Photograph of airmail planes at Cleveland, Ohio

1921

Cleveland, Ohio, was on the original airmail route between New York City, New York, and Chicago, Illinois, that began regular operations on May 15, 1919. In a set of directions for pilots by the Post Office Department published in February 1921, the Cleveland airmail field was described as "in East Cleveland between the two railroads that follow the lake shore. The field is near the edge of the city and near the edge of the freight yards of the New York Central. The field is distinctly marked by long cinder runway. The airmail hangar is in the southwest corner of the field. The Martin factory is in the northwest corner of the field." Pilots used the directions to help guide them from airfield to airfield at a time when pilots used landmarks to guide their way.