Skip to main content

World War I Ellington Field Scrapbook

 Collection
Identifier: MS 0698
Finding aid note: Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Scope and Contents

Scrapbook contains images of aviation training at Ellington Field, a bombing and gunnery school located about 15 miles from Houston. The photographs show a wide range of camp life and training. They include individual officers in uniforms with a variety of aviation insignia, individuals in leather flight jackets and helmets, Curtis Jenny airplanes on the ground and in flight, pilots flying aircraft, and many bird's-eye views of the field and the surrounding area, particularly of Houston. Additionally shown are views of an airplane wreck and a unit funeral. The photographs are uncaptioned.

Dates

  • 1918

Creator

Access Restrictions

This material is open for research.

Stored offsite at the Library Service Center and require 24-hour notice for retrieval. Please contact the Woodson Research Center at 713-348-2586 or woodson@rice.edu for more information.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from the World War I Ellington Field Scrapbook must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library.

Historical Note

Ellington Field was officially opened November 27, 1917, as the United States' largest pilot and navigator training base, and the nation's first aerial bombing school. By the end of World War I, Ellington Field had grown to the size of a small city which housed 20,000 men and 250 aircraft. Like most bases, it was closed after World War I, but unlike most other military installations, it was reopened and saw at least partial use until World War II, when it was rebuilt as one of ten strategic defense bases in the United States. It was the only strategic defense base on the Gulf Coast. The location of the field was, and still is, crucial to the defense of the Houston Ship Channel, the ports of Galveston and Houston and one of the United States' largest oil refining centers. In 2005, the field was once again expanded to become a Joint Reserves base, to house the combined military forces Reserve Units. In 2005, the U.S. Department of Defense recommended retiring Ellington Field's 147th Fighter Wing F-16 Falcon fighter jets. The aircraft were replaced with MQ-1 Predator unmanned drones and the unit was redesignated as the 147th Reconnaissance Wing. The ANG 272nd Engineering Installation Squadron, was also relocated to Ellington Field. From 1976 to 2007, Ellington Field was partially owned and managed by the Houston Airport System, and the base was also home to the Texas State Guard, NASA's Johnson Space Center, a U.S. Coast Guard Search and Rescue unit, and other aviation related businesses.

Biographical Note

No biographical information about the scrapbook's creater is known. There is a sign in one of the photographs that reads, "1st Lieut. F.A. Sansone, 1st Lieut. C.H. Penland, 2nd Lieut. J.B. Haddon." All three were aviators assigned to Ellington Field in August, 1918, presumably one of them was the compiler.

Extent

0.5 Linear Feet ; (Large oblong quarto. Measuring approximately 10" x 12".)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Overview

Scrapbook contains images of aviation training at Ellington Field, a bombing and gunnery school located about 15 miles from Houston. The photographs show a wide range of camp life and training. They include individual officers in uniforms with a variety of aviation insignia, individuals in leather flight jackets and helmets, Curtis Jenny airplanes on the ground and in flight, pilots flying aircraft, and many bird's-eye views of the field and the surrounding area, particularly of Houston. Additionally shown are views of an airplane wreck and a unit funeral. The photographs are uncaptioned.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased from Between the Covers, Rare Books, Inc.

Physical Description

Large oblong quarto. Measuring approximately 10" x 12". Black cloth over flexible boards. Over 250 gelatin silver images ranging in size between 2.5" x 3.5" and 6.5" x 8.5" .

Subjects

Record Groups

Related Names

Creator

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the World War I Ellington Field Scrapbook, 1918
Status
Completed
Date
2017
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository

https://library.rice.edu/woodson
Contact:
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA

Broaden your search:
Texas Archival Resources Online - statewide search of archival finding aids
ArchiveGrid - international search of archival finding aids
Scholarship.rice.edu - Rice University digital content

Harmful Content Statement
© 2023 Woodson Research Center
Fondren Library, Rice University
Physical Address: 6100 Main, Houston, Texas 77005-1827
Mailing Address: MS-44, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, Texas 77251-1892