Current Events !! SPACE SHUTTLEDiscovery Flew over Beacon Marker 10AM, 17 April 2012(photos below)<--NEW!!!
AMERICA Revealed : Nation on the Move Airdate 18 April 2012, 10pm, PBS <--NEW!!! Story below Hybla Valley AirportHistoric Marker INSTALLED ! (3/23/12 ) Story below
Latest Update: 05/18/2012
FAVORITE iPhone/iPad app: LiveATC
4/17/2012: SPACE SHUTTLE Discovery escorted by T-38 Flies over Beacon Marker with Military precision at exactly 10:00AM EST. More photos below
Beacon Field Airport® -- Quick Facts
Beacon Field Airport® was located on Historic Route 1 in the Groveton section of Fairfax County, Virginia, 3.6 miles north of Mount Vernon. The airfield operated from the 1920's and Beacon Field Airport received a license in 1932. Recreational flying, US Mail, military training, post World War II and Korean War GI Bill pilot training, Fixed Based Operator (FBO), and commercial aviation activities were conducted at Beacon Field until the airport closed in 1959. Beacon Field is now the site of modern dayBeacon at Groveton Luxury Apartments (new in 2012) Lenclair Park, Target (old Memco), Beacon retail shops (Giant, Lowes, et al), and Beacon Hill Apartments. On August 19, 2009, the Beacon Field Airport Fairfax County Historic Marker was dedicated in commemoration of aviation pioneer Orville Wright's birthday also known as NATIONAL AVIATION DAY. This holiday was established in 1939 by Franklin D. Roosevelt's Presidential Proclamation.
The Fairfax County Historic Marker is the highest recognition awarded by the Fairfax County History Commission (visit FC website for more markers/info). Previously in July 2007, Beacon Field Airport at City View site was approved and added to the Fairfax County Inventory of Historic Sites in Lee District ! ! As a result the service road on the land tract was renamed Beacon Field Airport Highway in October 2007. This nomination was prepared and presented to the Fairfax County History Commission by W.F.P. Reid Sr.'s oldest grandson, Harry P. Lehman.
This nonprofit website strives to educate and offer a venue for the preservation of history of one of the nation's earliest private airports, Beacon Field and its surrounding communities, which embodied the genius of America. Friends of Beacon Field Airport conduct activities pro bono. We are eager to hear your experiences at Beacon and welcome additional photographs and documentation in support of this effort. VISIT the links at above left, Contact us !and stay in touch with the latest event below and read about the past events!
Beacon Field Events
Links to Friends of BEACON FIELD AIRPORT recent/upcoming media coverage:
Beacon Field Airport® Revealed in NEW PBS TV Series
April 18, 2012, Historic Groveton, Va ---Congratulations to Lion TV and Yul Kwon for presenting an exceptional capture of the challenges facing the early aviation pioneers in transcontinental flight in Episode 2 of America Revealed which aired at 10pm. Yul traveled to probably America's last operating beacon located in Montana and climbed the 90 foot steel tower to deliver his message. This was the BEST depiction of the evolution of marking the airways we have seen!! Of course, we were also thrilled with the inclusion of Beacon Field Airport and credits to FOBFA at the end !! Catch it here if you missed it !
FROM Stearmans to SPACE SHUTTLES -- TALK ABOUT A FLY-OVER !!!!!!!
APRIL 17, 2012, 10AM EST over Beacon Field Airport
March 2012
HIGH NOON at Hybla Valley Airport !!!
3/23/2012: Friends of Beacon Field Airport Harry Lehman and Anna Marie Hicks REJOICE at the new HVA Marker Installation!!! Story below!
HVA Marker Installed 3/23/2012
March 23, 2012, Historic Hybla Valley, Va ---At high noon on this very warm 85 degree March day, the much anticipated installation of the Hybla Valley Airport Historic Marker was accomplished ! Friends of Beacon Field Airportwere all smiles at the picturesque weather and location courtesy of Five Guys Burger and Fries !!!
This marker and other nearby markers are also listed on the national Historic Marker Database website .
Five Guys, 7622 Richmond Highway location. (CLICK for GOOGLE mapping)
SFDC releases Discover Richmond Highway History Brochure !
9 March 2012 -- Friends of Beacon Field Airport are delighted to share the Southeast Fairfax County Corporation's (SFDC) newest brochure Discover Richmond Highway History that highlights on a retro 1956 Shell Motoring map the location of all the nearby historic markers as well as a wonderful spotlight on Beacon Field and Hybla Valley Airports!!
The Southeast Fairfax County Development Corporation (SFDC) is a 501(c)3 organization committed to improving Richmond Highway. Visit their website www.sfdc.org or click the link below !
Beacon Friends Create New Blend withStarbucks on Historic Route 1 !
3/7/2012 FIRST FLIGHT: Friends of Beacon Field Airport help BEACON Starbucks team launch first flight of their newly adopted portion of Historic Route 1 at Beacon Centre. L->R Marylee Feier, Brandon Perkett, Jasper Hollins, and Lisa Emrico. Tall guy in back Harry Lehman. Story below !
March 7, 2012 -- Historic GROVETON, VA Friends of Beacon Field Airport helped Beacon Starbucks launch their first ever VDOT Adopt-A-Highway litter patrol on Route 1 (Richmond Highway) on the frontage of Beacon Mall. Clearly overdue for litter control maintenance, the crew arduously plucked hundreds of fast food wrappers, plastic lids, cellophane wrappers, illegal signage, and occasional car parts from the curbside median. Another Beacon Friend, Mike Phelps, happened to be nearby and spontaneously volunteered to transport the bags to a central pickup.
Shortly after the patrol began, the team experienced first hand the volume and seriousness of the traffic flow when first responders were called to an attempted robbery north in Penn Daw. The Fairfax County Police Helicopter circled overhead while resolute team members diligently filled over 15 orange bags of debris.
Location: Beacon Field Airport Highway, Left->Right: H. Lehman, J. Hollins, J. Emrico, M. Feier. In background, newly constructed Beacon of Groveton
February 2012
Now..... and One Year Ago! In the Shadow of the Marker.... the BEACON of GROVETON rises!!!!
Feb 3, 2012: The Beacon of Groveton takes on a familiar shape! The view from the top is reminiscent of the City View Mansion roof top observation deck.
February 4, 2012, Historic Groveton, Va ---In just one short year since the ground was broken (see 2/9/11 story) on the old Groveton School site at Reid's corner, the luxury apartment residence complex has risen with remarkable speed. The Beacon of Groveton(formerly named Heights of Groveton) phase one is well on the way to completion offering 290 luxury units and 10,000 square feet of ground retail space.
In recognition of the area's airport history, the design theme will be early aviation based including large scale panoramic photos from the Beacon Field Airport archives. The expansive vistas of the Potomac River, Washington Monument, and Masonic Temple, from the upper stories will be reminiscent of those seen from the City View Mansion. Built on one of the highest elevations in Fairfax County, the Beacon of Groveton will be a sought after location.
2/4/12: The Beacon of Groveton construction project
January 2012
The Hybla Valley Airport Marker has LANDED!!!
E.W. Robertson
January 25, 2012, Historic Groveton, Va (update 2 March)--- Good news !! The Friends of Beacon Field Airportnominated and paid for half of the Hybla Valley Airport Historic Marker fabrication which has now been completed and will be installed soon at the end of the old runway which is now the Five Guys Burgers & Fries in Hybla Valley. SEWAH Studios, Inc. located in Marietta, Ohio, manufactured the "Hybla Valley Airport" historic marker.
Bob Ashburn
SEWAH Studios was founded in 1927 by Mr. E. M. Hawes and began operation in what was formerly an organ factory on the west side of historic Marietta, Ohio. In naming the company, Mr. Hawes spelled his last name backwards. The company was purchased by the Smith family in 1954 and a new plant was constructed at the present site in 1959, where today they cast approximately 1200 markers each year.
Historical markers made by Sewah can be found in each of the fifty states and in several foreign countries. Virginia and Fairfax County purchase their official state markers from Sewah Studios. Fairfax County Historic markers are two-sided aluminum castings with letters in raised relief; the word count for Fairfax markers is limited to 100 words.
Historic and custom markers are SEWAH Studios only product and as such they produce the finest marker products in the country. Custom marker fabrication is labor-intensive requiring many skilled craftsmen to create a piece of art from aluminum billets - all of the work is done in-house from the layout, pouring liquid aluminum into a custom mold, thru to the final hand painting. This process takes about 5 days from the layout to the finished marker. Visit our Hybla Valley Airport website to see actual photos of the marker being made!!
