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Canton's Ingersoll Airport
By
The question of park districts constructing and operating airports has a long history but very little has been accomplished in the aviation field through their efforts. An Act authorizing park commissioners to acquire or establish and maintain landing fields for aircraft was approved July 11, 1927, and amended by an Act approved May 17, 1951. There are many pro's and con's of park districts being in the aviation business but set patterns can never be established as a result of unusual circumstances. The Ingersoll Airport is a very unique story as a result of the interest shown by the Truax-Traer Coal Division. In 1961, William Ingersoll, owner of Ingersoll Airport, sold the land upon which the airport was located to Truax-Traer. This was done with the understanding that a replacement airport of similar nature would be available when the airport closed. Ingersoll and the Coal Company agreed that the Canton Park District, which had experienced personnel and the necessary planting and maintenance equipment, would be the ideal agency to operate and manage the new airport. The sod runways at the old Ingersoll Airport had presented serious problems particularly in the spring and fall. As a consequence, most business planeswere forced to land in Peoria. Lack of hard surface runways also was a serious handicap for the community in its efforts to attract new business and industries to the Canton area. As long as the airport was owned by an individual, no federal or state aid was available for airport construction. However, when the coal company conveyed the new site (109 acres) to the park district, it became eligible for state and federal matching funds for construction and development. All parties involved in the airport project worked diligently during 1966 and 1967 toward obtaining the necessary approval and funding. This came about before the end of 1967, through the efforts of local citizens, congressmen, state representatives and senators, when the Federal Aviation Authority and the State Department of Aeronautics jointly approved a construction program for the new Ingersoll Airport. Construction began in September, 1968, and the runways and parking areas were completed in December, 1969. The airport is designed to permit use by practically all types of light planes and twin-engine business-type aircraft, including light jets. The airport is located two miles west of Canton on Illinois Route 9. The construction contract price was $499,806.00, consisting of construction, lighting and marking of a North-South runway 3,900' x 75'; construction and marking of a connecting taxiway 612' x 40'; construc- Robert Ems is Director of the Canton Park District. Illinois Parks and Recreation 12 March/April, 1971 tion of an apron 300' x 490'; and construction of an entrance road 3,040' x 22' and auto parking. The runway was constructed of a cement aggregate mix base with 2" of bituminous concrete surface. The navigational equipment consisted of a lighted wind cone, segmented circle and 36" beacon. The East-West turf area is 321' x 2,650' with an airport having a total area of 250 acres. Although the major construction was completed, the park district was still involved in the web of physical problems concerning the facilities and utilities. The problem of financing was becoming very evident and the park district became the general contractor on the remaining facilities. The Truax-Traer Coal Company gave the park district all the buildings from the former airport, consisting of three hangars, office building and a maintenance shop. The hangars were 160' x 39', the maintenance shop 50' x 57' and the office 38' x 18'. They were located three and one-half miles from the new airport. An old haulage road was utilized and the buildings moved onto new foundations at the new airport site. The water table proved to be a problem for the gasoline storage area and a 54 yard concrete base was built with bands to hold down the two 10,000 gallon storage tanks. All the utility lines in the approach zones were placed underground as were all incoming utilities by direct burial machinery. The drinking water is being pumped from a drilled well of 575' and a storage tank of 3,000 gallons capacity was required along with a small chloration system. The only new building, a Behlen T hangar, cost $35,000 which included a 40' overhead electric door. The State of Illinois and the Canton Park District joined in an asphalt project of $82,000 around the hangar and gas pump area which was completed in September of 1970. The final source of funds reflects the following:
The Canton Park District is in charge of maintenance and hangar rentals. The Fixed Based Operator (FBO) is operating on a lease that consists of all modes of the aviation field. In summary, the debate is not about the merits of a park district owning and operating an airport, but the fact that it was the only possible way the City of Canton could have such a fine facility at this particular time.
Illinois Parks and Recreation 13 March/April, 1971 |
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