Dale Mabry Field

Dale Mabry Field is a former airport 3.4 miles west of Tallahassee, Florida. It was replaced in 1961 by Tallahassee Regional Airport (now Tallahassee International Airport) and the land is now the campus of Tallahassee Community College. Some of the runways are used for parking.HistoryOriginsIn 1928 the City of Tallahassee purchased a 200acre tract of land for $7028 for its first municipal airport. The land was previously a dairy farm operated (1910-1928) by Ervin Bostick Revell and Theodore B. Revell.Once the city purchased it, it was named Dale Mabry Field in honor of Tallahassee native Army Captain Dale Mabry, killed in 1922 while commanding the Army semi-rigid airship Roma on February 21, 1922, which crashed at Norfolk, Virginia. The airfield had one grass runway. The airport was dedicated on November 11, 1929 with its first manager being Ivan Munroe. Munroe was part owner and eventually full owner of Tallahassee's first airplane and was a flight instructor. Munroe also formed the Tallahassee Aircraft Company with Jeff Lewis, Frank Lewis and Dick Weeks after serving as a Navy pilot in the Jacksonville area during World War II. The company offered flight training, aerial photography and charter service.Atlantic Gulf Coast Airlines began flights at the airport during its first month. By 1934 the airport had 4 sod runways with the longest at 2600ft. (Department of Commerce Airport Directory, 1934).In 1937 Dale Mabry Field had two paved runways with a single hangar at the northwest corner of the field. In 1938 Eastern Airlines began flying to Memphis, Birmingham, and Montgomery, Alabama. National Airlines began service to Jacksonville, Pensacola, Mobile and New Orleans that year. The manager was listed as Ivan Munroe.

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