From the days of strawberry deliveries to a modern-day firefighting base of operations, the Fremont County Airport continues to be a vital hub for aircraft as it approaches its 70th birthday.
In terms of flight, Canon City received its first aircraft landing in 1920, when planes would touch down on a 60-acre tract between Ninth Street and Elm Avenue, where the Blossom Festival carnival sets up today.
“My favorite story is when the first plane landed, there were people who lined the airstrip to see it come in. They rushed onto the field thinking it would just stop right away, and they didn’t know it would keep going for a while,” said Sue Cochran, archivist for the Royal Gorge Regional Museum & History Center.
There was a mad scramble to get out of the plane’s path, she said. Luckily no one was hurt.
http://www.chieftain.com/news/region/upperark/4939779-120/airport-fremont-county-history