Page Field Army Airfield

Page Field Army Airfield is an inactive United States Army Air Forces base, approximately 4 miles south of Fort Myers, Florida. It was active during World War II as a Third Air Force training airfield. It was closed on 30 September 1945, two years prior to the establishment of the United States Air Force as an independent service.Today, the facility is Page Field, a civilian general aviation reliever airport. Prior to the construction of Southwest Florida International Airport in the 1980s, it also served as a commercial service airport for the Fort Myers / Lee County area.HistoryIn 1924, the city of Fort Myers, Florida, purchased 670 acres of land south of the city with the intention of developing it into a municipal golf course. However, that plan was halted when a Florida "Land Bust" stopped development.In 1927, it became a civil airport named "Palmetto Field", for the large amount of palmetto brush growing in and around the airport.National Airlines commenced regular flights into the airfield in 1937, but those were soon discontinued due to the poor landing conditions. Efforts to upgrade the airfield were boosted by a January 1940 Works Projects Administration (WPA) project constructed three concrete runways. In addition, other improvements were made and by the time of the Pearl Harbor Attack, "Lee County Airport" had grown to about 600 acres in size.