DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it — this one's about Ellington Field, out in Harris County. Now, before a single plane ever lifted off that patch of Texas ground, somebody had to go ask for it. And in 1917, during World War I, the Houston Chamber of Commerce did exactly that — they lobbied the federal government to put an air field right here.
The government said yes, and when it came time to name the place, they reached back to 1913 and a tragedy out in California. A young Illinois aviator, Lieutenant Eric Lamar Ellington, had been killed in a plane crash. The field that opened in November of 1917 would carry his name.
Now, the early life of Ellington Field was not exactly a story of steady glory. The site transferred to the National Guard during the 1920s. Then came a fire.
Then demolition. And by the 1930s, you want to know what was left of this mighty air field? A concrete water tank.
That's it. The government still owned the land, but they were leasing it out for grazing cattle. Fighter planes to cattle grazing.
That's quite a fall. But the world had a way of reminding folks why they'd built the thing in the first place. By the 1940s, the threat of another world conflict caused the United States to reactivate the base.
And they did not do it halfway. Construction began in 1940, and among the very first improvements was a service apron — a concrete slab believed to be the largest in the world at the time. That alone tells you the scale of what was coming.
Troops began arriving at the modernized facility in April of 1941. Ellington was primarily a pilot training center, but navigators and bombardiers trained here too, and so did aviators from other countries. Now here's the number that makes you stop — because the field was already operational before the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, one of every ten Army pilots went through its flying school in the first two years of the war.
One in ten. The strategic location near oil refineries and the Houston Ship Channel made it vital to American war planning during World War II. Later on, the Army Air Force ran an advanced navigator training school here as well.
After the war, Ellington settled into a new role as home to a Texas Air National Guard unit. Then the Cold War stirred things up again, and it became an active Air Force base once more — primarily for navigator training. The Air Force abandoned the base in 1976, and since then, well, the place has been shared by just about everybody.
The Texas Air National Guard, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Texas Army Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the City of Houston, which since 1984 has used much of it as a municipal airport. From a cattle lease and a lonely concrete water tank, back to one of the busiest pieces of ground in Harris County.
That's Ellington Field — and that story was worth every mile of the drive.
What the marker says
In 1917, during World War I, the Houston Chamber of Commerce lobbied the federal government to establish an air field here. Named for Lt. Eric Lamar Ellington, an Illinois aviator killed in a California plane crash in 1913, it opened in November 1917. The site transferred to the National Guard during the 1920s, and following a fire and demolition, all that remained by the 1930s was a concrete water tank. The government retained ownership, leasing the site for grazing cattle. By the 1940s, the threat of another world conflict caused the U.S. to reactivate the base. Ellington was vital to American war planning during World War II due to its strategic location near oil refineries and the Houston Ship Channel. Construction began in 1940, and among the first improvements was a service apron believed to be the largest concrete slab in the world at the time. Troops began arriving at the modernized facility in April 1941. Ellington was primarily a pilot training center, but navigators and bombardiers, as well as aviators from other countries, also trained here. Because the field was operational prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, one of every ten Army pilots went through its flying school in the first two years of the war. Later, the Army Air Force ran an advanced navigator training school here. After the war, Ellington was home to a Texas Air National Guard unit. During the Cold War, it again became an active Air Force base, primarily for navigator training. The Air Force abandoned the base in 1976, and the site has since been shared by the Texas Air National Guard, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Texas Army Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the City of Houston, which, since 1984, has used much of it for a municipal airport. Texas in World War II, V+60 (2005)