Inscription
In 1917, during World War I, the Houston Chamber of Commerce lobbied the federal government to establish an air field here. Named for Lt. Eric Lamar Ellington, an Illinois aviator killed in a California plane crash in 1913, it opened in November 1917.
The site transferred to the National Guard during the 1920s, and following a fire and demolition, all that remained by the 1930s was a concrete water tank. The government retained ownership, leasing the site for grazing cattle. By the 1940s, the threat of another world conflict caused the U.S. to reactivate the base. Ellington was vital to American war planning during World War II due to its strategic location near oil refineries and the Houston Ship Channel. Construction began in 1940, and among the first improvements was a service apron believed to be the largest concrete slab in the world at the time. Troops began arriving at the modernized facility in April 1941.
Ellington was primarily a pilot training center, but navigators and bombardiers, as well as aviators from other countries, also trained here. Because the field was operational prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, one of every ten Army pilots went through its flying school in the first two years of the war. Later, the Army Air Force ran an advanced navigator training school here.
After the war, Ellington was home to a Texas Air National Guard unit. During the Cold War, it again became an active Air Force base, primarily for navigator training. The Air Force abandoned the base in 1976, and the site has since been shared by the Texas Air National Guard, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Texas Army Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the City of Houston, which, since 1984, has used much of it for a municipal airport.
Texas in World War II, V+60
The site transferred to the National Guard during the 1920s, and following a fire and demolition, all that remained by the 1930s was a concrete water tank. The government retained ownership, leasing the site for grazing cattle. By the 1940s, the threat of another world conflict caused the U.S. to reactivate the base. Ellington was vital to American war planning during World War II due to its strategic location near oil refineries and the Houston Ship Channel. Construction began in 1940, and among the first improvements was a service apron believed to be the largest concrete slab in the world at the time. Troops began arriving at the modernized facility in April 1941.
Ellington was primarily a pilot training center, but navigators and bombardiers, as well as aviators from other countries, also trained here. Because the field was operational prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, one of every ten Army pilots went through its flying school in the first two years of the war. Later, the Army Air Force ran an advanced navigator training school here.
After the war, Ellington was home to a Texas Air National Guard unit. During the Cold War, it again became an active Air Force base, primarily for navigator training. The Air Force abandoned the base in 1976, and the site has since been shared by the Texas Air National Guard, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Texas Army Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the City of Houston, which, since 1984, has used much of it for a municipal airport.
Details
| HM Number | HM13OG |
|---|---|
| Tags | |
| Marker Number | 13820 |
| Year Placed | 2006 |
| Placed By | Texas Historical Commission |
| Marker Condition |   6 out of 10 (1 reports) |
| Date Added | Tuesday, October 14th, 2014 at 1:57pm PDT -07:00 |
Pictures
Locationbig map
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 15R E 289421 N 3276740 |
|---|---|
| Decimal Degrees | 29.60273333, -95.17446667 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 29° 36.164', W 95° 10.468' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 29° 36' 9.84" N, 95° 10' 28.08" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 281, 713 |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 12000 Aerospace Ave, Houston TX 77034, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.
Nearby Markersshow on map
Maintenance Issues
- Is this marker part of a series?
- What historical period does the marker represent?
- What historical place does the marker represent?
- What type of marker is it?
- What class is the marker?
- What style is the marker?
- This marker needs at least one picture.
- Can this marker be seen from the road?
- Is the marker in the median?
Comments 0 comments