Ernie Hall Aviation Museum planned for Howland
Staff report
HOWLAND
Groundbreaking will be at 2 p.m. Saturday for construction of the Ernie Hall Aviation Museum, named for local aviator Ernie Hall. It will be built at the Sloas Airfield on North River Road across from Shepherd of the Valley nursing home.
The museum will honor local aviators’ contributions to flying and will be built to emulate the Hall Flying School that Hall brought to Howland in the early 1920s. The museum will promote education through lectures, gatherings and tours.
The Hall Flying School was on the west side of state Route 46 where the Crosswinds Landing neighborhood is now and Howland Township Park. It is about a mile south of the Sloas Airfield.
At the groundbreaking, 4059 North River Road, the public will be invited to tour the Sloas hangar to view aviation memorabilia.
The museum was founded in the past few months and is expected to be operational by August. It’s first event, Wings-n-Wheels, is planned for Aug. 9 and Aug. 10. It is a fly-in/drive-in featuring classic cars, motorcycles, tractors and more than 150 private airplanes.
Ernest C. Hall was born in 1890 in Trumbull County and first flew in 1909 with the Wright Brothers, who were among his flight teachers. In 1915, Hall opened the Hall Flying School in Conneaut Lake, Pa. During World War I, he trained pilots at the Curtiss School of Aviation in Virginia, followed by Call Field in Texas.
After World War I, he settled in Howland, where he established The Hall Flying School. He operated it continuously until his death in 1972, except during the time he was appointed by Ohio’s governor to serve as Ohio aeronautic director.
Hall is believed to be the first man continuously employed in aviation for more than 50 years, according to the museum.
“We are so thrilled to be breaking ground for the new facility,” said Bill Griffin, chairman of the board of directors of the museum.
Board member and secretary Bill Hunter added, “Our area has a rich aviation history beginning with aviation pioneer Ernie Hall. It is important that we preserve artifacts, photographs and in some cases, airplanes while providing educational and recreational opportunities for people of all ages.”
More information is available at the museum’s website: ErnieHallAviationMuseum.org.