Near Bradfordton in Sangamon County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Lindbergh Field

Photographed by Larry Senalik, March 13, 2011

1. Lindbergh Field Marker

Inscription.
"Site of"
1st Airport in Sangamon County

Lindbergh Field

April 1926 to 1929

Erected 1968 by Springfield Airport Authority and The Illinois State Historical Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Air & Space. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1926.

Location. 39° 49.45′ N, 89° 43.233′ W. Marker is near Bradfordton, Illinois, in Sangamon County. It is on Hazlett Rd 0.4 miles north of Illinois Highway 97, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Springfield IL 62707, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Central Illinois

and in Greater Springfield.

It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in 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

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Illinois State Military Museum (approx. 2.8 miles away); Our Fallen Illinois Service Members (approx. 2.8 miles away); Lincoln the Leader (approx. 2.8 miles away); Camp Yates (approx. 3 miles away); Site of Camp Yates (approx. 3 miles away); Chosin Reservoir Memorial (approx. 3.1 miles away); Ninian Edwards (approx. 3.3 miles away); Grand Army of the Republic Mound (approx. 3.3 miles away).

More about this marker. Springfield's first airport, developed by the Chamber of Commerce, was located on this 35-acre tract of land. In

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

April, 1926, Charles A. Lindbergh, chief pilot for Robertson Aircraft, St. Louis, assisted in selecting the field. He flew mail to Springfield on the St. Louis-Chicago route until he began preparing for his solo trans-Atlantic flight of May 20, 1927. On August 15 of that year the field was named in his honor. It was used until 1929.

Also see . . . Paul Freeman's "Abandoned and Little-Known Airfields". This link connects to "Bosa Field / Springfield Airport / Conkling Field / Lindbergh Field, Springfield, IL".

Field selected and used by Charles Lindbergh one year before his Paris flight. John Fuller noted, “After Robertson Aircraft won the airmail contract, there was little time to select the Peoria & Springfield airfields. This necessitated, in the case of Springfield at least, finding an established pasture. No time to groom crops or plant grass. This made me think that many of these really were rectangular fields & not what we think of today as grass 'strips'.”

(Submitted on August 30, 2025, by John Fuller of Fort Myers, Florida.)

courtesy Sangamon Valley Collection, November 17, 1973

2. Lindbergh Field Marker

No longer at the location

Former Site of Lindbergh Field with Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Larry Senalik, March 13, 2011

3. Former Site of Lindbergh Field with Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on October 4, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 13, 2011, by Larry Senalik of Pleasant Plains, Illinois. This page has been viewed 2,319 times since then and 97 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on March 13, 2011, by Larry Senalik of Pleasant Plains, Illinois. 2. submitted on May 9, 2019, by Larry Senalik of Pleasant Plains, Illinois. 3. submitted on March 13, 2011, by Larry Senalik of Pleasant Plains, Illinois. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.