On his father's farm in 1922, Roy Larson, his brothers Clarence, Newell and Leonard cleared an 80 rod strip for a runway. Roy received flying instructions at Chicago in 1919, paying $50 per hour. Roy and Clarence attended the Sweeney Mechanics School in Kansas City, MO. Purchasing their first airplane, a Canuck, in 1922, Roy taught his brothers to fly. The plane, with wings removed, was stored in the barn during the winter. In 1924, a 52 x 60 hanger was constructed. They now had a real airport, instructing students, and giving pleasure rides, $5 for 10 minutes, for an extra $5, you could have loops and rolls. The brothers left the plow to go roaring over the fields in their flying machines. They barnstormed at county fairs, picnics and for political campaigns throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota. They had the agency for Waco Planes in Wis. and Upper Mich. during 1926-27. Roy was a well known pilot throughout the midwest, his aviator friends used this airport to refuel and as a place to rest. During World War II, Leonard instructed glider pilots for the army at Antigo and in Missouri. Leonard, the sole surviving brother, and his wife, Viola, have continued to operate the oldest existing airport in the sate.
On April 5, 1984, the Larson Brothers Airport was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
This marker is dedicated to the memory of the Larson Brothers and other early pilots, who pioneered aviation in Wisconsin.
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The Larson Brothers Airport was the first airport in Winnebago County and one of the earliest Wisconsin airports outside Milwaukee. It housed the first Wisconsin agency selling government approved planes, and for 20 years served as a center for state aviators. This well-maintained airport represents one of the earliest forms of airport design in Wisconsin. The first airport in Wisconsin was established at Milwaukee in 1919, followed soon after by similar facilities at Green Bay, Janesville, LaCrosse and Racine. Among these early airports was the Larson Brothers Airport, which opened in the town of Clayton in 1922. It was the first of three in Winnebago County, followed by Oshkosh Airport in 1927 and Whiting Airport in the town of Menasha in 1928. Of those three airports the Larson Brothers Airport is the only one to mantain its original hangar and sod landing field. The white building across the field is the original Larson Brothers Hangar.
--- Copied from KFC: Silver Wings geocaching entry.
This link is to the Wisconsin Historical Society site, which includes several pictures from the early years of the airport.
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visit link)
Follow this link to the National Park Service site for additional information on this historic site.
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visit link)