IT’S ABOUT TIME
Archival Newsletter
Issue VII
ROCKLAND COUNTY, N.Y.
Fall 2012
Historical Airports of Rockland County
The Rockland County Archives has been an invaluable resource for scholarship on
even the most obscure pieces of county history. For instance, it might be a surprise to a
number of Rockland residents to discover that, at one time, this county was home to
several different airports and numerous smaller airstrips. For Adam Raines, a licensed
pilot who has done extensive work for a book on the county’s historical airports, the
Archives has provided a number of useful aerial photographs for his research.
While a handful of Rockland airports began operations in the 1920’s and 1930’s, the
late 1940’s was the height of interest in aviation in the county. According to Mr. Raines,
this was largely because the G.I. Bill after World War II allowed returning soldiers to
take flight training at a substantially reduced cost. In order to take advantage of this
demand, several airports opened their doors in the late 1940’s only to close again within
the decade. James Christie, who was one of the proprietors of Christie Airport in New
City, remarks in his memoirs: “someone was always going to start an airport in Mt. Ivy
or Spring Valley or a seaplane base on the Hudson River. Some materialized and then
were phased out.”1 The vast majority of these airports had been small affairs with grass
runways and a handful of instructors to teach students, give private flights, or fly in air
shows meant to entertain a crowd.
While a few of these endeavors enjoyed modest financial success, they all eventually
closed as property costs increased too quickly for most airports to maintain profitability.
The era of aviation in the county finally concluded in 1985 with the closing of the
Ramapo Valley Airport, which had been the last functioning airport in Rockland
County.2
Information concerning Rockland County’s airports can be difficult to find. We
would therefore like to thank Adam Raines for his help “filling in the blanks” regarding
many of the dates and locations of these airports, as well as for providing some relevant
photographs. The following were some of the most prominent airports to have operated
in Rockland County:
1
KEY
1
2
6
6
3
4
1: Christie Airport
2: Rockland Airport
3: Miller Airport
4: Nyack Seaplane Base
5: CAPROC Field
6: Spring/Ramapo Valley
Airport
5
Base Map Courtesy of Rockland
County Department of Planning
Christie Airport
Christie Airport was one of the earliest and most popular airports in Rockland
County. It began operations in 1929 and was located at the current intersection of
Haverstraw Road and Christie Drive in New City. There are two important resources
currently available about this airport in the Rockland Room of the New City Library:
James Christie’s memoirs and a logbook of flights out of the airport between 1930 and
1942. Since these sources contain a treasure trove of information, it is unsurprising that
out of all of the airports to operate out of Rockland County, perhaps the most is
currently known about Christie Airport.
In the few years after Charles Lindbergh’s historic flight to Paris, the Christie family
decided to convert their old dairy farm into an airport and gas station. While it was
initially difficult to sell plane rides during the 1930’s because money was tight during
the Depression, that eventually changed.3 As James Christie recalls:
“The short flight over Rockland County was getting more popular as people
realized the beauty of the trip. As the plane leaves the airport and climbs up into
2
the sky, a spectacular scene comes into view. The Hudson River to the east, the
Ramapo Mountains to the west, and the various lakes and hills that dot Rockland
County are beautiful. One can get only a limited view by car. This induced many
people to make their first flight.”4
There were a number of attractions at
Christie Airport in those early years, including a
“parachute jump” every Sunday. While over
5,000 sightseeing passengers took rides from
the airport in its first decade of existence, James
Christie recalls how the airport was closed
temporarily during World War II by the U.S.
government, as it was feared that small airports
might be used for enemy attacks upon the
United States.
Six Aviators at Christie Airport in 1930
(courtesy of Nyack Library
Local History Room)
Several famous individuals received flight training at the airport, including author
Ernest K. Gann, who mentioned it in his book, Hostage to Fortune. While Christie
Airport would watch a number of airports come and go during its long tenure, the family
eventually sold it to developers in 1969.5
Rockland Airport
While some believe that Christie
Airport was the first to exist in Rockland
County, this may not have been the case.
Indeed, Mr. Raines possesses an old
matchbook that advertises the Rockland
Airport as the first one to be established
in the county. While the exact
circumstances of its opening is uncertain,
Rockland Airport, located on Brewery
Road in New City, likely opened
sometime around 1927.6
Several short articles called “Flying
Notes” in the Orangetown Telegram
written by Art Statt in 1947 provide
Rockland Airport in 1948
(photo taken by Richard MacVicar
and provided by Adam Raines)
3
some interesting bits of information regarding the Rockland Airport as well as other
airports. One article mentions that Albert Morris was the principal instructor of the
Rockland Airport, and that it possessed over 1,860 feet of runways at the time.7
Art Statt notes that, on one Sunday in 1947, over 3,000 people paid over a thousand
dollars to see an Air Show and related exhibits at the Rockland Airport. In his opinion,
“the show really proved that Rockland County is air-minded.”8 Despite this assessment,
the Rockland Airport would close just two years later in 1949.9
Miller Airport
Many shoppers at the Palisades Mall
would no doubt be surprised to discover
that there used to be an airport right
beneath their feet! In his memoirs, James
Christie writes that, in 1940, one of the
students at Christie Airport, Gary Miller,
decided to purchase a swamp adjacent to
his family’s milk plant in West Nyack.
Although it had previously been used as a
landfill to dispose of garbage from Nyack,
Gary Miller bought the land in order to set
up the Miller Airport.10 However, the
Miller Airport closed in 1952, thus paving
the way for the construction of the
Palisades Mall decades later.11
Miller Airport in 1950
(photo taken by Richard MacVicar
and provided by Adam Raines)
Nyack Seaplane Base
One of several seaplane bases located on the Hudson River, the Nyack Seaplane Base
began operations in 1946 and was located right at the foot of Main Street in Nyack. A
seaplane is very similar to a fixed-wing land aircraft, except that it has the ability to land
on water with the use of floats.12 The Nyack Seaplane Base was managed by the Forsee
Aviation Corporation, whose President was Bruce Cobb. Other part owners included
Robert Black, Dave Schmerbeck, and Edward Strauss.13
Like other local airports, the Nyack Seaplane Base would hold flight competitions
for the entertainment of spectators. As reported in the Orangetown Telegram, on one
4
such occasion in 1947, John Haskins won
the “C” event for flying the fastest plane at
eight-five miles per hour. Unfortunately,
one of the other planes that he flew at the
event “hit a tree limb and one wing came
off and created quite a thrill for the
spectators.” Haskins was fine, however, as
he subsequently “received a big hand for
the fine show he put on.”14 Clearly,
performing in these types of flight
spectacles could be a risky proposition. The
Nyack Seaplane Base would close merely 4
years after this event, in 1951.15
Advertisement in Orangetown Telegram
(August 29, 1947)
CAPROC Field
As James Christie notes in his
memoirs, Albert Morris (previously of the
Rockland Airport) and the other members
of the Civil Air Patrol of Rockland County
(CAPROC), leased a field from the
Hackensack Water Company in 1952 in
order to build their own airport. The Civil
Air Patrol, an auxiliary of the U.S. Air
Force, assisted in locating missing
airplanes and in other aviation-related
emergencies.16 However, CAPROC was
eventually sold to the Spring Valley Water
Company in 1966 and subsequently
destroyed to make room for the Lake
Tappan Reservoir—the old CAPROC
Field is now completely underwater.17
CAPROC Field
(photo taken by Raymond A. Eberling
and provided by Adam Raines)
5
Spring Valley Airport / Ramapo Valley Airport
The Spring/Ramapo Valley Airport, opened in 1946 on Smith Road in Spring Valley,
has had a number of names over the years.18 It was initially known as either the Spring
Valley Airport or simply as the County Airpark. Papers filed with the County Clerk
indicate that the airport had three owners in 1948: William Bohlke, Theodore G. Klink,
and Clarence E. Erickson who each owned one share of it.19 This is confirmed in James
Christie’s memoirs, which also note that Klink and Erickson were both former flight
students at Christie’s.20
A group led by Bill Beard later acquired what was then
known as the Ramapo Valley Airport in 1960. According
to a 1961 edition of the magazine, “Flying,” this largest
airport in Rockland County was regularly used for air taxi
missions to the LaGuardia, Idewild, and Newark Airports.
It was also used by a number of local businesses, including
the Lederle drug plant, the nearby Ford factory, and the
New York Trap Rock Corporation—“everything from
industrial parts to emergency shipments of serum have
been and are regularly airlifted from Ramapo Valley.”21
Over one hundred active students were enrolled in the
airport’s flight and ground schools in 1961. Six different
Aerial Photo of
instructors taught a variety of types of students, from those
Spring
Valley
Airport in 1954
looking to make their first flight to more experienced flyers
(taken by Gates Aerial Survey)
22
who sought to acquire advanced piloting licenses. Despite
its one-time popularity, the Ramapo Valley Airport closed
for good in 1985.23
Although the era of aviation in Rockland County effectively ended with the closure
of the Ramapo Valley Airport, there will undoubtedly continue to be interest in
exploring, researching, and ultimately rediscovering this unique aspect of local history.
- Jason Schachter
If you are interested in learning more about this subject, stay tuned for an upcoming
book on Rockland County’s historical airports by Adam Raines and Richard MacVicar.
If you think that you might have useful information about Rockland’s airports, please
contact Adam Raines at [email protected] or (917) 846-1042.
6
1
13
Christie, James. Christie Airport: New City, New York 1929Statt, “Flying Notes,” August 29, pg. 8; September 19, pg. 12;
1969. Prepared by the Staff of New City Library. New City, New November 7, 1947, pg. 11
14
York, 1984, pg. 63
Ibid., September 12, 1947, pg. 9
2
15
Interview with Adam Raines, July 27, 2012
Interview with Adam Raines, July 27, 2012
3
16
Christie, 2-16
Christie, 90-91
4
17
Ibid., 25
Interview with Adam Raines, July 27, 2012
5
18
Ibid., 25-29, 69-70, 74-80, 100, 104
Ibid.
6
19
Interview with Adam Raines, July 27, 2012
“Certificate of Incorporation of Spring Valley Air Park, Inc.”
7
Rockland County Clerk, filed July 13, 1948
Statt, Art. “Flying Notes.” Orangetown Telegram. August 29,
20
1947, pg. 8
Christie, 85-86
8
21
Ibid., October 9, 1947, pg. 5
Bergman, Jules. “Ramapo Valley Airport.” in Flying. August,
9
1961, Vol. 69, No. 2. pg. 42, 80-81.
Interview with Adam Raines, July 27, 2012
10
22
Christie, 63
Ibid.
11
23
Interview with Adam Raines, July 27, 2012
Interview with Adam Raines, July 27, 2012
12
Ibid.
What Grew on Rockland County’s
Farms in 1874?
The Rockland County Archives is home
to several New York State Census records
from the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries. While many researchers have
examined these records for genealogical
purposes, some of these actually contain
agricultural accounts of years past as well.
According to the 1875 New York State
Census, the following crops were grown on
the greatest number of Rockland farms in
1874: Apples, Potatoes, Indian Corn, Winter
Rye, Oats, and Buckwheat.
7
A Message from Archivist Peter J. Scheibner
C. Scott Vanderhoef
County Executive
As a local Rocklander growing up in the 1960’s, I still
recall driving past the CAP Airfield in Orangeburg before the
reservoir was built. I also had friends who regularly flew out of
the Ramapo Valley Airport in Spring Valley. Unfortunately,
the remarkable story of airfields and aviation in Rockland
County is now a thing of the past.
I’d like to personally thank Jason Schachter for writing and
resurrecting It’s About Time after a twelve year hiatus. A
special thanks also to Adam Raines for sharing his insight,
photos, and enthusiasm for reviving interest in Rockland
County aviation history. Finally, I would like to thank all those
individuals who played a part in creating this rich history.
Paul Piperato
County Clerk
Information on the Rockland County Archives
Telephone: (845) 364-3670
Fax: (845) 364-3671
E-mail: [email protected]
Directions
Peter J. Scheibner
County Archivist
Deputy County Clerks
Donna Gorman Silberman
Jamie Maraia Graham
John O'Connell
Office of the
County Clerk
Archives/Record Center
Building S
50 Sanatorium Road
Pomona, NY 10970
845-364-3670
Directions off major roads: From NYC-Palisades Parkway
north to Exit 11, left on New Hempstead Rd., through traffic
light at the intersection of Rt. 45 to next traffic light (Summit
Park Rd.), make right turn. Continue for approximately 4/10 of
a mile to the fork in the road, bear right to Building S Parking
lot, make right into lot and another quick right in front of
Building N (old white house) and proceed straight into
Archives Building parking lot.
County of Rockland, County Clerk/Archives
Building S, 50 Sanatorium Road
Pomona, NY 10970
Jason Schachter
Editor
8