McKinnon St. Simons Island Airport History Malcolm B. McKinnon At a time when the average family in the United States was struggling along on about $27 weekly income and storefronts in downtown Brunswick stood empty, officials in Glynn County, Ga., took a chance on the future and built an airport. With a combination of donated land, carefully purchased parcels from local families, WPA funds and an abundance of optimism, County Commission Chairman Malcolm B. McKinnon chose to look beyond the despair of the Great Depression of the 1930s and guided the area into the daring new age of aviation. Construction of the new field on St. Simons Island began in 1935. Sadly, Malcolm McKinnon died just seven months before the new facility opened on May 28, 1938. To honor him, the new airport was named Malcolm McKinnon Field. In its 70 years, McKinnon Field - now McKinnon St. Simons Island Airport - has offered much to its community. In the first four years, the new airport attracted not only regularly scheduled air service, but charter traffic and a score of private pilots to St. Simons Island. The idyllic little seaside vacation spot was now connected to the rest of the world in an unprecedented way through air mail and passenger access. The onset of World War II ushered in a new era of service and purpose for McKinnon Field. The Civil Air Patrol was based at McKinnon in the first months of the war, protecting the coast from devastating U-boat assaults. Obtained by the U.S. Navy on July 10, 1942, the airport was renamed NAS St. Simons and housed the Navy Radar Training School (NRTS). In 1947, the Navy returned the ownership of the airport to Glynn County, along with the numerous improvements to the facility and to the infrastructure of St. Simons Island. The years since have been ones of change and growth for McKinnon Airport. Today, the facility welcomes aviators and visitors from around the world. Complete History Text - McKinnon St. Simons Island Airport Glynn County Airport Commission • 295 Aviation Parkway Suite 205 • Brunswick, GA 31525 • (912) 265-2070 • (912) 264-0228 FAX