South Newport News , Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Curtiss Flying School
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, July 31, 2010
1. Curtiss Flying School Marker
Aviation pioneer Glenn H. Curtiss sponsored the Atlantic Coast Aeronautical Station on a 20-acre tract east of Newport News Boat Harbor in the fall of 1915 with Capt. Thomas Scott Baldwin as head. Many civilian students, including Canadians, later became famed World War 1 flyers. Victor Carlstrom, Vernon Castle, Eddie Stinson and Gen. Billy Mitchell trained here. The school was disbanded in 1922.
Erected 1969 by Newport News Historical Committee.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • Education • War, World I. In addition, it is included in the Virginia, Corporation of Newport News series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1915.
Location. 36° 57.855′ N, 76° 24.687′ W. Marker is in Newport News, Virginia. It is in South Newport News. It is on Jefferson Avenue 0.3 miles south of 6th Street, on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Newport News VA 23607, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on Virginia’s Peninsula, in Hampton Roads, in Coastal Virginia, and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, and in the Tidewater. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: William Ward Pinkett, Sr. (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Camp Stuart (approx. 1.1 miles away); King Comes to Newport News (approx. 1.3 miles away); Memorial Design & Concept
this page online
Also see . . . Curtiss Aviation School or Atlantic Coast Aeronautical Station, 1916. Pioneer Pilot website entry (Submitted on August 3, 2010.)
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, July 31, 2010
2. Foot of Jefferson Avenue
Frank J. Conway (photo courtesy of the Quincy Public Library), 1920
3. Thomas Scott Baldwin and flyers
"Thomas Scott Baldwin, in suit, posed with a group of seven flyers by an airplane. "Captain" Baldwin and some of his boys at the aeronautical station in Newport News. The man at his left is Bert Acosta, a famous long distance flyer. Other are instructors and students at the aeronautical station."
Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 3, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,764 times since then and 50 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 3, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. 3. submitted on July 24, 2020.
