Wisener Field
Mineola, Wood County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The age of aviation came to Mineola on July 4, 1917, when a Curtis JN-4D "Jenny" biplane, piloted by a member of the U. S. Army Signal Corps, landed at this field. Called Massengale Meadow at the time, the site's flat terrain proved conducive to the establishment of one of the first airports in Texas. It was used by military aircraft during World War I and was the home of the Royal Flying Circus and other barnstormers in the 1920s. Expanded and improved over the years, it remains a privately-maintained public use airport. (1988)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
On the Fourth of July, 1917, a Jenny biplane flown by an Army Signal Corps pilot touched down on this flat meadow, bringing the age of flight to Mineola. The site's level ground made it one of Texas's first airfields, used by military planes during World War I and home to barnstorming flyers in the 1920s. Expanded over the decades, it survives as a public-use airport.
Why it matters
Wisener Field marks the moment aviation reached small-town America, and its unbroken century of use tells the story of flight moving from daredevil novelty to everyday infrastructure.
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