This report is part of WTOP’s coverage of Black History Month. Read more stories on WTOP.com.
In the 1940s, a farm nestled next to the Patuxent River in Prince George’s County, Maryland, became an airfield that would open new doors for aspiring Black pilots.
They were not permitted to learn how to fly at their local airports. The field was called the Columbia Air Center, and during a time of segregation, anyone could come to Croom to pursue their love of aviation.
“This airfield was the first airfield owned and operated by Black Americans in Maryland,” said Trenda Davidson, assistant director at the College Park Aviation Museum.
The museum is home to an exhibit that tells the story of the air center, which was first managed by John W. Greene Jr., a pioneer in Black aviation. Greene also created the Cloud Club, a flight club he moved to the air center, after racial tensions at an airfield in Virginia.
It was initially known when opening in 1941 as Riverside Field, and was occupied by the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war, Greene reopened the airfield as the Columbia Air Center.
Davidson said the air center on Croom Airport Road was also formed with the help of Willa Brown, who was the first African American woman to get both a pilot’s license and a commercial license.
During the time when the airport operated, Black residents who wanted to get their pilot’s license couldn’t use many area airports, including College Park Airport.
“They had to drive an extra 30 to 40 minutes just to learn how to fly,” Davidson said.
Davidson said the flight school was integrated, based on pictures of Greene’s classes which are now on display at the College Park Aviation Museum. For many who studied there to not only fly but also become plane mechanics, this air center was crucial.
“Some of these people would have never become pilots had it not been for the Columbia Air Center,” Davidson said.
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The center became the largest Black-owned and operated airport in the country during its time, according to Davidson. The Maryland-National Capital Planning and Park Commission notes it was home to the first Black Civil Air Patrol squadron in the D.C. area, called the Columbia Squadron.
Only the stories and pictures remain of the Columbia Air Center, but the museum was able to find and restore a gas pump that once fueled planes at the site. It is on display at the exhibit.
At other museum exhibits, the stories of some of the members of the Cloud Club are also being told. You can visit the museum Tuesday through Sunday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
If you visit the site of the airfield, which is now Patuxent River Park, a monument stands in honor of the Columbia Air Center.
