Sam Houston Airport On South Main St.

[MaxConcrete]

The Westbury Square thread reminded me about this article which I had not exposed to the web. It provides history of the airport from its origins in 1941 to the article date in 1947.

As noted in the Westbury Square thread, the airport property is bounded by present-day South Main, Chimney Rock, Hillcroft and West Bellfort.

http://houstonfreeways.com/images/sam_hous...ew_complete.jpg

[nm5k]

Thanks for that. Good pix of westbury in 1947.. I wonder

about them saying it opening in 1941 though... My 1938

map of Texas "humble oil" shows it being there in 1938.

Or at least it shows an airport.. Maybe there was a previous

airport at that site under a different name, but you would think

not, if Meyer donated the land.. Wonder if he was the same Meyer

that owned Meyer Speedway that opened on the other side

of Main Street. Wonder what all those billboards were for heading

into town on Main... Also... Main looks weird... Was is that dark

median thing in the middle of the lanes? Looks like some kind

of dividing strip or something, but hard to tell. You can see

Willow waterhole bayou meandering along in the upper top left..

That plane in the foreground almost has the wing profile etc, of

a P-51 mustang... The twin on the lower left looks kinda like an

old Beech D-18... Can't make out the tail too good though..

That airport is all houses now.. I bet most of the people living

on top of that place don't have a clue it was once there.. But it

has been gone nearly a half century now..

MK

[Croberts]

In fact, that is the only photo I have ever seen of Willow Waterhole prior to development. Looks like a gallery forest (of willows?) on either bank, with open prairie (or ricefields) otherwise.

Maxconcrete, you seem to have an experts handle on historical media coverage of houston!

[Earlydays]

The Westbury Square thread reminded me about this article which I had not exposed to the web. It provides history of the airport from its origins in 1941 to the article date in 1947.

As noted in the Westbury Square thread, the airport property is bounded by present-day South Main, Chimney Rock, Hillcroft and West Bellfort.

http://houstonfreeways.com/images/sam_hous...ew_complete.jpg

Here's more information on Sam HoustonAirport.....

http://www.members.tripod.com/airfields_fr....htm#samhouston

[FilioScotia]

Here's more information on Sam HoustonAirport.....

http://www.members.tripod.com/airfields_fr....htm#samhouston

That's a great photo and a great article. I've lived in Houston for more than 50 years and I had never heard of the Sam Houston airport until it came up here on the HAIF. I need a little help understanding the photo though. Can you help orient me? I know that's South Main on the extreme right side of the picture, but which direction are we looking? West? East? I've looked up and down South Main on Google Earth and I can't find any sign of an old airport. Is it the property now occupied by the Butler Stadium complex? Where was it exactly?

Edited August 22, 2006 by FilioScotia

[57Tbird]

I know that's South Main on the extreme right side of the picture, but which direction are we looking? West? East? I've looked up and down South Main on Google Earth and I can't find any sign of an old airport. Is it the property now occupied by the Butler Stadium complex? Where was it exactly?

You're looking east in that photo. See post #1 by MaxConcrete on this topic for the approximate boundaries of the airport. It would have been just about due north across South Main (90A) from Butler Stadium. Westbury now occupies the old airport site.

[FilioScotia]

You're looking east in that photo. See post #1 by MaxConcrete on this topic for the approximate boundaries of the airport. It would have been just about due north across South Main (90A) from Butler Stadium. Westbury now occupies the old airport site.

So it's completely covered now by Westbury? That's a shame. For the airport I mean. Thanks.

[cwrm4]

That plane in the foreground almost has the wing profile etc, of

a P-51 mustang... The twin on the lower left looks kinda like an

old Beech D-18... Can't make out the tail too good though..

The twin is a Cessna T-50 Bobcat, also known as the "Bamboo Bomber", since it was made entirely of wood. After the war they were sold cheap as surplus and bought as personal/business aircraft, but rot and the accumulated stresses of wartime training use meant many were soon pushed off into the weeds at the airport, an unfortunate fate that, from the picture, may have befallen this example as well.

What is really interesting is there is apparently a B-24 Liberator bomber on the top right. Only two of those exist in flying condition today out of the ~20,000 built during the war.

Those do appear to be P-51 Mustangs in the lower right. Restored, they would each be worth $1.5+ million today.

What a cool picture. Makes me get all nostalgic.

[FilioScotia]

The twin is a Cessna T-50 Bobcat, also known as the "Bamboo Bomber", since it was made entirely of wood. After the war they were sold cheap as surplus and bought as personal/business aircraft, but rot and the accumulated stresses of wartime training use meant many were soon pushed off into the weeds at the airport, an unfortunate fate that, from the picture, may have befallen this example as well.

What is really interesting is there is apparently a B-24 Liberator bomber on the top right. Only two of those exist in flying condition today out of the ~20,000 built during the war.

Those do appear to be P-51 Mustangs in the lower right. Restored, they would each be worth $1.5+ million today.

What a cool picture. Makes me get all nostalgic.

The picture was taken in November 1947, only two years and a few months after the war ended. I'm guessing that thousands of bombers and fighter planes that survived the war ended up being sold as surplus, and any number of men who flew them in action bought them and took them home. They were practically giving those planes away after the war, and small private airports all over the country probably had at least one or several parked on the runway.

I had a friend in Lufkin back in the 80s who flew P-51's during the war. A few years after the war he bought a surplus P-51, restored it, kept it perfectly maintained at the Angelina County Airport, and he was still flying it on weekends when I met him in 1980. He finally gave it up because of his advancing age and fuel costs. He told me of a national organization of WWII fighter pilots, a good many of whom were still flying -- at that time. Most of them are probably dead by now, and their planes became scrap metal.

Edited August 23, 2006 by FilioScotia

[Alpha]

I just found out from my dad - who is 81 - that he took flying lessons from Cliff Hyde back in the 40s. He said it was somewhere out on South Main, which makes me think it must have been at the Sam Houston Airport.

I googled Cliff Hyde and found this link that mentions that his service operated out of the Sam Houston Airport.

http://www.1940airterminal.org/houstonaviationtimeline.htm

[nm5k]

>So it's completely covered now by Westbury? That's a shame. For the airport >I mean. Thanks

Yep, that whole westbury south took it over. The long

SE/NW runway crossed what is now W. Airport between

Chimney Rock and Hillcroft. If you've driven that

section of W. Airport, you've driven over Sam Houston

airport. Supposably, the actual airport property extended

to nearly the Willow Bayou, but of course, I'm sure the

runways stopped pretty well short of that point.

The old entry road from Main is totally gone too.

A soundwall is there now I think.

As far as I know, there is no visable trace of the old

airport that I know of. If you drive thru the neighborhood,

which I have a zillion times, you would never know. In

fact, like one of the other posters, I've lived in Westbury

since 69, and I just found out about it myself in the past

year. I keep an eye out hoping to run into to old pilots

that might have flown there in their early days.

MK

[FilioScotia]

>So it's completely covered now by Westbury? That's a shame. For the airport >I mean. Thanks

Yep, that whole westbury south took it over. The long

SE/NW runway crossed what is now W. Airport between

Chimney Rock and Hillcroft. If you've driven that

section of W. Airport, you've driven over Sam Houston

airport. Supposably, the actual airport property extended

to nearly the Willow Bayou, but of course, I'm sure the

runways stopped pretty well short of that point.

The old entry road from Main is totally gone too.

A soundwall is there now I think.

As far as I know, there is no visable trace of the old

airport that I know of. If you drive thru the neighborhood,

which I have a zillion times, you would never know. In

fact, like one of the other posters, I've lived in Westbury

since 69, and I just found out about it myself in the past

year. I keep an eye out hoping to run into to old pilots

that might have flown there in their early days.

MK

Is it just a coincidence that West Airport Blvd runs smack into Westbury South precisely where the Sam Houston Airport used to be? I realize Airport Blvd runs intermittently from the Hobby Airport area all the way across the south side to Westbury, but it leads from a big airport on one side of town straight to the spot where an old airport used to be on the other side of town. Coincidence? You decide. (Twilight Zone theme)

Edited August 25, 2006 by FilioScotia

[stu]

the photo in the 1947 article is looking approximately EastNorthEast.. I have cropped and resized the photo part of the article, and it is HERE:

the only still existing landmarks we can go by to determine the actual location here are willow bayou and main street.

A. you cannot actually see willow waterhole, but rather that place where willow bayou bends north northeast, west of where chimney rock is now. in the pic it appers to bend to the left. That bend is between where Landsdown and Chimney Rock are now. Does this make sense? Is this the same bend?

(Actually, now that I think about it, there are two bayous there, starting at about Westbury High. What's up with that? One leg goes up by Johnston alongside Chimney Rock, while the other, bigger one cuts through the neighborhood farther to the East. Was the alongside Chimney Rock one man made? It appears in the 1960 map to go from the water tower on..?)gotta look at older maps..

B. in the 1947 photo, up closer to the horizon, one can see two streets perpendicular to Main; the lower one of the two seems to continue on the other side of main. When you line this up with the bend in Willow bayou, it looks not to be Chimney Rock, because it is on the wrong side of the bend. Yet, in the 1960 photo, there are no streets continuing south from main between Blue Ridge (Hillcroft eventually) and the one that proceeded N/S just east of Chimney Rock. What street was that? Was the faintest horizontal street right beneath the horizon Post Oak, or was it the one which lined up with chimney Rock?

I am going back and forth between the 1960 arial photo and the 1947 article photo; i really need to go back and forth between the westbury 1960 photo, the 1947 photo, and Google Earth, and I need mo' RAM to do it right.. ah well, I'll try it..

Incidentally, Mark, I had presumed that the building in the photo I posted in the Westbury Square thread was near the park or Anderson Elementary only because I was guessing at what the purple text might have said on your annotated verson of the 1960 one

I have since realized that the purple rectangle is actually drawn at the northwest corner of effingham and landsdown, where Hagar park is now. That little undeveloped square of turf is where anderson and the park are now..(I thought that little purple rectangle was supposed to have been the control tower..) I see now that the buildings were indeed off South Main..I'd love to see a readable copy of your annotations..

here is an expanded crop of that 1960 image, in which you can see willow bayou with the bend, and the Westbury water tower where Westbury High would eventually be. You can see that the only two roads to proceed south of main are Blue Ridge and the one next to Chimney Rock.

(for new folks, the 1960 photo is looking South, so it is turned around from a Google Earth shot))

and comparing it with Google Earth, several things are evident:

1. YOu can see the small road which went at one time from the Westbury High water tower straight to south main and beyond, right next to Chimney Rock. south of Main, you can see a left turn from it which leads (on the big map) to where Kylewick is today, with that little circular block which is already on the big 1960 map. Apparently chimney rock replaced that road in Westbury, but the southern component of it is still there on Google earth, running alongside the Fort Bend Toll Road, just east of it.

2. Blue Ridge Road came all the way up to Main street, before Hillcroft was built there. It is evident that it was Blue Ridge road which was on one side of Meyer Speedway. South of Main, If you look closely on google Earth, you can still see a slight oval in the terrain where the Meyer Speedway oval had been, just to the left of what I suppose is Butler Stadium..It is on the left after you cross over Main on Hillcroft, going south. Hillcroft now bends westward at Dublin, but if it went absolutely straight, it would line up with what used to be Blue Ridge Road. Once it did, before Hillcroft.

anyhoo, what is your take on this, guys? I cannot quite tell from the 47 photo exactly where the airport really was. The look of the bend in Willow Bayou is throwing me off. Sorry if this post is too long, or has too many pictures..

stu

[nm5k]

anyhoo, what is your take on this, guys? I cannot quite tell from the 47 photo exactly where the airport really was. The look of the bend in Willow Bayou is throwing me off. Sorry if this post is too long, or has too many pictures..

stu

The best way to get your bearings is probably by using main and it's

center "cross-overs" as a guide. IE: it's easy to see where the entrance

is in the 47 and 60 pix. You can see the entrance from main in each,

and the center crossing at that point. This crossing from main was just

west of where Landsdown is now. The airport roads are darker than the

new streets in the 60 pix. I was comparing them the other day, and

judging from the crossings on main, what is now Chimney rock, would

be just about at the end of the runway threshholds looking east.

Note that Chimney rock is just west of the first crossing east from the one

in front of the airport. That crossing is also east of that road/easement,

or whatever that runs to the water tower. In the 47 pix, I seem to faintly

see that easement just past the runways. I think the next two crossings

are the motor hotel area, and I think the clutter of buildings near the

top of the pix, to the left of main is Post Oak. I think the bend in the

bayou you see in the 47 pix is actually near the gasmer/willow intersection,

but not totally sure. That would be about where the old Westbury Hospital

would be. That airport covered quite a bit of area. I think you would be

able to see W. Airport in the left part of the 47 pix, if it had been there at

that time.

MK

[Croberts]

A. you cannot actually see willow waterhole, but rather that place where willow bayou bends north northeast, west of where chimney rock is now. in the pic it appers to bend to the left. That bend is between where Landsdown and Chimney Rock are now. Does this make sense? Is this the same bend?

It looks to me like the bend is larger, possibly going from landsdown to gasmer, as nmk5 suggests. When I get the 1921 topo scanned and put on a server, we can compare the prechannelized map of willow waterhole with the one on the 47 image. Apparently the trees were removed to increase flow at the time of channelization, which we now know from this 47 photo to have occured after the photo was taken. The tree coverage is evident on the 1921 topo, and it continues west to the approximate place where the waterhole dissapears on the google image.

(Actually, now that I think about it, there are two bayous there, starting at about Westbury High. What's up with that? One leg goes up by Johnston alongside Chimney Rock, while the other, bigger one cuts through the neighborhood farther to the East. Was the alongside Chimney Rock one man made? It appears in the 1960 map to go from the water tower on..?)gotta look at older maps..

The second bayou appears to be a drainage ditch. If you look on the 60 photo you will see that it begins on chimney rock near the high school waster tower and runs north. I think the small road you identified near the water tower running towards main is actually the same drainage ditch. If you look on the west side of this feature there is a light, whitish line paralelling the bed of the ditch- this is likely nearly bare soil representing the side of the ditch or the fill excavated from the ditch. On the west side of the ditch near johnson jr high, a wooly mamoth or masterdon skeleton or fossil was found in the early 1960.

[Alpha]

On the west side of the ditch near johnson jr high, a wooly mamoth or masterdon skeleton or fossil was found in the early 1960.

I knew the kids who found those bones. I probably would have been one of them, but I was not there that day. I can remember one of my teachers at Johnston commenting on this and wondering why they were playing in the ditch.

[Croberts]

The second bayou that Stu mentioned and I discussed in a previous email is visible on Google earth. The portion south of main looks similar to the way it looks in the 1960 photo. The portion north of main is buried or doesnt exist between main and westbury high water tower site. However, north of Chimney Rock on burdine, alongside the wesbury square site, it exists as a drainage ditch again. It appears to be buried, but exists as a right of way covered in grass up to willowbend blvd.

Makes me wonder who built this and when- Its not there in 21, but is there in 60, and runs from at least willow bend to somewhere south of West Orem Drive. Too long for one landowner to have built it, I think, I wonder if it was not some part of flood control projects from the 1940s, that helped drain the westbury area for development??

In regards to the elephant bones, I have searched for them for years, but they dont seem to be on display in texas. Perhaps there was not enough to display, the texas memorial museum has a larger collection in warehouses than they have on display. That is where I heard they went.

[Alpha]

In regards to the elephant bones, I have searched for them for years, but they dont seem to be on display in texas. Perhaps there was not enough to display, the texas memorial museum has a larger collection in warehouses than they have on display. That is where I heard they went.

The person who found them used them for the science fair project that year. I don't know what happened to them after that.

[Montrose1100]

HOU, IAH, and SAM?

[plumber2]

The best way to get your bearings is probably by using main and it's

center "cross-overs" as a guide. IE: it's easy to see where the entrance

is in the 47 and 60 pix. You can see the entrance from main in each,

and the center crossing at that point. This crossing from main was just

west of where Landsdown is now. The airport roads are darker than the

new streets in the 60 pix. I was comparing them the other day, and

judging from the crossings on main, what is now Chimney rock, would

be just about at the end of the runway threshholds looking east.

Note that Chimney rock is just west of the first crossing east from the one

in front of the airport. That crossing is also east of that road/easement,

or whatever that runs to the water tower. In the 47 pix, I seem to faintly

see that easement just past the runways. I think the next two crossings

are the motor hotel area, and I think the clutter of buildings near the

top of the pix, to the left of main is Post Oak. I think the bend in the

bayou you see in the 47 pix is actually near the gasmer/willow intersection,

but not totally sure. That would be about where the old Westbury Hospital

would be. That airport covered quite a bit of area. I think you would be

able to see W. Airport in the left part of the 47 pix, if it had been there at

that time.

MK

Further out South Main at Fondren, there was an experimental monrail built with an overpass over Fondren.

This was about 1960 or 61 at the latest. Fondren was a single lane shell road then. Does anyone else remember this? Curiously, the cover of the Houston"Yellow Pages" during that period showed a monorail in place at Houston International Airport (Hobby), although I never remember seeing it there. Tell me I'm not crazy!

[Mikeytex]

I saw some photos from one of my favorite sites "Abandoned & Little Known Airports".................here's the link with a lot of scoop on Sam Houston airport.

members.tripod.com/airfields_freeman/TX/Airfields_TX_HoustonS.htm#samhouston

Further out South Main at Fondren, there was an experimental monrail built with an overpass over Fondren.

This was about 1960 or 61 at the latest. Fondren was a single lane shell road then. Does anyone else remember this? Curiously, the cover of the Houston"Yellow Pages" during that period showed a monorail in place at Houston International Airport (Hobby), although I never remember seeing it there. Tell me I'm not crazy!

You aren't crazy.......I saw it with my then 5 or 6 year old eyes. I don't think it was being used in the mid-60's though.

[FilioScotia]

I don't think it was being used in the mid-60's though.

I don't remember that mono-rail EVER actually carrying passengers because it didn't go anywhere. It was just a short track built to test the feasibility and show the public what mono-rail looked like.

Edited December 7, 2006 by FilioScotia

[Disastro]

Back in about 1947 as best I can approximate, there was an world war 2 storage area out on South Main. I cannot find anyone who remembers this, or any photos existing.

I thought someone older in your organization might have photos, or remember. I was about 5 years old at the time my Father took me out there. It was right after the war. There were many world war 2 aircraft placed in a field near what became the South Main Drive in. I don't recall any fighters there.

All seemed to be bombers of various types. There was B-36's, B-29's, B-25's and some Liberators as I recall. They were just sitting on their gear, with the bottom hatches open. We were able to go inside a number of these aircraft. Apparently they were in temporary storage, before being shipped to some permanent facility, possibly Arizona.

No one was guarding these planes, that I remember. Some had bullet holes in the tail sections and fuselage. That's about all I can recall except details of some of the interiors. Would appreciate any help you might give with this. Would really just like to see some old photos of this site. Not sure how long it existed. But probably not too long.

[JLWM8609]

Were they parked at Sam Houston airport? Though their runways may not have been long enough to accomodate a B-29.

[Disastro]

Were they parked at Sam Houston airport? Though their runways may not have been long enough to accomodate a B-29.

Good question. I actually posted this for my Dad to get some more info.

[Heights2Bastrop]

Though their runways may not have been long enough to accomodate a B-29.

B-29? How about the B-36?

The problem with the B-36 was not so much its runway length, but its weight. Very few airports, military or civilian, could handle the 36's weight. Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls was one of the few that met the requirements, and that is why it was chosen as a B-36 base.

[Disastro]

B-29? How about the B-36?

The problem with the B-36 was not so much its runway length, but its weight. Very few airports, military or civilian, could handle the 36's weight. Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls was one of the few that met the requirements, and that is why it was chosen as a B-36 base.

Maybe the class of plane was misidentified...? Perhaps some other type of WW2 vintage planes?

[JLWM8609]

Maybe so. Because the B-36 wasn't used during WWII. It was a Cold War era plane, I think the first ones went into service around 1949, and the last one was decommissioned in 1959.

[nm5k]

Even the B-29 was pretty good sized.. As far as the ones oft used in Europe, would be

the B-17, B-24, B-25, etc.. The B-36 was huge.. My uncle used to fly those things in

the 50's. The B-29's stick out due to their nose look.. Quite a bit different than the

others.. I'm not sure which area was actually the South Main drive in during that

period.. I thought it was fairly close to OST. Where as Sam Houston was across the

street from where Butler stadium is now.. For some reason, I don't think they would

have been at Sam Houston, unless whatever people there might have owned them.

I have seen WW2 aircraft parked in pictures of Sam Houston, but not on any big

scale like a storage area for bombers.

MK

[Disastro]

Even the B-29 was pretty good sized.. As far as the ones oft used in Europe, would be

the B-17, B-24, B-25, etc.. The B-36 was huge.. My uncle used to fly those things in

the 50's. The B-29's stick out due to their nose look.. Quite a bit different than the

others.. I'm not sure which area was actually the South Main drive in during that

period.. I thought it was fairly close to OST. Where as Sam Houston was across the

street from where Butler stadium is now.. For some reason, I don't think they would

have been at Sam Houston, unless whatever people there might have owned them.

I have seen WW2 aircraft parked in pictures of Sam Houston, but not on any big

scale like a storage area for bombers.

MK

This would have been in 1947 or so...WAAAAYYYY before my time. LOL

This wasn't some reference to the Confederate Airforce...alledgedly back in '47 there were some planes of some kind (ww2 models) parked over off S Main somewhere...

Disastro