Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
North Dakota
© 2003, © 2007 by Paul Freeman. Revised 1/16/07.
Miller Airport (added 12/13/03) - (Original) Minnkota Landing Strip (revised 8/28/04) - Wimbledon Airport (revised 1/16/07)
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Wimbledon Airport, Wimbledon, ND
47.16 North / 98.47 West (Northeast of Bismarck, SD)
Wimbledon Airport, as depicted on the April 1953 Fargo Sectional Chart (courtesy of Timothy Aanerud).
Photo of the airfield while open has not been located.
The date of construction of this small landing strip is unknown.
The earliest reference to this field which has been located
was on the April 1953 Fargo Sectional Chart (courtesy of Timothy Aanerud).
It depicted Wimbledon as a public-use airfield having a 2,600' unpaved runway.
The March 1965 Fargo Sectional Chart (courtesy of Timothy Aanerud)
depicted Wimbledon in the same fashion.
The 1982 USGS topo map depicted Wimbledon Airport as having a single north/south unpaved runway,
with a few small buildings on the northwest side of the field.
At some point between 1965-86, the status of Wimbledon changed to a private airfield,
as that is how it was depicted on the July 1986 Twin Cities Sectional Chart (according to Timothy Aanerud).
In the 1997 USGS aerial photo,
there were no obvious signs of use of the Wimbledon Airport (no aircraft visible outside, etc.).
A single small hangar was located just west of the north end of the runway.
The last depiction which has been located of Wimbledon as an active airfield
was on the July 2001 Twin Cities Sectional Chart (courtesy of Timothy Aanerud).
The Wimbledon Airport was evidently closed (for reasons unknown) at some point between 2001-03,
as it was no longer depicted at all on the July 2003 Twin Cities Sectional Chart (according to Timothy Aanerud).
A 2006 photo by Jim Fenwick looking south down the former runway of Wimbledon Airport.
Jim reported also seeing a building being used for storage which looked “very much like a hangar.”
Wimbledon Airport is located southwest of the intersection of Route 9 & 96th Avenue Southeast.
Thanks to Timothy Aanerud for pointing out this airfield.
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46.17 North / 103.38 West (Southwest of Bismarck, SD)
Miller Airport, as depicted on the 1948 Miles City Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Photo of the airfield while open has not been located.
The date of construction of this former small airfield is unknown.
The earliest reference to the field which has been located
was on the 1948 Miles City Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy),
which depicted Miller as having a 1,600' unpaved runway.
The 1957 Miles City Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy)
described Miller Airport as having three runways, with the longest being a 3,000' turf strip.
The 1962 AOPA Airport Directory described Miller Airport
as having a 3,100' gravel Runway 14/32 & two shorter turf strips,
and listed the operator as Al Miller.
Miller Airport was apparently closed (for reasons unknown) at some point between 1962-82,
as it is no longer listed in the 1982 AOPA Airport Directory (courtesy of Ed Drury).
In the 1997 USGS aerial photo,
it appeared as if the primary runway at Miller had been paved at some point in the past,
and it remained in very good condition.
There was what appeared to be a single hangar at the northwest end of the runway.
Miller Airport is located southeast of the intersection of Route 12 & 3rd Avenue Southeast.
Thanks to Chris Kennedy for pointing out this airfield.
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(Original) Minnkota Landing Strip, Center, ND
47.08 North / 101.2 West (Northwest of Bismarck, SD)
The original Minnkota Airfield, as depicted on the October 1977 Billings Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
Photo of the airfield while open has not been located.
The date of construction of this former airfield is unknown.
The earliest depiction of the original Minnkota Airfield which has been located
was on the October 1977 Billings Sectional Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
The 1977 USGS topo map depicted the field as having a single 3,000 northwest/southeast runway,
labeled simply as "Landing Strip".
By 1993, the Billings Sectional Chart (courtesy of Timothy Aanerud)
showed that a replacement Minnkota Landing Strip had been built three miles to the west,
and the original airfield had been abandoned.
The 1997 USGS aerial photo showed that the site of the former airport had been reused for farming,
with the land processed by a combine or a swather.
The alignment of the former runway was still barely evident if you know where to look.
The site of the original Minnkota Landing Strip is located
northwest of the intersection of 33rd Avenue SW & 24th Street SW.
Thanks to Chris Kennedy for pointing out this airfield.
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