Bowles Agawam Airport

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Bowles Agawam Airport

IATA: none
ICAO: none

Summary

Operator

Private

Location

Agawam, Massachusetts

Built

1927-1930

In use

May 1930-1934
1944-1981

Occupants

Private

Elevation AMSL

192 ft / 59 m

Coordinates

42°3′19.45″N 72°39′21.85″W / 42.0554028°N 72.6560694°W

Runways

Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
	1,000	305

Bowles Agawam Airport was an airfield operational in the mid-20th century in Agawam, Massachusetts.^[1]

History

In 1927 Robert Hall founded The Springfield Aircraft Co. at the airport. He designed several racing aircraft there that went on to national races.^[2]

May 29, 1930, and June 1, 1931, saw "grand openings" of Bowles Agawam Airport with the latter date including a visit from 100 biplanes of the United States Army Air Corps Eastern Air Arm.^[3]

A scheduled air service operated out of Bowles for approximately one year, before ending.^{[citation needed]}

The airport also had plans in the early 1960s to become a commercial airport and host airlines for the city of Springfield, but plans were shelved. The airport and racetrack were demolished in the late 1980s and the area is now an industrial park.^[4]^[3] Airlines now serve Springfield through Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

Horse racing track

Agawam Park, a pari-mutuel horse racing track, including grandstand and stables, was built adjacent to Bowles Airport. Seabiscuit won the Springfield Handicap at Agawam in track record time in October 1935.^[5] The racetrack operated until pari-mutuel betting was outlawed by referendum in Hampden County in November 1938.^[3]

References

^ "Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Western Massachusetts". Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields. 14 September 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
^ "The Original Bulldog". 4 August 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c Freeman, Paul (24 December 2014)."Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Western Massachusetts, Bowles Agawam Airfield" Accessed 11 June 2015.
^ Agawam Centennial Committee (June 1955). Agawam, Massachusetts Over the Span of a Century. Agawam Centennial Committee. pp. 9–11.
^ "Seabiscuit, 1938 Horse of the Year" Archived 2007-02-17 at the Wayback Machine. www.spiletta.com. Accessed 11 June 2015.

v t e Airports in Massachusetts
Primary	Boston–Logan Barnstable–Boardman/Polano Hanscom Field Nantucket Memorial Provincetown Martha's Vineyard Worcester
Non-primary	New Bedford
Reliever	Beverly Lawrence Norwood Memorial
General	Chatham Fitchburg Gardner Great Barrington–Koladza Mansfield Marshfield–Harlow Turners Falls Harriman–West Northampton Orange Pittsfield Plymouth Southbridge Westover Minute Man Taunton–King Westfield–Barnes
Public use	Cape Cod Cranland Falmouth Hopedale Industrial Park Katama Merrimack Valley Monponsett Pond Myricks Plum Island Spencer Sterling Tanner–Hiller
Private use	Canapitsit Crow Island Metropolitan Muskeget Snow Tuckernuck Ware
Military	Barnes ANGB Joint Base Cape Cod Otis ANGB Camp Edwards Heliport CGAS Cape Cod Westover ARB
Defunct	Acushnet NAAF Beverly Bowles Agawam Bolton Braintree Brockton Boston–Metropolitan NAS Chatham Clark Clifton Coonamessett Crosman USAR Center Fall River Grafton Hatfield–Pilgrim Haverhill–Dutton Haverhill–Riverside NAAF Hyannis Leicester Lowell Marlboro NTS Marblehead NAAS Martha's Vineyard Moore AAF NAAF Nantucket NAAF New Bedford No Man's Land NAF Oxford Pine Hill Providence–Seekonk Revere Robbins CGAS Salem Saugus NAS South Weymouth Springfield NAS Squantum CGAS Ten Pound Island Tew-Mac Trade Wind Westboro

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