Most of us know that east of our city, on Route 176, the Oswego County Airport is in operation. It’s been a close neighbor of Fulton since the World War II era. But planes had been flying over our homes even earlier than that, and they were taking off and landing right inside our city limits. Yes, at one time, Fulton had its own airport.

A mere two decades after the Wright Brothers proved that people could fly, Fulton began inviting aviators to our city. By the mid-1920s, airplanes were starting to be seen as more than a novelty and were considered a step up from an automobile or railcar. And like cars needed driveways and trains required stations, airplanes had to have someplace to touch down after their sky travel. They needed a landing strip.

In Fulton, the first location being considered for an airport centered on the area we know as Recreation Park. Already cleared for large group gatherings and with Lake Neatahwanta as its nearest neighbor, the park offered plenty of space for takeoffs and landings. But Fulton’s mayor at the time, John Stevenson, wanted to keep the area an outdoor haven for citizens. Those interested in providing a home for airplanes were sent to look elsewhere.

By 1927, aerial enthusiasts found what they were looking for. A few tenths of a mile north of Recreation Park, still bordering Neatahwanta, was an area known as Riverside Park. A prominent Fulton family, the Cases, owned the property and struck a deal to develop a private airport with businessmen Charles Chesbro and Leon and Henry Holly. Their business manager, Bert Quinn, announced a contract with Syracuse’s Curtiss Flying Service, which would use the property as a destination for their planes.

Soon, Fultonians were being entertained by the sights and sounds of air travel…at least when the planes cooperated. A newspaper report from 1929 told of pilot Leonard Cramer, of Syracuse, who had a near fatality when his engine died while circling the Fulton airstrip. Cramer must have caught the wind just right, luckily enabling him to land with only slight damages. Watching airplanes was exciting for city residents, but the financial constraints of owning an airport proved too much for the Fulton businessmen. They asked the city to take it over, suggesting they lease it to the U.S. government for military use. Chesbro and the Holly brothers only asked that they could continue using the facility for commercial use.

Negotiations for the takeover began in 1931. The Fulton Patriot described on a meeting held at Minetto’s DuBois Hotel that included Fulton Mayor C.R. Baldwin, city aldermen, United States officials and the airport’s owners. Negotiations carried on for years, until finally, in 1935, an agreement was reached.

To celebrate the airport’s reopening, city officials decided to tie it into a celebration of the town of Fulton’s centennial. What better way to honor Fulton history than with breathtaking displays of aviation prowess. U.S. government officials formally dedicated the airport, but the real stars of the event were airplanes. Large crowds gathered and imagined what it would be like to fly. They didn’t have to wait long to find out.

A 1936 Fulton Patriot advertisement offered rides in a 16-passenger Tri-Motor plane. For one dollar folks could enjoy a 12-mile tour of the prettiest views around Fulton. For a slightly extra charge, during late August and early September passengers could head over to Syracuse and view the entire New York State Fair better than on any Ferris wheel.

More plane rides meant more accidents and Fulton’s airport saw their share of tragedy. The Syracuse-American reported on pilot Leonard Cramer and his two passengers, Fultonians Eileen Scanlon, age 15, and John Lazo, who narrowly escaped death when Cramer lost control of his plane while performing aerobatic stunts over our airport. Several hundred people witnessed the plane crash, which descended at such velocity that it buried its nose and flipped over on its back. Miraculously, the three suffered only minor injuries.

Fultonian Mary Jasak was not as lucky when she fell 2,500 feet to her death after her parachute failed to open, in 1933. Nearly 2,000 people had gathered to watch the parachute display. Thankfully, other Fulton Airport visitors came away with more pleasant memories, like the annual events held by the Fulton Prop Twisters, a model airplane club. Sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, club members competed to determine whose model could fly the greatest distance or height. There were categories for gas-powered planes and the more traditional rubber band-driven; in later years, planes controlled by radio were also allowed.

Spectators loved rubber band plane contests, but those races lasted less than 60 seconds. In 1940, however, youngster George Pringle dazzled the crowd when rubber bands sent his plane into a gust of wind, moving it far beyond the airport. Viewers lost sight of George’s plane after 13 minutes and 48 seconds, and he had a heck of a time recouping his award-winning model. It was finally located over a mile away.

As was the city’s original intent, the airport was used by the U.S. Army for training. In 1937, The Palladium-Times covered the 62nd Regiment from Fort Totten’s arrival at the Fulton Airport for a two-week training at Fort Ontario. Two planes from the airport would fly over Lake Ontario pulling targets for the Regimen to shoot at. Programs went so well that, by 1940, Fulton was in discussions with government officials to make our airport an Army base.

As U.S. involvement with World War II escalated, Army strategists determined that Fulton’s first airport was too small for their needs. In 1942, after years of rumors, it was confirmed that a new location had been selected for an auxiliary Army airfield and, in 1946, our city had created the Fulton Municipal Airport Commission. Thus began the history of today’s Oswego County Airport, which we’ll explore in a future column.