May 17, 2012The First Airfield
Located at Bergman Park on Baker Street
The Wright Brothers successful attempts at flight in 1903 opened up undreamed of doors to a population which, thanks to the Industrial Revolution, had both increasing leisure time and discretionary funds to spend. Airplane technology advanced rapidly, and within 10 years of the first flight, enterprising aviation enthusiasts had organized air shows which featured the era’s daredevils, both men and women, flying upside down, waling on the wings, and nosediving to dangerous levels.
Present day Bergman Park, originally a pig farm and pasture land, is the site of Jamestown’s first airfield. Trees and stumps were cleared to fashion a crude runway and hangars were built for those who owned their own airplane. Jamestown’s citizenry flocked to the airfield for airshows throughout the 1920s, brought to the area by the local aviators.
The field was not suitable for conversion and expansion to a bona fide airport for commercial purposes, a necessity in the late 1920s. It remained in private hands for private use into the 1930s and was deeded to the city for a park in 1938. Today, Jamestown’s citizenry still flocks to Bergman Park to enjoy the many recreational offerings available throughout the year.
BAKER STREET AIRFIELD
AVIATORS FROM WWI AND OTHER ADVENTUROUS MEN AND WOMEN BECAME THE BARNSTORMERS OF THE 1920S, SOME OF THEM USING THIS FORMER PASTURE FOR AIR SHOWS AND OFFERING RIDES TO THE PUBLIC. THIS WAS JAMESTOWN'S FIRST AIRFIELD.