Aviation in Southern Oregon

Medford, Oregon, pioneered aviation in Southern Oregon and has long enjoyed a reputation for being an air-minded city. When the City of Medford built Newell Barber Field in 1920, it established the first municipally owned airfield in the state. In 1926, Pacific Air Transport selected Medford as a station for the West Coast airmail route. While Portland's airmail service was located across the river at Vancouver's Pearson Field in Washington, Medford's Newell Barber Field was Oregon's only airmail stop. The 1920s secured Medford's position as a leader in the growth of both civil and commercial aviation. When technology rendered the original field obsolete, the voters handily approved a new, state-of-the-art field that has continued to expand and grow into a major international airport and free trade zone, capable of accommodating some of the world's largest aircrafts.

Background Information

The present state of Oregon saw significant American immigration into the Willamette Valley and was the first Northwest territory to achieve statehood in 1859. Americans Wilbur and Orville Wright conducted the first heavier-than-air flight and America has led in aviation innovations ever since.

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Aviation in Southern Oregon

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