This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Old Mail Plane Finishes Transcontinental Flight
A 1918 model de Havilland mail plane, the last surviving of its kind, completed a cross country flight to Washington National Airport. Pilot William J. Hackbarth received a hero welcome as envelopes were handed to Postmaster General Watson and a bag to his hometown Santa Paula. The rebuilt aircraft, crashed in 1922, will join the Smithsonian on May 15 the 50th anniversary of air mail service.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Washington
William J
Bill) Hackbarth
Pioneer Air Mail
Washington National Airport
Hackbarth
W. Marvin Watson
Watson
Santa Paula
Calif
Philadelphia
Wasatch Mountains
Coalsville
Utah
Air Mail
Paul Garber
National Air and Space Museum
Smithsonian Institution
Air Mail Service