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South Plainfield Historical Society, Headquarters at the History Center: 115 Sylvania Place (Highland Woods Nature Reserve), South Plainfield, NJ (2026)

08/28/2026

SPHS Centennial Celebration Series:
35/ BOROUGH SEAL

The Borough of South Plainfield was the fourth section of the original 66 square miles to separate from the Township of Piscataway: Raritan Township (Edison) exited in 1870, Dunellen Township in 1887 and Middlesex Borough in 1913, with Arbor and New Market threatening to ride the most recent wave of secession. South Plainfield exited on March 10, 1926.

South Plainfield’s movement towards separation began 20 years earlier, led by William Hamilton and members of the Good Government Club, John B. Geary Sr., and others of both political parties. Their initial attempts in 1906/07 had been unsuccessful. Undeterred, supporters refused to abandon the cause and continued to line up community and political support over the next two generations until success was achieved in March 1926. Voters in the township approved the separation on April 6, and an interim administration of candidates running on a citizens’ ticket was elected on May 6 to serve until the next general election on Nov 3. The fledgling administration held its first formal council meeting on May 10 and proceeded to evaluate the entangled interests of the old township and the new borough. Lost in the pressing issues of government was the matter of a visual identity, an official seal. From the first administration of William Hamilton though the six that followed, no headway was made until the 1956 mayoral election.

When the Republican Party swept the election, it was a fortuitous opportunity to have a common seal designed and implemented, for the newly elected mayor, Robert M. Baldwin, was a multi-talented, self-employed commercial artist. The design that Baldwin created cleverly imbedded symbolism of the past with an eye toward the future. The Council introduced Ordinance #276 on March 14, 1957, amended it April 11, and adopted it April 25, giving Baldwin’s design, you might say, the seal of approval.

Designated a Borough
Encased within the seal’s outer circle is printed “Borough of South Plainfield, N.J.” which begs the question, why was it christened a borough when born of a township? Old Samptown and Brooklyn were villages. Neighbors included the Township of Raritan, the City of Plainfield, the Borough of Metuchen, and the Town of Westfield.

In New Jersey, all 565 municipalities are classified as one of these five types: borough, township, city, town, or village. The Borough Act of 1878 specified that a borough must meet two criteria: be less than four square miles and have less than 5,000 residents. In 1897 the act was amended to allow prospective boroughs to either increase or diminish in size upon a special act of the State Legislature, which was exactly how So. Plainfield’s greater size of 8.31 sq. miles and population under 5,000 qualified as a borough.

The Stars
Baldwin separated the phrasing in the outer circle with two stars representing “the major political parties which were instrumental in the founding and development of the Borough.” William Hamilton and his supporters in the Good Government Club were Republicans, and John B. Geary, Sr. and the members of the John Geary Association for a Better Government were Democrats. Hamilton and Geary would go head-to-head in the first official general election in November 1926. Hamilton won handily, and Geary vowed to never return to politics.

The Double Lines
The inner circle has three parts divided by a double line running horizontally through the circle with a branch at the center arching to the upper left corner. The double lines represent the tracks of the Lehigh Valley Railroad which significantly contributed to the growth and development of the community. The branch symbolizes the original route of the Easton & Amboy Railroad (later named the Lehigh Valley) chartered by Asa Packer in 1872. The coal-hauling trains ran from Phillipsburg through South Plainfield to the docks at Perth Amboy. The first train rumbled through our community on May 28, 1875, 125 cars long. The continuation of the horizontal double line to the left represents the railroad’s main branch which was extended to Newark and Jersey City with both freight and passenger service.

The Gear
The gear superimposed across the tracks signifies the major industries such as Spicer Manufacturing, Harris Steel, Revell, Kentile, Inc. and David Smith Steel Company, which located their businesses track side and were dependent upon the railroad. These companies became major employers and gave So. Plainfield its blue-collar distinction.

The Hand, Paper, and Key
The hand holding the rolled paper is representative of planning. The key suggests planning is the key to the future. South Plainfield had growing pains during the 1950s. The population rose from 8,008 in 1950 to 17,879 in 1960, a jump of 123.3%. Open space was disappearing as housing starts soared; a burgeoning school-age population put a strain on the facilities; and the need for a railroad overpass, talked about since the 1920s, grew. Proposals were on the table to condemn and demolish most of the downtown area between Front Street and Hamilton Boulevard for a 35-acre superstore complex; Spring Lake was filled with silt and vegetation and flooding was a problem; and the impending construction of Interstate Route 287 promised to impact south side development and lure industry.

The House and Wording
Baldwin places a cozy house at the fork of the railroad tracks to symbolize the importance of family life, community spirit and religious unity. If the seal were to be redesigned today, the single-family one-story residence might be a sprawling multi-level condo/apartment complex that includes affordable housing units to satisfy Mt. Laurel obligations. The words in reverse lettering -- “vision, family, industry” -- sum up the theme.

Date of Incorporation
Governor Moore signed Senate Bill #216 on Wednesday, March 10, in front of a contingent of So. Plainfield representatives and media outlets. The date is officially recorded in “Chapter 7, Laws of 1926” of the State Legislature.

Happy 100th Anniversary, South Plainfield!

08/21/2026

SPHS Centennial Celebration Series:
34/ INCORPORATION

Entering the twentieth century, it was obvious that South Plainfield was growing disproportionately to the rest of rural Piscataway Township. The establishment of three 18th century mills followed by the arrival of the railroad in the 1870s plus the proximity to the economically and socially flourishing City of Plainfield set the pace for the development of a blue-collar community in the 20th century.

Suburban growth, however, brought about problems concerning the need for improved infrastructure like roads, sidewalks, bridges, and public transit; facilities like schools, libraries, and hospitals; and public services like police and fire departments, none of which the township could adequately provide. Local politicians and some in Trenton recognized the problem and sought a remedial solution – secede from Piscataway and spend the tax dollars as needed.

The first attempt at separation from Piscataway occurred in 1906. The plan (Bill No. 19) that was submitted never made it to the Democratically controlled Legislature. On January 14, 1907, the same plan was re-introduced by Republican Assemblyman Drake of New Brunswick and supported by Senator Sitzer. It was met with resistance as opponents claimed it unfairly set the proposed borough's physical boundaries along political alliances, leaving the proposed borough safely Republican.

Surprisingly, a second pro-incorporation faction stepped into the fray in February and submitted Bill No. 311, sponsored by Mr. Baker, a Democratic Assemblyman of Hudson County. Supporters claimed their map was drawn “in reference to population, natural conditions, and political fairness.”

The passage of either bill may have been a pipe dream because three major opponents -- the powerful and influential Lehigh Valley Railroad which owned a considerable amount of taxable property within So. Plainfield’s limits and perceived incorporation as an evitable tax increase; Piscataway Township, which would loose a large slice of territory as well as a large amount of tax ratables and population; and New Jersey Governor Edward C. Stokes, who opposed on the grounds that neither bill contained a provision that would give residents of both municipalities a final say on separation.

The two bills, their supporters and opponents, collided on March 18, 1907, when the propositions had one more hurdle to jump before going to Legislature: a hearing before the Democratically controlled Committee on Boroughs and Borough Commissions. In the end, opponents “with well loaded verbal guns” defeated both plans.

Given the amount of opposition, incorporation was destined to fail that year, but the notion of separating was never far from the agendas of local leaders who kept the dream alive. They had to. South Plainfield continued to grow rapidly with two new businesses moving in: Spicer Manufacturing Company in 1910 and Harris Structural Steele in 1915. Prior to incorporation, So. Plainfield contained nearly 80% of Piscataway’s industrial resources, and 50% of its population.

Proponents of separation finally succeeded on March 10, 1926, at 3:52 exact time, Governor A. Harry Moore appended his signature to Senate Bill No 216 that establish the Borough of South Plainfield. It was witnessed by William Hamilton, John B. Geary, Sr., C.J. McCarthy, and William Lee, who were also among the bill’s staunch supporters.

The final phase of incorporation was completed on April 6 when 550 registered voters out of an estimated population of 1,100 in South Plainfield voted 438 to 38 to approve Senate Bill #216. Upon filing the results, a special election was ordered to be held within thirty days to elect a mayor, council, tax collector and tax accessor. Their terms would run until the next general election on November 3.

Running on a non-partisan ticket and devoid of political affiliations, more than 700 votes were cast on May 6 for men associated with the Republican Party.

William Hamilton, the former village smithy, ran unopposed for mayor and received 550 votes. Eight candidates ran for the six-member council. The winners were: Robert Ritter, Charles Thornton, Jr., Henry Brentnall, Albert Dellavalle, Michael Pomponio and Milton Mendel. Of the three candidates running for tax assessor, Patrick Kaine was elected. John Geary, Sr. ran unopposed for tax collector.

On May 10, 400 people filled the Grant School auditorium to witness the swearing in ceremonies of the newly elected officials by County Clerk F. William Hilker. Some of the business conducted that evening included the election of Charles Thornton, Jr. as president of the council; and the appointments of Frank Kelly, clerk; Andrew McDonough of McDonough and McDonough, borough attorney; and C.J. McCarthy, Judson Ten Eyck and John Hogan Jr., marshals. Fire Chief, Police Chief and Recorder would be named after the council prepared and adopted the appropriate ordinances to do so. R.P.F. Von Minden continued as justice of peace until a recorder was named. Dr. Paul Geary (son of John B.) was appointed borough physician, and Lewis Churchill was named borough engineer.

By June, both Democrats and Republicans looked toward to the November general election. The Republicans had a strong organization in the form of the Good Government Club, established more than 20 years before. With Hamilton at its head, it had championed separation from Piscataway and the development of the volunteer fire department. His supporters included men in real estate, banking, building supply and contracting.

The Democrats countered with the newly minted John Geary Association. Geary, clearly the underdog, was born and raised on the family farm along Oak Tree Avenue in 1861. Described as “a rugged individual with a strong personality” by the Courier News, the sixty-five-year-old was a successful truck farmer with a big family. He was active in community affairs, member of the Piscataway Board of Education for many years, and long-time supporter of the efforts for incorporation.

Geary was no match for Hamilton. The voters chose Hamilton 944-489.

In New Jersey, all 565 municipalities are classified as one of these five types: borough, township, city, town, or village.

When So. Plainfield seceded from Piscataway in 1926, it was incorporated as a “borough” though specifically composed of two “villages” of Samptown and Brooklyn formerly part of a larger “township” founded in 1666 in Middlesex County.

Neighboring communities included another “Township” (Raritan/Edison), the “City” of Plainfield, the “Borough” of Metuchen, and the “Town” of Westfield. The Borough Act of 1878 specified that a borough must meet two criteria: be less than four square miles and have less than 5,000 residents. But in 1897 the act was amended to allow prospective boroughs to either increase or diminish in size upon a special act of State Legislature, which was exactly how So. Plainfield’s greater size of 8.2 sq. miles and population under 5,000 qualified it as a borough.

Happy 100th, South Painfield!

08/14/2026

SPHS Centennial Celebration Series:
33/ Part 3 -- HADLEY AIRPORT: The Commercial Years

Initially the federal government strictly retained sole control and operational exclusivity over Hadley Field and the primary stops on the transcontinental route. Only government airmail pilots flying U.S. Post Office Department aircraft or military flights were allowed to use the government-leased airfields. As the Kelly Act of 1925 phased in and federal airmail operations increasingly shifted to private contract carriers across the country, the leased airfields, infrastructure, and lighted beacon networks were transferred or opened to the newly contracted private commercial airlines. Hadley Field was prepared to make a smooth transition as the August 31, 1927, deadline approached, ushering in the commercial years.

Colonial Air Transport was the first private contractor to set up shop at Hadley Field, inaugurating its airmail operations on July 1, 1926, between Boston, Massachusetts, and New York. The contract to carry airmail had been awarded on October 7, 1925, on Air Mail Route #1 (CAM-1). Utilizing single-engine Fokker Universal aircraft, it expanded into express and passenger services before the operation moved to Newark in 1930. Colonial eventually became a foundational part of American Airlines.

National Air Transport (NAT) received its initial contract to carry mail on October 7, 1925, for the Chicago-to-Dallas route (CAM 3), and later won its second major contract for the lucrative New York-to-Chicago route (CAM 17) on April 2, 1927, after competing against three other bidders. Flight operations over the Allegheny Mountains began on September 1, 1927. Among the veteran Hadley pilots signing on with NAT were Dean C. Smith, Harry A. Chandler, and Stephen Kaufman. NAT later evolved into United Airlines.

The third private contractor, Pitcairn Aviation, formally started flight operations as a contract carrier on May 1, 1928, for the New York-to-Atlanta route (CAM 19). Eastern Air Lines came directly from Pitcairn Aviation.

At midnight, August 31, 1927, the government handed over all operational and managerial responsibility of Hadley Field to the Hadley Corporation which leased the airfield to develop, operate, and manage as a regional aviation and business hub. Led by Benjamin Hadley, Jr., and John E. “Pink Whiskers” Whitbeck, former superintendent of the U.S. Air Mail Service’s Eastern Division, the corporation’s plans included expanding passenger and commercial services, leasing hangars and land to aviation companies, and acquiring adjacent property for construction. It envisioned a new Hadley “Airport” as an aviation colony that would attract repair shops, hotels, restaurants, and related services. The plans were taking shape months before the August deadline.

Hadley Corporation had secured commitments from two new aviation companies. Reynolds Airways, recently founded and operated by R. J. Reynolds Jr., the 21-year-old son of the late to***co tycoon, was a pilot and close friend of Whitbeck. He signed a five-year lease to explore “every phase of commercial aviation” and committed $200,000 in aircraft, buildings, and equipment. By July 1927, the Reynolds terminal was open for business, offering flight instruction, freight and express delivery, and passenger service for both long-distance travel and short hops. Its fleet of about a dozen aircraft included three Dutch-built Fokker F.VII trimotors, each seating eight passengers. The aircraft carried more than 4,000 thrill seekers on popular local sightseeing flights that summer.

The second aviation newcomer announced by Hadley Corporation was Mohme Aero-Engineering Corporation, which maintained an office in New Brunswick and a fabrication facility in Monmouth Junction. Led by Charles Leo Mohme, a former naval aeronautical engineer and designer, the company was betting its future on a single design: the Mohme Super Monoplane, then under construction in Monmouth Junction. Confident in the aircraft’s superior design and market potential, Mohme planned to build a factory at Hadley Airport for mass production following the plane’s introduction as an entry in the 2,275-mile New York-to-Spokane Transcontinental Air Derby on September 20. The Super Monoplane’s prefabricated parts and engine would be trucked from Monmouth Junction to Reynolds’ hangar at Hadley for assembly and flight testing prior to the derby’s start date and hop off from New York’s Roosevelt Field. However, the plane was not ready for shipping until days before the event.

Late Saturday afternoon, September 17, a large moving van carrying Mohme’s derby entry arrived at Hadley airfield under a State Police es**rt as a tragedy was unfolding.

Shortly after taking off at 3:15 p.m., Reynolds’s Fokker F.VII sightseeing monoplane nosedived into an apple orchard in South Plainfield. At the controls was Harry A. Chandler, a veteran Hadley airmail pilot subbing for Reynolds’s regular pilot; it was his fifth flight of the day. Chandler, his mechanic, and five others were killed; five survivors were critically injured. Witnesses reported that the plane was sluggish at takeoff before the engine failed and the aircraft sideslipped into the tree line. The accident is on record as the first major commercial air disaster in the U.S.

The Reynolds’ crash was the second devastating blow to Hadley’s aviation community in September. James D. Hill and Lloyd W. Bertaud, former Hadley airmail pilots, had disappeared over the Atlantic in a Fokker F.VIIa monoplane during a nonstop flight attempt from Maine to Rome on September 6-7.

With the derby deadline approaching and little time to absorb the Reynolds tragedy, Mohme’s crew immediately began assembling the monoplane for a Sunday morning test flight. A series of minor but persistent mechanical problems emerged the next morning, with additional setbacks on Monday. Despite working around the clock, the team missed the derby deadline on Tuesday. With the company’s future at stake, work continued until September 27, when the aircraft was finally cleared for flight testing. It climbed about 15 feet before crashing. Mohme filed for bankruptcy within months, and Reynolds left Hadley in spring 1928 with four years remaining on its lease.

Around this time and continuing into the 1930s, Bell Telephone Laboratories leased hangar space to work on advancing air-to-ground communication and radio navigation. Its chief pilot, Captain Arthur R. Brooks, a World War I flying ace, flew numerous experimental flights in all types of weather conditions as Bell Labs researched and developed communication systems at Hadley.

In April 1929, New York Air Terminals Inc., formed by the Wall Street investment firm Hayden, Stone & Co., leased Hadley Airport. The company considered Hadley a temporary, small-scale component of a broader plan that included a 1,000-acre aeronautical center in the Secaucus–Hackensack Meadows and a private seaplane base at North Beach, Queens, later the site of LaGuardia Airport. On July 5, 1929, New York Air Terminals joined Curtiss-Wright Airports Corporation through a major merger of 12 aviation firms, including airport operators and aircraft and engine manufacturers. Curtiss-Wright gradually absorbed the company’s assets between late 1929 and autumn 1930. On March 15, 1930, an early-morning fire swept through the terminal’s main government airmail hangar, destroying 13 airplanes and more than $200,000 in assets.

Hadley’s airmail era ended the same year on September 8, when the Post Office Department transferred the remaining private airmail operations, the government weather bureau, and related services—to Newark Airport.

Thomas R. Robertson became Curtiss-Wright’s operations manager at Hadley in 1931 and a few years later became the airfield’s lessee until its closing. Under his management, the airport emphasized private aviation, pilot and mechanic training, aircraft storage and repair, research, and Sunday airshows.

Robinson guided Hadley through its most difficult years during World War II, when civilian flying was sharply restricted and the airport was repurposed to support the war effort. Two hangars were leased for military-related contracts, including one connected to Bendix’s experimental rotary-wing aircraft work. Hadley also supported Civil Air Patrol operations. Established just six days before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the CAP mobilized civilian pilots and privately owned aircraft for national defense. Known as the “Flying Minutemen,” these pilots flew thousands of hours over the Atlantic, spotting enemy submarines, rescuing shipwreck survivors, and helping deter attacks as German U-boats threatened merchant shipping off the New Jersey coast. After the war, flight services resumed. With its sod runways, Hadley became a major New Jersey aircraft-repair center and the home of Decker Flying Services.

Hadley’s connection to aviation and defense history continued into the Cold War by virtue of its location abutting the Army’s Nike Missile Battery NY-65 property. Operating from 1955 to 1971, the site formed part of the New York metropolitan air-defense network. The launch area, which included underground missile magazines and assembly buildings, stood near Stelton Road, while the radar and fire-control area was located separately on New Durham Avenue. On Sunday afternoons, the missiles were raised above ground, which made great viewing on the way to Hadley to watch the private planes take off and land.

By the 1960s, Hadley's runways remained unpaved turf, which blocked it from attracting lucrative corporate jet and business aviation. Modernizing the airfield was too expensive and faced strong pushbacks from different sectors, and the growing value of Central New Jersey suburban land made selling the property to developers for retail and office parks far more profitable than keeping an aging airfield.

Hadley Airport closed on November 1, 1968.

In retrospect, the early U.S. Air Mail Service did far more than speed mail delivery. It advanced technology and aviation infrastructure, reshaped the American imagination, created the nation’s first modern technology heroes, and helped establish commercial aviation.

Each night, crowds gathered at government-leased airfields across the country, drawn like moths to a flame by the peril and spectacle of takeoffs and landings. In our own backyard, watching the Hadley Field airmail planes became a community ritual. At the same time each evening, people looked skyward together, sharing the suspense, anxiety, relief, and awe of every flight.

Hadley Field embodied the high-stakes intersection of human courage and industrial innovation. In the 1920s, aviators inspired the awe and celebrity later associated with Apollo astronauts. Piloting open-cockpit biplanes made of wood and fabric through blizzards, fog, and violent storms, they came to symbolize modern, rugged individualism.

As fascination with flight grew, airplanes quickly entered everyday culture through aviation-themed jewelry, toys, games, cartoons, illustrations, art, literature, advertisements, movies, and fashion—including Amelia Earhart’s groundbreaking ready-to-wear clothing line for women. Over time, the excitement surrounding airmail made flight feel familiar and widely accepted.

08/07/2026

SPHS Centennial Celebration Series:
32/ Part 2 – HADLEY FIELD: Chicago Bound

Monday, December 15, 1924, was switchover day as Hadley Field officially became the eastern terminus for the United States Post Office Department airmail service following a 13-day building and clearing marathon at the Hadley farm on Stelton Road. With no on-field fanfare, the newly scheduled daylight postal run to Chicago originating entirely under the Hadley Field banner was flown the following morning, December 16, by forty-three-year-old veteran pilot James D. Hill.

The route covered 220 miles from Hadley Field, NJ, to Bellefonte, PA; 206 miles to Cleveland, OH; 152 miles to Bryan, OH; and 178 miles to Maywood Field, Chicago, IL.

Mail from New York City’s Post Office traveled via the Pennsylvania Railroad to New Brunswick for 9 a.m. delivery where cargo was transferred to a Model T postal truck with an armed guard for a 12-minute journey to Hadley Field. Upon arrival, crew prepared the mail plane and loaded the cargo for departure at 9:44 a.m. for Bellefonte, PA, where it refueled. At Cleveland, the mail transferred to another aircraft and pilot and proceeded west with an additional stop for fuel scheduled at Bryon, OH, before arriving in Chicago.

Westbound airmail delivery from Chicago took nine hours. Eastbound flights, benefiting from tailwinds, required eight hours. The first eastbound mail plane from Chicago landed at Hadley Field at 4:15 p.m., piloted by Paul F. Collins, a former WWI military pilot.

The New York-Chicago leg was the deadliest segment of the entire U.S. Transcontinental Air Mail route. Between New York/Hadley Field and Cleveland lay the jagged Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania – an unforgiving stretch known by the grim names “Graveyard of the Atlantic,” “Aviator’s Graveyard,” and “Hell Stretch.” It eventually claimed more pilot lives than any other part of the transcontinental system.

The Hell Stretch became a powerful symbol of early aviation’s dangers because of geography, weather, and primitive technology combined against pilots. Flying under visual flight rules, they had to always keep the ground in sight. Pilots navigated by following railroad tracks – jokingly called the “Iron Compass” – along with rivers and recognizable barn roofs, and referenced maps tied to their legs to prevent flying out of the open cockpits. When clouds or fog settled over the Alleghenies, pilots had to fly perilously low, sometimes only 30 to 50 feet above the treetops, leaving almost no margin for error if a ridge suddenly appeared through the mist.

The Allegheny Mountains produced volatile weather that could change without warning. A pilot might leave Cleveland under clear skies, only to find the mountains swallowed by sudden dense valley fog that erased the ground from view. Flash blizzards, heavy rain, freezing mist, and sleet could quickly ice the wooden wings, adding dangerous weight and causing the aircraft to stall and fall.

Unlike the flat Midwestern plains, the Alleghenies offered few safe places to land in an emergency. Engine failure meant confronting deep gullies, steep hills, dense brush, and heavy forest. A crash could tear an aircraft apart in the trees, and even survivors faced the risk of freezing before rescuers could reach them in the remote terrain.

The literal and symbolic center of Hell Stretch was Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. Located in the mountains, Bellefonte was a crucial refueling stop between New York and Cleveland, but its approaches were treacherous. Pilots had to navigate five major ridges, where fog often filled the valleys and clear valleys usually meant cloud-covered peaks. Day and night flights were so hazardous that the government limited the New York-Cleveland route to daylight operations until an illuminated flyway could be built.

Begun in the spring of 1925, the Post Office Department completed the flyway’s key navigation and safety improvements that summer. Rotating beacons and powerful searchlights helped guide pilots through the Allegheny Mountains at night and in poor visibility, while ground markers, roof signs, and directional indicators helped them stay oriented by day. A chain of emergency landing fields, including Bellefonte, gave pilots safer places to land when weather or mechanical trouble made continued flight too dangerous.

As the Post Office Department prepared to launch regularly scheduled day-and-night transcontinental airmail service, the New York-Chicago corridor stood out as one of its most important links. It connected the nation’s two leading financial and commercial centers that wanted late-day mail often containing cash, bonds, securities, and jewelry delivered the following morning. The Post Office treated the New York-Chicago service as a distinct scheduling entity. On July 1, 1925, it launched dedicated overnight airmail service between the two cities IN ADDITION TO regular transcontinental service, using timetables separate from ordinary daytime transfers. Its schedule was completely distinct – planes departed late in the evening and landed early the next morning.

Because New York-Chicago was a high-volume corridor, the Post Office added extra planes when needed to keep business mail moving even when weather delays elsewhere disrupted the broader transcontinental system.

As a premium, specialized overnight operation, the Post Office charged differently for it. Sending a standard letter across the country via the normal transcontinental route cost 10 cents per zone. However, using the specialized New York-Chicago overnight route required an additional 2 cents of postage over the standard rate to account for the time-sensitive nature of the flight.

The pilots assigned to the New York/Hadley-Chicago overnight service:

Flying west from Hadley to Cleveland – W.L. Smith, J.D. Hill, D.C. Smith, and H.A. Chandler. Flying west from Cleveland to Chicago – W.D. Smith, Art Smith, R.H. Ellis, and J.F. Milatzo.

Flying east from Chicago to Cleveland – G. I. Myers, S.J. Short, J.O. Webster, and H.J. Brown. Flying east from Cleveland to Hadley – P.F. Collins, C.H. Ames, L.F. Bertaud, and E.F. Ward.

When July 1, 1925, arrived, Piscataway Police Chief Cornelius J. McCarthy assembled a contingent of 38 officers, primarily from the Plainfield and New Brunswick Police Departments, to help manage the massive crowd estimated at 15,000 spectators that gathered at Hadley Field to witness the inaugural New York-Chicago night flights. Post Office Department officials, local dignitaries and numerous media outlets formally sent Dean C. Smith off on the first westbound flight at 8:47 p.m. with 87 pounds of mail. His aircraft developed mechanical trouble several times en route to Cleveland. Arthur Smith flew the second leg and delivered the mail to Chicago’s Maywood Field at 6:19 a.m. James D. Hill departed Hadley at 9:48 p.m. with 250 pounds of mail and a photo op with Postmaster General Harry S. New. Warren D. Williams flew the second leg and delivered it to Chicago.

The eastbound mail plane from Chicago, flown by Shirley J. Short, left Maywood Field at 6:45 p.m. and transferred responsibility to Paul F. Collins at Cleveland for the final leg to Hadley, arriving at 2 a.m. with 165 pounds of mail. A second eastbound plane piloted by Charles H. Ames with 100 pounds of mail departed Chicago at 8:30 pm. and reached Hadley at 4:37 a.m.

After day-and-night airmail service was successfully established, federal policy moved toward private operation under the Kelly Act, formally the Contract Air Mail Act of 1925. The law authorized the Postmaster General to hire private aviation companies to carry the mail, transforming the government-built airmail system into the foundation for commercial airlines.

Privatization did not occur nationwide on a single date. Instead, it unfolded in stages over about 18 months. Beginning in early 1926, the government first awarded smaller regional “feeder” and branch routes, known as Contract Air Mail, or CAM, routes, to private carriers. Colonial Air Transport, based at Hadley Field, was among the early contractors, flying mail since July 1, 1926, from South Plainfield to Boston with single-engine Fokker Universal monoplanes.

In 1927, the government-operated Transcontinental Route from Hadley Field to San Francisco was split into two sections for private contractor bidding. Boeing Air Transport took over the Western Section from Chicago to San Francisco on July 1, 1927. The Eastern Section from Hadley Field to Chicago, the last government-operated segment, passed to National Air Transport at midnight on August 31, 1927.

The government’s final westbound transcontinental airmail flight on August 31 was flown by Dean C. Smith from Hadley to Cleveland and Shirley J. Short from Cleveland to Chicago. Short landed at Chicago’s Municipal Airport at about 2:35 a.m. on September 1, 1927, ending the nine-year run of the government-operated U.S. Air Mail Service. The Post Office department had already shifted its main Chicago airmail operations from Maywood Field to Chicago Municipal Airport, later Midway Airport, in early 1927. National Air Transport began contract operations in Chicago and Hadley the next day.

September 1 marked the nationwide end of the government-operated U.S. Air Mail Service and the beginning of a new chapter in the history of Hadley Field.

NEXT TIME: Part 3 – HADLEY AIRPORT: Commercial Years

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