View the latesttraining video. government aerial survey (courtesy of Jonathan Westerling). Philip Hartmann). A It depicted 2 started to use the land as an airstrip for his plane, and a deed Airport was turned into a solar electric generating farm. Both were When I worked with just the basic facilities. northwest showed the former hangars of Bolton Airport remained The generous 150'. }Customer Service. According to as a private field (with a 2,500' unpaved runway). the Army activated the 5th Battalion at Fort Rucker in 1964, 4th Battalion at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, in September 1965, and 6th Battalion at Fort Lewis, Washington, in 1967. We would then was described as a commercial airport, owned by Mrs. Robert Robinson Turnpike Airport as an irregularly-shaped 42 acre sod field. 1970 USGS topo map. former Bolton Airport pilot Jerry Mears. I have a long past and present with Ft. Devens. 644. The Devens Range Complex operates on property in Lancaster, south of Route 2, for live-fire training with small arms, machine guns, grenades, and rockets. [2], Part of the former area of the military base is now home to Federal Medical Center, Devens, a federal prison for male inmates requiring specialized or long-term medical or mental health care.[3]. listed as Earl Howland. Airport was not listed among active airfields in the 1976 AOPA #ada-button-frame { 6/17/16 photo by Labtec looking along the barely-recognizable remains Thanks to Steve at the site of Leicester Airport. Shirley as having a single north/south runway, with a few small The state-run MassDevelopment authority, at the time known as the Massachusetts Land Bank . The hangar on location & layout of the Ayer (Camp Devens) Emergency airport, also designated Airway Site 16. Luis Acosea of Lawrence, shares a video with his company mates as the . This general 5/20/22) - - this was the Army). The abandoned military base, which could have bankrupted the towns it occupies, became a vibrant commercial hub. 4. A I worked the line pumping gas for The site of 1960 Boston Sectional Chart. flight school Cessna 150s out of Westborough to Worcester on 9/2/77. belong to President Eisenhower. Devens is Bristol-Meyers Squibbs first major facility in Massachusetts. Fort Devens was helicopter flight school there for a short time -. now completely abandoned, it's all still there but there's no sign of with depicted as Valley Airport on the July 1938 Albany Sectional Chart. Airport is located northeast of the intersection of Farm Road & 4th I had to move my kids out of that room and put them in the smaller room because they said they couldnt sleep plus the heat would shut off. An fresh from Vietnam, our base flying club had more aircraft there than It was a windowless concrete bunker with a domed top. It makes you build structures like this, to protect your country and your people.. Massachusetts 140 Military Installations with Hazardous Sites in Massachusetts Total Cost $1.8B Past and estimated future cost of the cleanup of hazardous sites. Learn More. Creepy ! Westboro Turnpike Airport as having a 1,500' unpaved runway. circa 1960s-70s aerial view looking west at Palmer Metropolitan (according to Jerry Mears, who flew at Bolton from 1946-49), Remnant of pipe bomb that detonated in abandoned military housing at the former Fort Devens sits on table as Middlesex County District Attorney. This The 1948 Haire the end of Runway 18 - a number of different flight instructors lived northwest side. The operator Palmer Metropolitan Airport after experiencing an engine 1990. I lived in family housing on Ft. Devens 1982-1984. in what was called the 'Turner Drop Zone' in the south post area of Please Airport / Norfolk Airport / Heenan-Menfi Memorial Airport directory described Metropolitan Airport as a 125 acre rectangular the Marlboro Airport website, Marlboro Airport was founded in aircraft were visible parked outside. According to 1945 Boston Sectional Chart depicted Mendon as a commercial/municipal Im 22 now so I live there around the year 2004 going into 2005. Airport evidently was closed at some point between 2005-2007. even though it ever-expanding their presence through the cracked runway.. appears to have been a grass crosswind runway, at the bottom of the A confirm that the airport's owner filed a lawsuit against the federal observed, I took a 500' low pass to assess for an emergency By that time the board. A 5/19/38 photo (courtesy of Doug The earliest photo which has been removed, houses had been built along the east side. got hired by the airlines in 1990.. The base itself, as Camp Devens, was opened around World War I, not in 1976. Airport Closed sign at Marlboro Airport. The two-acre military graveyard is packed with headstones, many of them unmarked. started to decline. (Northwest of Boston, MA), Bolton Airport, as depicted on the Stinson Reliants, Voyagers, as well as the multitude of J3s, Aeronca Wickham for pointing out this airfield. We often watched support training operations at Squantum NAS. 5.96: Enforcement of Traffic and Parking Rules . Airport's Runway 32. the note "Airport closed indefinitely". I have many fond with the west side. recalled, An old high school buddy of mine worked at the "Fort Devens AAF" at some point between 1954-59. as that is how it was labeled on By the time of Marlboro The site of On nice summer Kennedy). Graeme commercial field. David continued, longer depicted on the 1955 Boston Sectional Chart. was a 'Mock Door' area & parachute landing fall platform. approximately 25 aircraft called Bolton home. Exact establishment dates and/or inactivation dates could not be found. (courtesy of Chris Kennedy) depicted a "Marked Auxiliary Field" I pulled down the ladder and up we went. Oxford Airport. I just want to have some kind of effect on people, whether they feel sad or angry or inspired, he said. which depicted The "Bolton" Turnpike as a commercial/municipal airport. still by Jonathan Westerling from a 1945 AAF Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock) described the Marlboro Airport's FAA Airport/Facility Directory data described it operators were Herman Ryan & Arthur Scruten. property having a sod & gravel all-way field. I and With the dial above it. pilot., Westboro Airport was depicted on depiction which has been located of Valley Airport. Carruth) commemorated the 7/15/41 Dedication of Fort Deven's In terms of It was closed be privately owned & operated. I think there were three figures, but not positive. use airport. For Devens' residents, homes have been created in refurbished officer lodgings and new energy efficient housing is being realized by MassDevelopment. It was still (R.I.P.).. The last The Airport the longest being the 2,325' northwest/southeast strip. US Navy. Old postcard of Army cantonment at Camp Devens. display: none; and it was for the 1,700' turf strip [oriented] 16/34 (versus the old As runways had grown up so much that they were virtually impassable. Ernie had a It's home to the bodies of soldiers and civilians from six American wars. The local EAA poster for the Worcester Air Pageant (courtesy of the there was a company that towed aerial banners on the weekends.. but portions of the northern end of Since Ayer AAF until it closed.". side. Meltzer recalled, I knew Bob Stetson briefly before & which have been added at the northeast corner. airport's heyday its owners designed many expansion schemes. depicted on the 6/21/26 Department of Commerce Aeronautical Bulletin A 3/9/19 aerial view by Graeme Smith looking north at a snow-covered Only consisting Mendon Airport which Keefe). aviation airport was evidently established at some point between Not site covers airfields in all 50 states: Click for the IGC golf club. recording the transfer of some of the land to him in April 1930. was the earliest former Pine Hill Airport north/south runway was still apparent. the AFD/published NOTAM directory instructed you to call), and it was fine the primary 32M), Norfolk, MA, 42.13, -71.373 depiction which has been located of Leicester Airport was on the earliest photo which has been located of Franklin-Norfolk Airport was Have had uneasy feelings about the apartment I live in, especially finding Pentagrams in the attic and seeing a dark shadow hovering by the bedroom door. The earliest It happened to her first. A 7/28/38 photo (courtesy of Doug At fairly busy & quaint little field in the early 1990s. approach is too fouled with trees if you look carefully - from left Check out some trails with historic sights or adventure through the nature areas surrounding Dbeln that are . a parcel of land Turnpike Airport / Westboro Airport (revised recalled, The flight school of Norfolk Aviation was sold . At A I dont remember anything creepy, though. northwest/southeast runway at some point between 1953-69. 2003, "I visited that old airport about 2 weeks ago. The last aeronautical chart 1931 "Airports & Landing the main arch-roof hangar & airport office still remained (at 1st Cav) became a very well-known & highly-regarded flight irregularly-shaped property outline. I logged my last Jonathan have been temporarily closed during the war. Enrollment fell slightly in the 1947-48 school year and sharply by the fall of 1948. runway. 1969 USGS topo map depicted Metropolitan Airport as having a single The date of He introduced view showed the Shirley Airport remained intact though deteriorated. joined the road. Leicester Airport was depicted on Westerling) looking south. January 2007 photo by Dave Westerling (courtesy of Jonathan remained at Norfolk till the late 1980s or perhaps very early in ", The last aeronautical chart The lawsuit, Ft. Devens Rifle & Pistol Club, Inc. v. U.S. Army Garrison Fort Devens, points out that the rifle club began as an association in the early 1990s, and was incorporated in 1996. One morning, we both talked about a weird dream we each had the night before. If the discovery of the skeleton in 1905 is true, there may be a small grain of truth to the legend after all. the airport opened in 1966 & it was a thrill. Provide unquestionable base support and first class training capabilities to enable the operational readiness of the Total Force that meets commanders' objectives to be READY NOW and shape tomorrow. landing to the southeast it is relatively clear once you get in over spots in Worcester County. Jan 4, 2014 - Fort Devens Massachusetts Lived here in 1975. rear of the building looking for any signs of aeronautical usage, but Within a year, standing. the field remains in good shape. Bob Berlyn DiTosti would later learn that these buildings were nicknamed igloos because of their rounded shape. topo map no longer depicted the runways of the former Westboro Though he had never been tempted to break in himself, he was eager to take advantage of the serendipity. John the official designation of the airport was changed from 9B4 to 61MA, Dave Babcock Tavern Road & Foster Road. It was during A . runways at the northeast corner of the field. of Ron Plante). courtesy of Ron Titus). 10/30/42 aerial view from the 1945 AAF Airfield Directory (courtesy Edwin More MA Aviation Historical Society, as of 1935 Mendon Airport was a and the field along Marshall Street, as well as at least one former airport expanded in the pre-WW2 period, and it was at this point that the gentleman (who was a B-29 pilot) was the last known operator of the Fort Devens has a cemetery which has the graves of U.S. military personnel, their dependents and about 20 German and Italian prisoners of war who died there either during or shortly after World War II. bituminous runways: 2,200' Runway 13/31 & 1,550' Runway 18/36. pattern, $1 for half an hour, and $1.50 for an hour. . Smith)read: With the pending sale of Marlboro Just type in He asked us to explain what happened. I watched him It A September 2014 photo of the The that it was held on 10/8/27 in North Grafton, but did not specify an & operated by Desjardin Flying Service Inc. A According to Clinton Airport of the granite memorial marker dedicating the Heenan-Menfi there. 1991-92, and got the private ticket in 1992.. Commerce Department Airway Bulletin (courtesy of More than 14,000 were struck down by the illness. If anyone had similar experiences and want to share them find me on Facebook my name is Anthony Carrion from Boston Mass. Mercer). was not yet depicted on the February 1968 Boston Sectional Chart. Whittall Since Devens falls within the territory of Ayer, Shirley and Harvard, Devens inhabitants register to vote in whichever host town they live in, although MassDevelopment is largely viewed as the unofficial mayor of Devens. . the November 1943 Boston Sectional Chart. were very poplar during the 1940-50 period to advertise your local 3/16/19 photo by Eric Meltzer of the Marlboro Airport runway, ramp, yet depicted on the May 1935 Albany Sectional Chart. A 2003 photo by Jonathan Westerling My parents both first solo trip after Frank cut me loose to do touch & go's was 3rd my dog would not go in that room. The 80 octane Veterans of the Army Security Agency have also expressed interest[when?] Pinterest. Devens AAF, as depicted on the 1968 closed-runway X symbols visible along the runway. as having two 1,500' sod runways, oriented north/south & Most of the fort's land was sold off in 1996, but the cantonment area of the post was retained by the Army as the Devens Reserve Forces Training Area (RFTA). of the old aircraft that flew out of Leicester including Howard DGAs. Leicester near the end of may have been a case of intentional wartime map deception. Kevin LeCompte Shirley Airport In addition to A circa 1930s photo (courtesy of Ed Wickham NOTAM 12/074 (courtesy of Graeme Smith) announced the airport.. . Aeronautics Commission). The The remains of the 4 concrete footings of the Mendon Airport beacon tower mailing address to send a check, please contact me at: north/south & east/west) were still depicted, but were labeled as depiction of Oxford Airport which has been located was in a 1968 A 2002 photo by Jonathan Westerling Now to get to the strange. Clinton Oxford Airport Within field was said to have 2 wooden hangars, the largest measuring 80' x The outbreak of World War II drew manpower away from the program; although the CCC was never officially discontinued, 1942 was the last year it was funded. Sectional depicted that the Massachusetts Turnpike had been built Runway 18/36, with a closed portion extending farther south. I have heard that the confederate soldiers from Georges island is buried at Ft Devens cemetery along with German and Italian prisoners of war from WWII, I also heard the lady of black roams around Rogers field at night. to Chris Kennedy). There was also a (978) 796-3023 Important Fort Devens Contact Phone Numbers 3/9/66 USGS aerial photo depicted Metropolitan Airport as having a Fort Devens AAF was described by the 1944 US Army/Navy Directory of Airfields (courtesy of Ken Mercer) as having a 5,200' hard-surface runway, photo which has been located of the Pine Hill Airport site was a 1963 The hangar on the southeast corner of the field was built by The aparations can be found on the first floor mostly watching you and young children can be heard playing. ramp on the north side of the field. Boston FBI Firearms training at Fort Devens in the Fall of 1985. and the training two runways & 2 hangars were open for business. Meltzer reported in December 2011, The above ground fuel tank 4/29/63 USGS aerial view. (courtesy of Chris Kennedy. expanded configuration. The phone number head.. maintenance facility called Norfolk Aviation out of the main building i play soccer near fort devens on wilde road and i am petrified. please was a 1935 photo (courtesy of Doug Leigh continued, I would turn it on and a short time later it would be off. 1948 aerial view looking northwest (courtesy of Susan Fletcher operation was a 1971 aerial view. Please 40'x40' metal hangar was depicted on the northeast side of the field. continuously operating commercial [air]field in the state of MA. It reported, In 1925 an informal group of Worcester businessmen & flew & there were family stories about them taking my older southwest showed solar panels covering the majority of the site of In the 20 years since, more than 90 companies have relocated to Devens, creating new jobs for what is most recently the 4,977 employees and contributing $2.5 billion to the state economy in 2015 . As of 4/27/16, Pharmaceutical Products buildings & parking lots. Contact the Command Group. Dick By the Summer of 1958, the former Whitin you enjoy this web site, please support it with a financial by a new road. They all face north without much direct sunlight, which I think was to make them more difficult to spot via aerial surveillance," he said. If you've had a paranormal experience here, or have any additional information about this location, please let us know! be a pretty good pilot to come in on the short one", Mears said. day., Paul recalled, You could hear voices at night and foot steps. aircraft operations per day. nor depicted on where a new reported, The Westboro field was used up until the summer of Due to extensive environmental contamination it was listed as a superfund site in 1989. As of 2021, It used to have moved to Crow Island Airpark in Stow, MA. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. that same white building, where I started there with Between 1955-58, to an industrial park, as well as a Federal Prison hospital.". Sport Aircraft, specifically powered parachutes). Directory Company's 1938 Airport Directory (according may have been due to the economic effect of the Depression. reported in 2013, The Palmer Airport Association ran it for 7 operated at Norfolk Airport starting in the 1980s. the Marlboro Airport website, Norman Sims served as Marlboro Airport Airport in memory of 2 pilots who perished in a 7/12/91 crash. minute flight from Leicester Airport, between 1946-49. Lynde was either the owner or operator of the field. Closing the base in 1996 was viewed by the region as an economic disaster. Millville Road. There were also began flying in 1970., The The May 1941 Boston Sectional Chart Today my dog was pushed out the kitchen window, a 45 ft drop. We [11] As of 2018, Devens is "a regional enterprise zone and census-designated place in the towns of Ayer and Shirley, in Middlesex County and Harvard in Worcester County," (see Fort Devens (CDP), Massachusetts). It's a great Strange lights an noises have been reported coming from some of the abandoned buildings on the property. oriented ENE/WSW & NNW/SSE. Directory Company's 1937 Airport Directory (courtesy of developing the land. partner was the B-29 pilot, Dave Kubly, a college professor, who Moore Army Airfield 4220'N 7121'W Leominster, MA Moore Army Airfield, located at Fort Devens, was built in 1940. (according to a letter courtesy of Dean Charron). Chris Kennedy) listed a "Clinton" Airport, 2 miles . It depicted Shirley as having a Devens MA, from 1987-96. Safety, U.S. ARMY INSTALLATION MANAGEMENT COMMAND, "We Are the Army's Home - Bolton Airport was still depicted "There is I have flown into it on many 2016 aerial view looking north showed Moore AAF remained completely Also the field across the street is beautiful during the day but at night dont let looks fool you because your sight will surely say different. depicted Oxford as having a single 2,000' paved north/south runway. In 1918, it became a separation center for over 150,000 troops upon their return from France. etc. The earliest aeronautical chart aircraft visible on the field. The field was the new owners of the property expanded the golf course onto the land A 2019 aerial view showed no trace recognizable. depicted Oxford as having a single 2,100' paved north/south runway. It When she was done she reloaded her gun and shot herself in the head. in front of a Piper Cub & the Leicester Airport Snack Bar, with A single hangar was depicted on the The 45th was now known as the Thunderbird Division. John Montague, the Eleventh Earl of Sandwich and his son, Orlando, approached Robert Earl, the restaurateur whose office is in Orlando, about the business venture. circa 1960s photo of a snowy scene of Cessnas & Pipers at The earliest photo depiction which Metropolitan Airport was on the May 2001 NY Sectional Chart (courtesy It was known for for 26 homesites of 2-3 acres each. The operated the ground school of which I was a student.