Business View Magazine | September 2020

191 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2020 WESTF I ELD-BARNES REGIONAL A I RPORT the federal government as a mobilization and training camp for the 103rd and 104th Infantry Regiments of the 26th “Yankee” Division, prior to their deployment to France. Aviation came to Westfield on July 13, 1914, when Jack McGee of Pawtucket, Rhode Island flew a Wright biplane over the city on a flight that originated on a strip of land near Southampton Road and the Holyoke Rail Bridge. McGee was hired by local merchants to drop tickets from his airplane which could be redeemed for prizes. In 1923, the citizens of Westfield, and nearby Holyoke, set out to build an airport. A group of influential local businessmen from their respective Chambers of Commerce was charged to convince the owner of the property where the Airport is now, Vincent E. Barnes, to sell his land to the City of Westfield. Barnes, however, agreed to give up his land for free. The 27-acre plot was named Westfield Aviation Field, and was dedicated on October 12, 1923. As the field gained in popularity, Barnes leased the city