The Swan Island Municipal Airport was a joint civil-military airport that was operational on Swan Island in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...

. Though it officially opened in 1927, the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the Federal government of the Uni ...

had been using the airfield for a year. After the Portland–Columbia Super Airport was completed in the late 1930s, Swan Island Municipal Airport had little use since its

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concrete, ...

s were too small for newer aircraft and the low altitude made takeoffs and landings difficult. The airport was operational for nearly two decades, but due in part to the advances in aviation, it became obsolete soon after its construction. During World War II, a Kaiser shipyard was located at Swan Island. The shipbuilding facilities were acquired by the Port of Portland after the war.

History

Oakley G. Kelly, the commanding officer at Pearson Airfield in

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 Unit ...

, was one of the first to seriously propose using Swan Island as an airfield. In 1926, the Port of Portland, assisted by the

(USPS), organized a committee to look for a location for a new airport in Portland. The group chose Swan Island which was a peninsula along the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward ...

. Objections over the airport started almost immediately, as postal workers who were using Pearson Airfield claimed Swan Island might flood. A plan was drawn up to raise the elevation of Swan Island to keep floodwater out. W. L. Thompson spearheaded the commission and was the project's chief engineer. James H. Polhemus was the Port of Portland's general manager and chief engineer at the time. Aerial of Swan Island Municipal Airport (1)

Aerial of Swan Island Municipal Airport (1)

In a proposal to the Port of Portland, the west channel of the Willamette River next to Swan Island would have to be widened, and a dike built to keep high water out. In May, 1926 the project extended its timeline, forcing the USPS to continue using Pearson Airfield in Vancouver to deliver mail to the city. Most of the accommodations for the USPS at Swan Island Municipal Airport opened in September 1926, but commercial services were still being readied. The airfield only took-up a fraction of the land on Swan Island. The other areas were cleared and leveled so industrial growth could take place. During its construction, the Port of Portland requested that the Swan Island Municipal Airport be the future site of the Pacific Coast Air Derby, which was approved. Swan Island Municipal Airport was officially dedicated in September 1927 by

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance ...

, who flew the

Spirit of St. Louis The ''Spirit of St. Louis'' (formally the Ryan NYP, registration: N-X-211) is the custom-built, single-engine, single-seat, high-wing monoplane that was flown by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first solo nonstop transatlanti ...

onto the airstrip. Although construction at the field had not been entirely completed, most of the facilities like

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

s and

landing strip According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concrete, o ...

s were finished. Adjacent to the airport was Rankin Airfield, which was a private strip owned by a local resident. Upon its completion, the airport cost US$557,073 (US$ adjusted for inflation). The official opening of the Swan Island Municipal Airport came on September 27, 1927 during the Pacific Coast Air Derby where six army planes performed for 10,000 paid spectators. A gravel runway was constructed in 1928, replacing the previous dirt runway. In 1929,

Varney Air Lines Varney Air Lines was an airline company that started service on April 6, 1926, as an air-mail carrier. Formed by Walter Varney, the airline was based in Boise, Idaho, United States. The airline is one of the predecessors of United Airlines. H ...

started passenger services between Portland and

Boise, Idaho Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area ...

and later that year from Portland to

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, the ...

and Portland to

Pasco, Washington Pasco ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Franklin County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 59,781 at the 2010 census, and 75,432 as of the July 1, 2019 Census Bureau estimate. Pasco is one of three cities (the others ...

The Port of Portland and the Portland City Council held meetings in 1935 to investigate a possible renovation of the Swan Island Municipal Airport. They determined that it would not be cost effective to rebuild the airport to accommodate larger aircraft. By 1936, citizens were petitioning the city council to fund a larger airport at a higher elevation. I. E. Oakes, the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

director for Portland, announced in 1937 that he would look to secure US$627,781 (US$ adjusted for inflation) in funds from the federal government to build a new runway to accommodate large airlines. However, the federal government condemned the site and offered up funds to build a new airport. After the Portland–Columbia Super Airport was constructed, the Swan Island Municipal Airport still operated, although in a diminished capacity. Flying students were banned from using the airport in their training programs due to the low altitude. The military removed their facilities from the airport and most commercial liners had moved their services to the new airport. During World War II, Swan Island was the location of a Kaiser shipyard where

T2 tanker The T2 tanker, or T2, was a class of oil tanker constructed and produced in large quantities in the United States during World War II. Only the T3 tankers were larger "navy oilers" of the period. Some 533 T2s were built between 1940 and the end o ...

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. M ...

s, and

Victory ship The Victory ship was a class of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North American shipyards during World War II to replace losses caused by German submarines. They were a more modern design compared to the earlier Liberty ship, were slig ...

s were produced in support of the war effort. After the war, the shipyard became the center for Port of Portland operations.

References

External links

*Images and information a
PDXHistory.com
{{Overlook, Portland, Oregon 1926 establishments in Oregon Airports established in 1926 Airports in Multnomah County, Oregon Airports in Portland, Oregon Defunct airports in Oregon Overlook, Portland, Oregon Port of Portland (Oregon) Works Progress Administration in Oregon

History

See also

References

External links