Join the Chapel Hill Historical Society and Flyleaf Books on Friday, August 25 at 5:30 pm for the launch of Daniel Schwartz’s story of the airport that served the Chapel Hill community from 1929 to 2018.
In 1928 local Chapel Hillian Charley Martindale purchase 50 acres from Professor Horace Williams and built an airport on it. In 1931, Martindale Field was recognized by the U.S. Department of Commerce as the second official airport in North Carolina. Throughout those early years, it was used by Carolina and Duke student pilots under a program sponsored by the federal Civil Aeronautics Agency.
In 1940, UNC purchased the airport, renamed it after Horace Williams and began training more than 18,000 World War II pilots, including baseball great Ted Williams, famed football coach Bear Bryant, and future presidents Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush. Following the war, it served as the transport center for UNC’s Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) program, a program to recruit, train, and retain a medical workforce throughout North Carolina.
As Chapel Hill grew, the need for the once rural airport became an ongoing community debate. Once UNC began its first round of planning around Carolina North, the airport’s closure became inevitable despite opposition that included the state legislature. On May 18, 2018, it officially closed.
Whether you are a long time resident or a relative newcomer, join the author on August 25 to learn more about this fascinating era of Chapel Hill history.
Clipped Wings: The Story of Horace Williams Airport
Flyleaf Books
752 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Chapel Hill, NC
August 25, 2026
5:30 pm
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.