Bowles Agawam Airport was an airfield operational in the mid-20th century in

Agawam, Massachusetts Agawam is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 28,692 at the 2020 census. Agawam sits on the western side of the Connecticut River, directly across from Springfield, Massachusetts. It is considered part of t ...

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. 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 The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

Eastern Air Arm.Freeman, Paul (24 December 2014
"Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Western Massachusetts, Bowles Agawam Airfield"
Accessed 11 June 2015. A scheduled air service operated out of Bowles for approximately one year, before ending. 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. Airlines now serve Springfield through

Bradley International Airport Bradley International Airport is a public international airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, United States. Owned and operated by the Connecticut Airport Authority, it is the second-largest airport in New England. The airport is about hal ...

Windsor Locks, Connecticut Windsor Locks is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 12,613. It is the site of Bradley International Airport, which serves the Greater Hartford-Springfield region and occupies approxi ...

Horse racing track

Agawam Park, a pari-mutuel horse racing track, including grandstand and stables, was built adjacent to Bowles Airport.

Seabiscuit Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-horse ...

won the Springfield Handicap at Agawam in track record time in October 1935."Seabiscuit, 1938 Horse of the Year"
. ''www.spiletta.com.'' Accessed 11 June 2015. The racetrack operated until pari-mutuel betting was outlawed by referendum in Hampden County in November 1938.

References

{{Massachusetts-airport-stub Defunct airports in Massachusetts Airports in Hampden County, Massachusetts Agawam, Massachusetts