The history of Pocatello's airfields

On June 17, 1902, Pocatello saw a land rush with thousands scrambling on horses, wagons and buggies for recently ceded Fort Hall Reservation parcels of ground. At the time, there were fewer than 10 automobiles in all of Idaho and they were more toys than reliable transportation. However, just 548 days later, the Wright brothers successfully achieved powered flight on Dec. 17, 1903. Just under seven years later, the first powered flight in Idaho occurred in Lewiston on Oct. 13, 1910.

When the first airplane landed near Pocatello is somewhat difficult to ascertain. However, it may have been on April 5, 1920, when barnstormer Hugh Barker blew into the valley on a trip from Gooding. A suitable landing spot was previously identified by two men from Salt Lake City and upon arrival at about 4, in the afternoon Barker landed about a mile north of the city in the field of J. Robb Brady, son of the noted Idaho senator.

Barker was not only a pilot, but also a businessman and knew how to leverage the novelty of flying. His trip was as much showmanship as business and he flew to impress. The day after his arrival, he put on an impromptu airshow over the city doing spectacular stunts as citizens stared into the sky. In the midst of the flight, he and his passengers dumped leaflets over the city promoting an automobile show held in Pocatello.

His acrobatics were well received, and a number of locals were allowed to fly with the dashing pilot until he had some engine problems and had to set down for repair. However, on the 14th he was ready again to take to the air and with the aforementioned J. Robb Brady they loaded the plane with a bag of first class mail, a few copies of the newspaper and more leaflets to drop. Flying north toward Idaho Falls, they buzzed small villages, dropped more leaflets and generally had a fun time making the first airmail trip in Idaho. The plane eventually landed outside Idaho Falls around 12:20 in the afternoon. Upon return, they proudly posed with a sign that marked the achievement of delivering the “First Aerial Mail in Idaho.”

Private airmail delivery continued for a while, but the Postal Service eventually decided the pilots were ripping them off and began flying their own airmail service and Barker moved to flying with them in 1924. Over the next year, the number of airports and landing fields in the nation exploded to more than 3,200 places to touch down exclusively reserved for aircraft. How many other fields, roads and other flat spots were similarly used for the purpose is anyone’s guess. There is no known official account of how many landing strips were in Idaho at the time. After all, the state was wide open with plenty of fields and other places to land.

By 1926, the Post Office began contracting with commercial air carriers to deliver mail over long distances. Boise found itself on one such route and quickly built an airfield to accommodate it. Still, the Idaho daredevil Barker had nearly crashed twice during his tenure and flown almost 1,800 hours and 170,073 miles for the Postal Service before being released from employment.

Meanwhile, Pocatello was entertaining flyers landing at ad hoc landing fields that were just that, fields. In 1928, the city decided to get with the program and bought a piece of land already being used as an impromptu airport near what is now Simplot. The airport remained an ongoing construction project as crews pulled out sagebrush and leveled the ground with county tractors in April and May. The Chamber of Commerce was the primary party behind the airport and hoped to have it ready for regular airmail service planned for June 1. However, the Post Office had several delays and official Commercial Airmail service did not begin until Aug. 1, 1928.

In the early days of flight, safety was always a consideration, but crashes were frequent. Just three days after the new airmail route was opened, a flight passing through Pocatello on its way to Montana crashed. The commercial carriers often ferried passengers with the mail and the crash not only killed the two pilots, but also five passengers — including two children. The crash was national news and underscored the dangers still inherent in the new technology.

The Pocatello airport was barely leveled and not even officially dedicated when Harry Owens McDougall, considered a local boy, arrived for an air show celebration for Armistice Day. McDougall now lived in Boise but had family in town and was a celebrated Ace from the Great War in Europe having received the Distinguished Flying Cross and Croix de Guerre while surviving 42 bombing missions. He was slated to put on aerial acrobatics for the hometown crowd and participate in an air race. Sadly, the 32-year-old McDougall and his 20-year-old sister-in-law Elda Rice, riding as passenger, crashed two miles west of the city during an air race. Fellow pilot William Gowan saw the plane lose control, go into a tailspin and nose-dive into the ground. He landed as quickly as possible but could not render assistance. Dismayed at losing Idaho’s only Great War flying Ace on Armistice Day, the town leaders renamed the Pocatello’s municipal airport in his honor. On Jan. 1, 1929, McDougall Field was officially dedicated and open for business.

Operations continued to expand, and on June 30, 1930, Pocatello saw its first night airmail flight land at the municipal airport. Meanwhile daredevils found new ways to get a thrill, including Gayle Christensen Evans, who was the first woman to make a parachute jump at Pocatello in April 1934. By 1937, McDougall Field was 3,500 feet by 2,700 feet at its widest points. Its eastern edge was against Batise Springs and airlines were regularly flying into the Gate City.

In 1938, McDougall Field was joined by another airfield in town. Situated above the University of Idaho, Southern Branch (now Idaho State University), it was known as both University Field and Ham’s Field. The university had already built an airframe mechanics program and the addition of the airfield allowed students more opportunities to learn. An airline startup helped get things off the ground by stationing their airplanes at the field and making an agreement with the school to have students perform maintenance on the aircraft. The Bureau of Air Commerce approved over $23,000 for building shops and a hanger. On Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1939, the university airport was dedicated. The new field brought more flights in and out of Pocatello and was used for occasional medical flights. The airfield would eventually have three runways with the longest measured at 3,000 feet.

1941 brought another war to the United States and McDougall found itself a neighbor to the United States Army Pocatello Airbase. Situated just two miles to the east of the existing McDougall Field, the new military operation dwarfed anything the city had seen. The base was designed to land B-17 and B-24 bombers during aircrew training. P-39 and P-47 fighters were also based in Pocatello for training.

Pocatello’s distance from the coast, central transportation routes and admittedly challenging wind conditions made it an ideal place for new pilots and bombardiers to practice. At least four bombing ranges were designated including the most heavily used to the north in the lava fields. Night and day airplanes soared into the skies and conducted practice bombing runs, landing and fighting. Accidents were common, and a number of aspiring pilots never made it to the South Pacific.

Things were getting crowded in the skies, and in 1943 the Army took control of both civilian and military aircraft operations at the two neighboring fields. Pocatello was all-in for the war effort and proudly boasted that McDougall Field had a 4,300-foot-long paved runway that could easily land a bomber and the largest airliners of the day. The university programs also provided important secondary training for civilian pilots and mechanics. Anti-aircraft guns were stationed near the southern end of Ham’s Field in case the worst should occur. Pocatello’s Army air base along with the Naval Gun Plant provided a significant boost to the local economy with soldiers and sailors spending their pay at Pocatello businesses.

With the end of the war, military operations nearly ceased entirely at the Army installation, and by Jan. 21, 1945, McDougall Airport was again controlling civilian flights. The larger field was used sporadically for private flights, but the vast air base quickly dwindled. The mess hall that could seat well over a thousand airmen and army personnel was no longer needed.

It was in the years just after the war, that a fourth airfield appeared. Situated north of Alameda at a point today just east of Hiline and south of the New Day Parkway that leads to the new Northgate development, the little airfield took the perfectly described and unassuming name of Hayfield. Privately operated, it was used to train GIs returning from the war as civilian pilots. Names associated with Hayfield Airport include Walter Willford who worked as an instructor, Mike Yamada, Don Hutchings and Maynard Craig as various owners, pilots and operators.

On Feb. 20, 1949, ownership of the Pocatello Army Air Base was conveyed to the city of Pocatello to replace McDougall Field. At the time, it was called Phillips Field in honor of a local who helped get the field transferred to the city; however, the name was soon dropped and within two years the Pocatello Municipal Airport began operation at the former air base.

At about the same time, the University Airport ceased operations. Ham’s Field was eventually repurposed for the ISU dormitories and the Minidome. Hayfield also closed down sometime after 1953 and was largely forgotten except as a name of an unincorporated area to the northwest of Chubbuck.

The now-defunct McDougall Field and Hayfield saw their old runways crossed by the interstate. However, McDougall’s east-west runway remained and was converted into a dragstrip that operated for many years just south of the freeway. The old McDougall tower continued on for a while as the Pilot House restaurant. The hangers were removed and eventually the rest of the buildings as well.

It is now 92 years since Idaho lost her World War I flying ace. Over the decades, Armistice Day has become Veterans Day, but Harry McDougall is not quite gone. If you look closely at satellite images, you can still see the foundations of the hangers at McDougall airfield and the runway turned dragstrip. The old runways running across what is now the interstate are also just visible in the nearby farm fields to the north, quietly fading away along the Oregon Trail as thousands drive and fly over them each day.