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George where the Ridge Top Complex sits today. Because Graham was “an out-of-town expert,” his opinion was taken to heart, and soon plans were launched for a municipal airport on the Black Hill above downtown St. Atkin saying it would be a good place to build an airport. George airport history began in 1920 as Maurice Francis Graham, a cautious and fearless flier, flew into low hanging clouds that forced him down on West Black Mesa. George airportĪccording to Washington County Historical Society, St. Maurice Francis Graham and B95 flying for Western Air Express, photo date and location not specified | Photo courtesy of Washington County Historical Society, St. About 100 cement arrows remain today, four of which are in Washington County. Years later, when radar and radio communications made the beacons obsolete, most towers were torn down, as the steel was desperately needed in the World War II efforts. Read more: Washington County points the way from Salt Lake to L.A., 1920s navigational cement arrows The final length of beacons extended 2,629 miles from New York to San Francisco. The towers were built with a rotating, million-candlepower light on top powered by gas generators. The Postal Service solved the problem of night flying with the world’s first ground-based civilian navigation system in the 1920s: large concrete arrows painted yellow and placed approximately every 10 miles with a tall steel tower at the center. Unfortunately, while this method worked by day, it grounded pilots at night. However, since it was before the widespread use of radar or radio, pilots used Mother Nature’s landmarks, and soon an aeronautical chart was developed. earnestly began efforts for rapid communication throughout the continent. It wasn’t long after the Wright brothers’ first flight in 1903 that pilots adopted air transport mail delivery, leading to limited airmail service in the eastern United States as early as 1918. Shinob Kibe Beacon 37B, Washington County, Utah, January 2017 | Photo by and courtesy of Kathy Lillywhite, St. However the decline of passenger trains and mechanized sorting machines in central hubs put an end to the Railway Post Office. The railcar had an attached hook that held canvas pouches that might be snatched in towns where trains did not stop. By 1880, Railway Post Office cars serviced the West. Railway Post Office was introduced in the United States in 1862, using converted baggage cars and clerks to sort mail along the journey expediting delivery. But that certainly wouldn’t do for sending lacy valentines. Next came telegraph lines sending messages across the country with dots and dashes, relaying messages from station to station.
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But high costs would see the Pony Express fail to win the mail contract beyond 19 months of operation.
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Louis to San Francisco – that is, if the carriage wasn’t harassed by bandits or marauding Indians.īy 1860 the Pony Express revolutionized transcontinental mail by offering 10-day delivery service. Starting in the late 1850s, the Overland Stagecoach route was capable of delivering mail in just 24 days from St. However mail delivery had several good tries and setbacks, and the airmail efforts in Southern Utah were no exception. During this era the territory had no infrastructure and very little law governing the lands. FEATURE - In the mid-19th century, the West was still rugged, wild and largely unexplored, yet pioneers and settlers longed for a reliable coast-to-coast message delivery system.