Informal portrait of aviators Eddie Rickenbacker and Ed Stinson (two on the right) standing with two unidentified men next to an airplane in a field in Chicago, Illinois Photo courtesy of Library of Congress: DN-0074995, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society

Katherine Stinson, pioneer aviator Photo courtesy of Library of Congress: DN-0070008, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society

Marjorie Stinson petitioned the City Council to lease land for use as an airport. Once approved, the family leased 500 acres of farmland from the city in 1916 and established Stinson Field. Marjorie founded the Stinson School of Aviation, thus being the first woman to own and operate a flying school in the United States. During its first years in operation, the Stinson family flying school trained many World War I pilots. After the ban of civilian flights during World War I, Stinson Field became the city's civil airport in 1918. Charles Lindbergh kept an airplane and flew out of Stinson while he was stationed at Brooks Field.

Stinson Field's name was changed for nine years to "Windburn Field" following the October 15, 1927, airplane crash of reporter, Bill Windburn. It was into Windburn Field that the first scheduled airmail flight in San Antonio arrived on February 6, 1928. In the 1930s, commercial airlines began using the airport and construction of a new terminal building with Works Progress Administration funds enhanced the facility. On July 15, 1936, the airfield was renamed Stinson Field in commemoration of its original founders. During World War II it once again became an Army Air Corps training facility. Returned to civilian use after the war, Stinson Field became the primary general aviation airport for the city of San Antonio. Part of Stinson Field was utilized by the National Guard for a couple of years, accounting for the barracks still present on the southwestern portion of the field. Although the San Antonio International Airport is the primary airport in the San Antonio area today, Stinson Field has remained an important commercial and recreational air center.

Stinson Airport, part of the Mission Parkway, is located at 8535 Mission Rd. in San Antonio, Texas. It is still operated as a general aviation airport, open during normal business hours. Also located at the air field is the Stinson Branch of the Texas Air Museum, presenting the history of flight from the early days of aviation to the present. It is open Monday-Saturday 11:00am to 5:00pm, closed major holidays; there is a fee for admission. For further information call 210-977- 9885 or visit the museum's website.