Connellsville Airport

THE JOSEPH A. HARDY Connellsville Poised for growth T he Joseph A. Hardy Connellsville Airport is a public-use airport located four miles southwest of Connellsville in Dunbar Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, serving the south- eastern segment of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The Airport first opened in 1938, a cooperative project between the City of Connellsville, Fayette County, and the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) Program. It was heavily used during World War II by the United States Army Air Force Air Technical Service Command as a sub-depot of the Middletown Air Depot near Harrisburg. During the war, the government greatly improved the Airport’s facilities. The 805th Army Air Forces Specialized Depot, which opened on July 1, 1941, repaired and overhauled aircraft and returned them to active service. With the winding down of the war effort during the summer of 1945, the Air Force closed its facilities. The Airport remained under federal government control from 1941 until July 1947, when it was returned to the city of Connellsville, stipulating it be used for public purposes. AT A GLANCE THE JOSEPH A. HARDY CONNELLSVILLE AIRPORT WHAT: A public-use, general aviation airport WHERE: Dunbar Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania WEBSITE: www.connellsvilleairport.com