Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:

Texas - Northeastern San Antonio area

© 2002, © 2016 by Paul Freeman. Revised 9/17/16.

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Cade Aux AAF (revised 9/16/13) - Dodd Field (revised 3/17/13) - Guadelupe County Airport / Seguin Municipal Airport / Geromino Field (revised 10/6/14)

Ireland Flying Field / Schneider Field / Seguin Airport (revised 10/6/14) - Northeast Airport (added 9/17/16)



Dodd Field, San Antonio, TX

29.48, -98.43 (Northeast of Downtown San Antonio, TX)

A panoramic view of "Aeroplanes & Transportation, 1st Aero Squadron, Ft. Sam Houston, 1916."



Following the successful experiments with aircraft at Fort Sam Houston in 1910-11,

the Chief Signal Officer decided to establish an Aviation Post at Fort Sam Houston near the old Target Range.

Captain Benjamin Foulois arrived in March 1915 to help establish the aviation field for the 1st Aero Squadron,

scheduled to transfer to Fort Sam Houston.

Clearing of the land in the southwest corner of the tract & construction was underway at that time.

The pack train stable was converted into a garage & the existing quarters into a machine shop.

Material salvaged from the two hangars on main post was recycled to construct storage buildings.

The completed Aviation Post included one barracks for 120 men,

two five-plane corrugated, galvanized iron hangars, an administration or headquarters building,

quarters for the Commanding Officer and two Bachelor Officer Quarters with a capacity of twelve each.

An elevated water tank, which had been located in the Quadrangle, was erected in the southwest corner of the field.



The officers of the 1st Aero Squadron flew its six aircraft from Fort Sill to Fort Sam Houston,

reporting for duty on 26 November 1915.

The remainder of the squadron drove its trucks & motorcycles along the route,

selecting landing sites and making arrangements to maintain the planes.

Captain Townsend Dodd arrived for duty the following month.

The 1st Aero Squadron's stay was of limited duration

as it was ordered to accompany General Pershing's Punitive Expedition into Mexico in March 1916.



In August 1916, Fort Sam Houston's Aviation Post was selected

to be developed as an Aviation Depot to organize & train additional Aero Squadrons

and by September, supplies & equipment began arriving.

Major Foulois arrived in November to serve as the Department Aviation Officer

to oversee the organization of the 3rd & 4th Aero Squadrons.

One of the officers of the new 3rd Aero Squadron was Captain Carl Spaatz who also arrived in November.

Foulois soon reported that the existing Aviation Post was too small for the scale of operations planned for it

and began looking for a more suitable site.

When Foulois was selected to replace Major William Mitchell as Assistant to the Chief of the Aviation Section in Washington,

Captain Townsend Dodd was appointed to replace Foulois as Departmental Aviation Officer,

arriving in San Antonio on 19 March 1917.

Foulois selected a new site for the Aviation Depot southwest of the city and in May, 1917,

flight operations were transferred to what would become Kelly Field.

The Aviation Post was turned over to the Auxiliary Remount Depot

with the proviso that is would be returned if needed for flight operations.



Dodd Field was not depicted on the 1923 Beaumont – San Antonio Airway Map # 27 (according to David Brooks).



In June of 1925, the field once again reverted to use as an airdrome.

Preparations were made to receive the 12th Observation Squadron from Fort Bliss.

This unit would support the 2d Division, stationed at Fort Sam Houston.

Flight operations resumed in August 1925.



A 1926 aerial view looking north at Dodd Field (courtesy of David Brooks).

The barracks & hangars are along Military Highway on the left, officers quarters along Dashiel Road,

with the Administrative/headquarters building on the left.

As seen in the photo, the airfield itself was an open grass field, with no specific runway alignment.



The 1927 Commerce Department Airway Bulletin #123 (courtesy of David Brooks) depicted the “New Landing Field” & “2nd Division Air Corps Field”

as being a 150 acre square sod field measuring 2,200' in each direction with 3 hangars along the southwest side.



On 5/10/28 the field was designated Dodd Field in War Department General Order Number 5.

It was named in honor of Colonel Townsend Dodd, Air Service,

who was killed in an aircraft accident on October 5, 1919 at Bustleton Field near Philadelphia.

He had served previously at the field which was given his name

and had been commander of the Aviation Post when the 3rd Aero Squadron was stationed there.

When the 12th Observation Squadron replaced its Douglas biplanes with the larger Consolidated O-19 aircraft,

the original hangars were rendered obsolete & converted to shops.



Dodd Field, as depicted on the 1929 Beaumont – San Antonio Airway Map # 27 (courtesy of David Brooks).



An undated aerial view looking north at Dodd Field from a 1930 postcard.



In October 1931, active flight operations were terminated & Major Frank Lackland moved the aircraft to Brooks Field.

After that, the area was used by the 2nd Division Air Service,

for Reserve Component training & as a polo field.

The Coast Guard used the air field briefly in the 1930s & in 1937, the 8th Corps Area listed it as an emergency field.

Some of the buildings were demolished or salvaged.

At least one of the hangars was recycled.

A steel hangar built in 1917 was taken down & re-erected as a storage building (building 1198) along Wilson Street in 1939.

Enlargement of the field for aviation operations was still being considered as late as 1935.

A proposal was made to lengthening & widening the runways.

One gravel runway would be extended to 3,400' long & 200' wide. Another new 4,000' runway was to be added.

Both of these runways would have extended across Dashiell Road to the south, but neither was constructed.



The environs of Dodd Field were used to train Air Corps bombardiers in the 1930s.

After practicing their technique on a large scale terrain model of Dodd Field & the land to the south,

bombardiers-to-be from Kelly Air Force Base would make live bombing runs

and drop black powder practice bombs on targets south of Dodd Field.



"Dodd" was depicted as an auxiliary airfield on the 1934 San Antonio Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks).

This is the last depiction which has been located of Dodd Field as an active aviation facility.

The official date of closure of Dodd Field as an aviation facility has not been determined.



The Second Division established a "Model Camp" at Dodd Field in 1937 for recruit training.



In December, 1939, facilities at the camp were improved by the addition of a mess & kitchen, lavatories & wood floors for the tents.

From time to time, troops from Fort Bliss would encamp at Dodd Field while enroute to maneuvers in Louisiana.

The facilities at Dodd Field at this time had a nominal capacity of 2,200 troops in the mobilization-type buildings

and another 4,800-6,400 troops in the tents.

Two of the former BOQs became barracks & the former hangars became mess halls.



A Prisoner of War Camp was established on Dodd Field on 10/21/43.

A double chain-link fence topped with barbed wire surrounded the compound,

and guard towers were spaced along the perimeter.



A 1944 aerial view looking northwest at the POW camp tents set up on Dodd Field.



The camp's normal capacity was 1,000 POWs but at the end of the war,

occupancy swelled to 3,500 as POWs from its satellite and sub-camps were returned to Fort Sam Houston as they closed.



Dodd Field was not listed among active airfields in the 1945 AAF Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock)

nor depicted on the 1945 San Antonio Sectional Chart (courtesy of John Voss).



The last group of 411 POWs left Fort Sam Houston on 6/17/46 for repatriation.



In 1949, the Wherry Housing development of 500 units was authorized for Fort Sam Houston,

to be constructed on 135 acres at the north end of Dodd Field, from the former site of the POW camp, eastward.



A 1955 aerial view showed the same row of hangars on the west side of the airfield site which were seen in the 1926 photo.



Ground breaking for the construction of a permanent, 1000-man Army Reserve Center (B-1610) occurred in 1959.

Built on the site of the former hangars, it was completed at a cost of $485,000 the following year.



A 1973 aerial view showed that the former hangars had been removed,

erasing the last aviation remnant from the site.



In the 1995 USGS aerial photo, the outline of the property of Dodd Field remained recognizable,

although several buildings had been constructed over portions of the site.



As seen in the 2005 USGS aerial photo,

the outline of the property of Dodd Field remained recognizable.

Amazingly, the water tower at the southwest corner of the field remained standing (the same water tower visible in the 1926 photo).



Roger Ritter reported in 2006, “The Pioneer Flight Museum in Kingsbury, TX,

has one of the original hangars from Dodd Field.

In the 1926 aerial shot, it's the smallish black one at the far end of the hangar row on the left.”



The site of Dodd Field is bounded on the north by Rittiman Road, on the west by Harry Wurzbach Memorial Highway,

on the south by Winans Road (formerly Dashiell Road), and on the east by the Fort Sam Houston Reservation boundary.

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Cade Auxiliary Army Airfield, Kirby, TX

29.51, -98.36 (Northeast of San Antonio, TX)

Cade Aux AAF, as depicted on the 1945 San Antonio Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks).

Photo of the airfield while in use has not been located.



Cade Aux AAF may have been established at some point between 1934-35,

as it was not yet depicted on the 1934 San Antonio Sectional Chart.



The earliest reference which has been located of Cade Auxiliary Field

was a report of a 4/4/35 accident at the field involving Edward Flanick in a PT-11D (courtesy of Gary Ley).

Gary Ley observed, “There are numerous accidents reports concerning this field throughout the 1930s,

which would be understandable considering it was used by Air Corps student pilots.”



The 5/15/43 AAF list of airfields of the Gulf Coast Training Center (courtesy of Ron Plante)

listed Cade Auxiliary as one of the 8 satellite fields of Randolph Field, but did not specify any runway configuration.



The earliest depiction which has been located of Cade Field

was on the 1945 San Antonio Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks).



The 1945 AAF Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock) described “Randolph Field Auxiliary (Cade Field)”

as a 116 acre rectangular property within which was a bare all-way field measuring 2,420' east/west by 2,095' north/south.

The field was said to not have any hangars,

to be owned by private interests, and to be operated by the Army Air Forces.



"Cade AF", as depicted on the February 1950 San Antonio Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks).



The Aerodromes table on the February 1950 San Antonio Sectional Chart (courtesy of David Brooks)

described Cade as having an "all way" unpaved landing area, measuring 2,400'.

According to David Brooks, "Looking at the terrain,

I suspect that it was a square/rectangle with the longest side being 2,400'."

Cade was listed as not being maintained and use at own risk.



Cade Field was presumably abandoned in the 1950s,

after primary flight training had moved from Randolph to other AFBs.

The Cade auxiliary airfield (with its unpaved runways) would not have been suitable

for the jet transition training (T-33s & T-37s) which was later conducted at Randolph.



Cade was no longer depicted on the 1953 USGS topo map.



By the time of the August 1961 San Antonio Sectional Chart, Cade Field was no longer depicted at all.



Gary Ley observed, “I am certain Cade Auxiliary became a private airstrip, as there was a private strip at that exact location in the mid- to late-1960s.

I remember a pristine Beechcraft D-17 Staggerwing hangared in a pole barn there.

Cade was a rough, dirt strip with a slight rise in the middle that would explain the numerous landing accidents at the field.

Cade disappeared in the 1960s, consumed by contractors’ urban sprawl.”



David Brooks recalled that the area around Cade was heavily built up by the 1980s, with numerous homes & businesses.



The 1/6/95 USGS aerial photo showed not a trace appeared to remain of Cade Field.



A 11/17/12 aerial photo showed no trace remaining of Cade Aux AAF.



The site of Cade Aux AAF is located at of the intersection of Montgomery Drive & New World Drive.

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Northeast Airport, San Antonio, TX

29.513, -98.355 (Northeast of Downtown San Antonio, TX)

Northeast Airport, as depicted on the 1964 San Antonio Sectional Chart.

Photo of the airfield while in use is not available.



No airfield was yet depicted at this location on a 1955 USGS aerial photo nor on the 1959 USGS topo map.



The earliest depiction which has been located of Northeast Airport was on a 1963 aerial photo.

It depicted a single paved north/south runway, with a few small buildings on the east side.



The earliest aeronautical chart depiction which has been located of Northeast Airport was on the 1964 San Antonio Sectional Chart.

It depicted Northeast Airport as having an 1,800' unpaved runway.



The only photo which has been located showing an aircraft at Northeast Airport was on a 1966 aerial photo,

which depicted one single-engine light aircraft parked near the buildings on the east side of the runway.



The earliest topo map depiction which has been located of Northeast Airport was on the 1967 USGS topo map.

It depicted Northeast Airport as having a north/south unpaved runway, with several small buildings on the east side.



The last aeronautical chart depiction which has been located of Northeast Airport was on the January 1970 San Antonio Sectional Chart.

It depicted Northeast Airport as a private airfield having a 2,400' unpaved runway.



A 1973 aerial view showed Northeast Airport remained in the same configuration.



The 1975 USGS topo map depicted Northeast Airport in the same configuration as on earlier topo maps.



The date of closure of Northeast Airport has not been determined.



Larry Lee recalled, “I think the airfield was between New World, Montgomery and Leyland streets,

We moved to Leyland in 1976 and there was an abandoned airstrip behind our house.

It even showed up on a map as an unnamed airfield.

It had a paved, deteriorated runway running north/south. It was mostly developed by 1978.”



A 1986 aerial photo showed no trace remaining of Northeast Airport, with houses covering the property.



A 2016 aerial photo showed no trace remaining of Northeast Airport.



The site of Northeast Airport is located northwest of the intersection of Montgomery Drive & Tuxford.

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Ireland Flying Field / Schneider Field / Seguin Airport, Seguin, TX

29.56, -98.01 (East of San Antonio, TX)

Schneider Field, as depicted in the 1945 San Antonio Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).

Photo of the airport while open has not been located.



This location was an airfield with at least 3 different names over the decades,

starting in the First World War era.



According to “Under the Live Oak Tree: A History of Seguin” by John Gesick (courtesy of Fritz Schuetzeberg),

“Some Seguinites may remember the Ireland Flying Field.

It was located just west of Seguin near present day Lake Placid.

When Army aviation began in San Antonio, regional practice fields were needed.

Seguin offered a site and named it the Ireland Flying Field.

One of the first recorded crash landings at the airfield occurred 3/15/18.

Cadet Burtrell crash landed at the Ireland Flying Field just west of Seguin on a final test flight before becoming a Lieutenant.

He was treated by Dr. N. A. Poth in Seguin & returned to San Antonio on the evening train.”



The Ireland Flying Field was evidently abandoned at some point between 1918-34,

as it was no longer depicted on the 1934 San Antonio Sectional Chart.



This location was reopened at some point between 1934-45 as Schneider Field.

The earliest depiction which has been located of Schneider Field was on the 1945 San Antonio Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy),

which depicted Schneider as a commercial/municipal airport.



The 1945 AAF Airfield Directory (courtesy of Scott Murdock) described Scheider Airport

as a 53 acre irregularly-shaped property having 2 sod runways, measuring 2,868' northwest/southeast & 2,450' north/south.

The field was said to not have any hangars, but a single small building was depicted on the northwest side.

Schneider Airport was described as being owned & operated by private interests.



Fritz Schuetzeberg recalled, “I started flying here when I was 12 in 1956, with an man called 'Cap Schneider' at an airfield called Schneider Field.

There was a J-3 of Schneider's, a PT-22 of Cliff Kunkel, a Cessna 140 of Louie Souders, a Cessna UC-78, a CAP L-16 & L-4, and an Aeronca Chief of Stan Ownes.

Other pilots were Buggs Stoutsenberger & Less Bugi.

The airfield had 3 runways. One was north/south on the west side. One was northeast/southwest, the longest. One was east/west on the north end.

There were no trees between the airfield, office & the hangars in 1956.

I rode my bike 5 miles to get here, and helped around the field every afternoon, weekends & all summer for flying time.

My parents never really knew much about it. Have times changed.

I had a 1957 San Antonio [Sectional] Chart showing Schneider Field.

Schneider Airport Manager Stan Ownes... gave me my first airplane ride and then died in a duster crash in about 1958.

He owned a Chief.

I can not believe I remembered the names after 55 years.

People who also flew from this field were CAP pilots I flew with, USAF Lt. Sharpe in the L-4, John Gilbert in the L-16.

Kenny Hass, Sam Lyle and Paul Schroeder were also in the CAP cadets.

It seems like I could go there in the morning & they would all be there. Wow!”



Fritz continued, “I remember one summer day Stan was mad because someone stole avgas from the pump.

In those days we did not lock the pumps because someone may need fuel after hours to get home.”



The airport was evidently renamed Seguin Airport at some point between 1945-58,

as the 1958 USGS topo map depicted “Seguin Airport” as having 2 paved runways,

with 4 small buildings on the north side.



The last photo which has been located showing Seguin Airport still in operation was a 4/8/58 USGS aerial view.

It depicted Seguin Airport as having 2 runways, with 4 small buildings & 1 single-engine aircraft on the north side.



Fritz Schuetzeberg recalled, “Schneider Field closed in about 1959,

after Stan Owens death & Captain Schneider had moved to run the Luling TX Airport in about 1958.

The new Seguin Airport had just opened & the people & planes moved.”



Schneider Field was no longer depicted on the 1964 San Antonio Sectional Chart.



A 1973 aerial view depicted Schneider Field as having a single grass north/south runway, with several buildings at the north end.

There was no indication of any recent aviation usage.



The 1975 USGS topo map still depicted “Seguin Airport”,

even though it had evidently been closed for more than a decade by that point.



A 1986 aerial photo showed the area of the runway had been taken over for farming at some point between 1973-86, erasing any trace of the runway.

But the airport buildings on the north end remained intact.



A 2002 photo by Fritz Schuetzeberg of the Schneider Field “flight office, cafe & airport manager's office as seen from the south.

There is a large sign on the west side of the office that says 'Airport Cafe'.”



A 2002 photo of Fritz Schuetzeberg pointing out the “Airport Manager” sign at the Schneider Field office door.

Fritz reported, “The sign says 'Schneider Airport Manager Stan Ownes'.”



A 2002 photo by Fritz Schuetzeberg of the the west end of the Schneider Field T-hangars.



A 10/18/11 aerial view looking south at Schneider Field showed the runway area remains clear, and several buildings remain intact.

Fritz Schuetzeberg observed in 2012, “A large hangar in the northwest corner has been replaced by a house.

The hangar & office are easy to spot with the rusty roofs.”



The site of Schneider Field is located southeast of the intersection of West Kingsbury Street & Manor Drive.



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Guadelupe County Airport / Seguin Municipal Airport (T90, TE70) / Geronimo Field,

Seguin, TX

29.59, -98 (East of San Antonio, TX)

Guadalupe County Airport, as depicted in a 5/4/58 USGS aerial photo.



This general aviation airport was evidently built at some point between 1949-58,

as it was not depicted on the 1949 San Antonio Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).



The earliest depiction which has been located of Guadalupe County Airport was on a 5/4/58 USGS aerial photo,

which depicted a single grass northwest/southeast runway.

There did not yet appear to be any buildings associated with the airfield.



The earliest aeronautical chart depiction which has been located of Guadalupe County Airport was on the 1959 San Antonio Sectional Chart.



The 1962 AOPA Airport Directory described Guadalupe County Airport

as having a single 4,400' turf & asphalt runway, and listed the operator as Seguin Aviation.



The 1963 TX Airport Directory (courtesy of Steve Cruse) described Guadalupe County Airport

as having a 2,000' asphalt section set amidst a 4,000' turf Runway 12/30.

An asphalt taxiway led south toward a small ramp with 2 hangars. The manager was listed as W.B. Stevens.



The 1964 USGS topo map depicted Geronimo Field Airport as having a single paved northwest/southeast runway

with several buildings along the southwest side.



According to William Suffa, Guadalupe County Airport

was depicted as an active airfield on the 1965 San Antonio Sectional Chart.



According to Stephen McNicoll, the airfield was labeled "Navion" on the 1967 San Antonio Sectional Chart,

and then as "Guadalupe County" on the 1968 chart.



"Guadalupe County" was depicted on the January 1970 San Antonio Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)

as having a single 2,000' paved runway.



The earliest photo which has been located of the Guadalupe County Airport was a 1973 aerial view.

It depicted the field as having a single paved northwest/southeast runway, a parallel taxiway,

and a ramp & several small hangars on the west side of the field.

Several light aircraft were also visible on the ramp.



The 1973 USGS topo map depicted "Geronimo Field Airport” as having a single paved runway.



The field was labeled as "Guadalupe” on the 1976 USGS topo map.



Having been renamed, the field was listed as "Geronimo Field" in the 1985 TX Airport Directory (courtesy of Steve Cruse).

The single runway was by then a 2,900' paved strip.

The operator was listed as Seguin Aviation Inc.



Henry Graeber recalled, “In 1985, I took flight lessons at Geronimo Field in Seguin.

I soloed but because of family obligations, never finished my private.

My flight instructor [was] Tripp Riedel, who was a young man at the time.

I've got between 55-60 hours in various planes there.”



Ken Smith reported, “Geronimo Field was the original home for the Piper Apache 'Geronimo' modifications.”



A 1986 aerial photo showed a total of 15 single-engine aircraft on the field.



The 1987 USGS topo map depicted "Geronimo Field” as having a single paved runway.



The last photo which has been located showing Geronimo Field still in operation was a 1/27/95 USGS aerial photo looking southeast.

It showed the airfield to have a single 4,000' paved Runway 12/30, a parallel taxiway, a small ramp & several small hangars.

Three light single engine aircraft were visible on the ramp.



Eric Bauer recalled, “In my logbook my last flight to Geronimo Field was in April 1998.

They told me that it was to be their last month of operation -

that they were selling to a mobile home manufacturing facility.”



Buck Wyndham reported in 2003 that

"The site of the old Geronimo Airport is now used for mobile home manufacturing & distribution."



In 2003 a small private field, "Huber Airpark Civic Club LLC Airport",

opened a half mile east of the site of the old Geronimo Airport, but it is not the same airfield.



A 2004 aerial view showed a large industrial facility with a large paved ramp covering the middle portion of the former runway,

but portions of the original runway still extended toward the northwest & southeast.



A 2008 photo by Eric Patrick looking from I-10 toward the site of Geronimo Field.

Eric reported, “I was unable to gain access to the back side of the mobile home factory to take pictures of what is left of the runway.

I was unable to see any concrete [runway remains] from my vantage point.

Unlike most Texans, I don't have a truck, so I'm unable to go 4 wheeling or off-roading. My Civic would not make it.”



A circa 2008 aerial view looking south shows the Runway 30 numbers still remaining recognizable.



A 3/31/08 aerial view looking southeast shows the runway, ramp, and hangars which remain intact.

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