ELDON'S MODEL AIRPARK

In 1944, Eldon was going to make history by building the first airpark, a combination of a small plane airport and a city park. Aviation leaders wanted to prove that a conveniently located, landscaped airport with the capacity to handle non-commercial, personal planes was feasible, so they planned to have one built in Eldon to prove it. On October 16, 1944, Mayor Robert Reed and other civic leaders were approached by the government with the idea of building an airpark. The plan called for local financing and a record of all activities involving the airpark as an example of what airparks could be like. Civic leaders enthusiastically accepted and provided a site five blocks from the business district on the northeast edge of the city.

The next step was to get the permission of the people of Eldon for $25,000 in bonds to buy the site and construct the airpark. On February 13, 1945, Eldon voted in favor of the bond issue 682-77 thus taking the challenge to prove that small towns could finance airparks without the assistance of the state of federal governments.

On June 8 and 9, 1946, the Eldon Model Airpark was dedicated. The town threw huge celebration to mark the historic occasion. Large crowds were on hand for all events on Saturday's program and all were very much interested in the various planes which had been arriving for several days to the Airpark. Sunday's crowd was estimated at 8,000. The American Legion Post No. 229 presented a fine flag pole and flag as a new permanent installation in front of the new administration building.