranger's aviation story began in 1911 when transcontinental flyer Robert G. Fowler landed his Wright biplane here during a bid for William Randolph Hearst's $50,000 cross-country prize. Boosters bought the 135-acre Cooper tract and dedicated an airport on Armistice Day 1928, later renaming it Ranger Municipal Airport in 1939 as a civilian pilot training program opened. Amelia Earhart set down her Pitcairn Autogiro here in 1931, glider races passed through in the 1930s, and Army Air Forces Cub pilots trained in its clear skies during World War II.
Why it matters
Ranger's field captures the pioneering decades of American aviation—from prize-chasing barnstormers and famed aviators to wartime pilot training—in one small Texas airport.
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Related people
- · Robert G. Fowler
- · Amelia Earhart
Themes & tags
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