Built about 1868, soon after the U.S. Army's post-Civil War reoccupation of Fort Duncan, this building played a part in aviation history when the first military cross-country flight, from Fort McIntosh in Laredo, landed here in 1911. By 1932 the Army abandoned the post. Six years later the city of Eagle Pass purchased it and leased the barracks to the local council of Boy Scouts. In 1939 the building became the Fort Duncan Country Club and remained as such except during World War II when it was also an officers club for the Eagle Pass Army Air Force Advanced Flying School.

Located in the counties of Palo Pinto and Parker, Fort Wolters' history dates back to the days of "Old" Camp Wolters, created in 1925 as a National Guard training area under the guidance of General Jacob F. Wolters.

On October 13, 1940, the U.S. Army activated Camp Wolters as an infantry replacement center, with the support of Mineral Wells community leaders. Additional lands were bought or donated to the army by local residents to expand the camp to over 7,500 acres. In less than four months, more than 100 buildings were constructed. The original buildings of "Old" Camp Wolters were converted into a P.O.W. camp for German prisoners from North Africa. The prison camp was closed on August 15, 1946, as the last prisoners were returned to their homeland.

At its peak, Camp Wolters was home to more than 30,000 soldiers per training cycle. Among the notable war heroes that passed through the camp were Lt. Jack Knight and Audie Murphy, both of whom were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

After World War II Fort Wolters was deactivated as an army training facility and reactivated in 1951 as Wolters Air Force Base. In 1956, it was designated Camp Wolters Army Base, and was used for helicopter flight training with more than 1,000 helicopters stationed at three different heliports. The base was expanded to cover nearly 722,000 acres of land for flight training purposes. In 1963 it was designated Fort Wolters. The fort also became the site of a Nike missile installation until it reverted once again to the National Guard after the Vietnam War. Fort Wolters was officially closed for military service on February 1, 1973.

Ira Clarence Eaker was born April 13, 1896, in Field Creek, Llano County, Texas. In 1906, his parents, Young Yancy and Ladonia (Graham) Eaker, moved the family to the Eden area, where he and his brothers attended school. Eaker enlisted in the Army on April 7, 1917, one day after the U.S. declared war on Germany. He was recruited into the Army's early aviation program and continued his pilot training through the war, after which he commanded a squadron in the Philippines. There he helped devise an aircraft level instrument, which was further developed by the Air Corps Material Division.

In 1926-27, Eaker served as a pilot in the Pan American Goodwill tour. He also conceived and tested innovative flight procedures. During the 1930s, he earned a journalism degree and graduated from the Army Command and General Staff School in Kansas. At the outbreak of World War II, Eaker was sent to England to organize and oversee the U.S. 8th Army Air Force Bomber Command, coordinating efforts with the Royal Air Force in round-the-clock bombing of Germany's war works. He sometimes accompanied his men, believing a commander should know what his troops face in combat. He commanded the 8th Army Air Force and later the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces. Near war's end, he served at the Pentagon as Deputy Commanding General of the Army Air Forces.

Eaker retired in 1947 and worked for Howard Hughes and then for Douglas Aircraft Company, from which he retired in 1961. He launched a newspaper column a few years later and involved himself in military commentary for the rest of his life. Remembering his foundation in Eden and his Eden classmates, he returned here often for family and community events. The recipient of more than 50 awards and decorations, including Knighthood in England and a U.S. Congressional Gold Medal as "aviation pioneer and air power leader," he died August 6, 1987.

Platted 1904; incorporated 1910. Named for town in Holland, by founder Lon C. Hill, Sr. (1862-1935), promoter of railroad and early business enterprises. Here were organized the first irrigation district and first navigation district in Rio Grande Valley. Center for finance, wholesale business, commerce and medical services. Site of Harlingen State Tuberculosis Hospital, Rio Grande State Center for Mental Health and Mental Retardation, Valley Baptist Hospital. Home of Marine Military Academy, "Confederate Air Force" Museum and the Lower Valley Historical Museum.

The city of Dallas purchased land at this site in 1928 and leased it to the U.S. Army for a training airfield, as Love Field, established in Dallas in 1917, had become too busy to provide safe facilities for training. The field was named for Major William N. Hensley, an air officer for the Eighth Corps Army Area who helped select the base site before his death.

Army air operations were moved here from Love Field, and Hensley Field became the center of all area Army air training operations and a key repair and refueling point in the southwest. As World War II loomed, the U.S. War Department granted the use of a part of Hensley Field to the Navy for a naval reserve aviation base. Known as "Prairie Navy" because of its inland location, it was commissioned in May 1941.

Also in 1941, the North American Aviation Company transferred production of the T-6 and Navy SNJ "Texan" planes here from California, and the Army Air Corps moved its midwestern headquarters of the ferry command to Hensley Field.

In 1943 the naval reserve aviation base was redesignated Dallas Naval Air Station. Personnel trained here included fleet, Coast Guard and Marine pilots, three future astronauts, a contingent of Free French Forces and women accepted for volunteer emergency service (WAVES).

In 1944 the North American Aviation Facility was re-tooled to produce B-24 bombers. By the end of World War II, Hensley Field had expanded to include 4,104 people. After the war, Congress established a naval air training program to preserve the skills and expertise of ex-military personnel. The Navy officially took over Hnesley Field on May 1, 1949, but the Air Force remained as tenant. Dallas Naval Air Station remained in operation until 1998.

One of great lawmakers of the United States. Born near Naples, son of John L. and Alice Eddins Sheppard. Attended local schools. Received degrees of B.A. and LL.B., University of Texas; LL.M., Yale; LL.D., Southern Methodist University. Entered law practice in 1898.

Served in United States Congress 1902-1913; United States Senate, 1913-1941. Active in legislation for agriculture, waterways, topographical and geological surveys, development of helium and potash deposits, construction and improvement of Federal buildings (including National Archives), Federal insurance for bank deposits, and Air Mail service. Author in Senate of Federal Credit Union Act, the Federal Maternity and Infancy Act, and the 19th (Prohibition) Amendment. He supported the 19th (Woman's Suffrage) Amendment.

One of creators of World War I Aircraft Board, he continued to champion military aviation, even when air power was discredited during 1920s and 30s. His leadership prevented disastrous curtailment of air power, and helped prepare nation's air defenses in World War II. He was chairman, Senate Military Affairs Committee, 1933-1941. Sheppard Air Force Base, Wichita Falls, was named in his honor in 1942.

He married Lucile Sanderson; they had 3 daughters.

Known as "Little Adobe", this pueblo revival building was constructed in 1928 to serve as the air terminal for Kell Field, the first municipal airport for the city of Wichita Falls. In 1941 it was incorporated into Sheppard Field, a World War II Army Air Corps Training Center. Now part of Sheppard Air Force Base, the Kell Field Air Terminal has served such notable pilots as Charles Lindbergh, Wiley Post, and Amelia Earhart.

As World War I raged in Europe, the United States began to build up and expand its military aviation forces. In his search for a new army aviation training site, Maj. Benjamin Foulois found 700 acres of flat farmland with a water supply near the Missouri-Pacific rail line, then seven miles south of San Antonio. With the help of U.S. Senator Morris Sheppard of Texas, the site was acquired and cleared. Aviation operations began here on April 5, 1917, the day before the United States declared war on Germany. Kelly Field, named for George Edward Maurice Kelly, the first military pilot killed in a plane crash at nearby Fort Sam Houston in 1911, trained aviators, mechanics and support personnel for war duty. After additional land was acquired, the field was divided into Kelly Number 1 (later renamed Duncan Field) and Kelly Number 2. The Air Service Advanced Flying School, which headquartered at Kelly Number 2, trained pilots including Charles Lindbergh, Curtis LeMay and numerous future Air Force Chiefs of Staff. During World War II, Kelly saw a tremendous increase in its civilian and military workforce, including women, who were known as "Kelly Katies." After the Air Force became an independent military service in 1947, the field became known as Kelly Air Force Base. Personnel at Kelly were significantly involved with air transport and maintenance during the Korean conflict, the Cold War, Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Once the largest employer in San Antonio, Kelly Air Force Base realigned in 2001 in response to peacetime defense spending cuts.

Believing the city's success was linked to its transportation system, Dallas leaders made early efforts to secure a future within the burgeoning field of aviation. Oak Cliff resident Frank McCarroll made his first flight in 1903. In 1910, he and the Dallas Chamber of Commerce organized a State Fair Air Show and attracted thousands of viewers.

In 1917, during World War I, the city secured an agreement with the War Department to provide a military flying school for the Army to lease. The Army Signal Corps named the field "Love Field" in honor of Lt. Moss Lee Love (1879-1913), an Army aviation fatality. A festival at Love Field marked the war's end in 1918, and the Army decommissioned the flying school in 1920. The City of Dallas leased space to pilots and, in 1922, the Curtiss Flying School and Curtiss Aeroplane Co. opened at the field. In 1923, the Army returned to provide weather and radio service to pilots. The airport attracted U.S. Air Mail route service in the mid-1920s; Air Mail carriers were the first national air service companies, and many developed into the major air carriers of the late 20th century. Over the years, notable pilots made stops here, including Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart. During World War II, the 5th Ferrying Group based operations here, along with a contingent of the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and a large Lockheed modification center.

As Love Field developed, so did aircraft technology and services, and major carriers established offices at its facilities. In 1973, a larger airport opened with most area air traffic moving there; Love Field almost closed. Today, though, Love Field has grown into a significant facility and one of the busiest commercial and general aviation airports in the United States. It remains a valuable Dallas asset, serving scheduled passengers, corporate clients and maintenance business. It is an important reminder of the city's early aviation efforts.

The early community support system for citizens of color in Abilene included Mt. Zion Baptist Church, organized in 1885, and the first area school for black children, which opened in 1890 with 22 pupils. Because of African Americans' continuing desire for self-governed religious education, the Macedonia Baptist Church was organized in 1898 by the Rev. J.H. Herron of San Angelo. The charter members were Richard Hayes (the church's first deacon), his wife Winnie Hayes and Jim and Alice Slaughter. They purchased property at this site and built a small frame building by 1903. These were sometimes violent years, and the pastors who followed calls to service in Abilene did so in spite of real fear for their own well-being. The first commencement exercises for African American students in Abilene were held about 1923 in the sanctuary of Macedonia Baptist Church. The single graduate that year was a member of the church. In 1936, a longtime member, H.D. Cumby, was called as minister. Under his consistent leadership the church was expanded and remodeled frequently, with the construction of an entirely new and modern building in 1951. Dyess Air Force Base, opened in 1956, greatly contributed to the growth of the church and its membership. The Rev. H.D. Cumby retired in 1965 shortly before his death. Macedonia Baptist Church leaders, long known for their involvement in the Abilene community, were credited with deflecting much tension and violence during the racially turbulent years of the 1960s and 1970s. The church continues to be a vital part of Abilene's religious and community life.