PRESERVING HISTORY — The village of Beech Bottom has been awarded a grant to help preserve a little bit of the community and the state's history. The village was home to the state's first airfield more than 100 years ago and the site will now be the home to the Lambert Memorial Park. The airfield was established by Louis Bennett. The park is named for Courtney Lambert, who is known as the state's first causality of World War I. Lambert died during training at the airfield. -- Contributed

BEECH BOTTOM — A piece of Brooke County and West Virginia history was almost lost until Charles Dusch, deputy command historian for the U.S. Air Force Academy, approached Beech Bottom officials in 2014 and asked why the village did not have anything to memorialize the state’s first airfield.

“We didn’t even know,” Mayor Becky Uhlly said.

Uhlly said thanks to Dusch’s question, the village learned it holds an important role in the state’s history.

It turns out Louis Bennett, who was a native of Weston and student at Yale University in 1913, took a great interest in the then-new field of aviation. He saw it as a chance to expand business in the country and to better the U.S. military.

After he and two partners decided to open an airplane manufacturing factory in Warwood, all they needed was an airfield from where to fly the planes. They found that in some farmland along state Route 2 in Beech Bottom.

Now, thanks to the historic preservation development grants through the West Virginia Historic Preservation Office, no one will ever forget the importance of the airfield.

Uhlly said the village was awarded one of the competitive grants to help establish the Lambert Memorial Park in the very same fields Bennett first envisioned his airfields.

“It’s great that this little town is up there with the big boys,” she said.

Other grants were awarded to Parkersburg and Morgantown.

The park is named for another West Virginia native, Courtney Lambert. Lambert, who was killed during training exercises at the airfield, is listed as the state’s first casualty of World War I.

Uhlly said the park is near to the hearts of many residents. She said the Wheeling Island Casino and Racetrack donated much of the land being used, and the rest is being leased from the Department of Highways.

Area residents have been donating their time and services as well. Steven Murdock built a wooden bridge that connects the park with the Brooke County Pioneer Trail as well as a display case for photographs and documents related to the airfield.

P.J. Dalbo and Rich Krippel made signs for the park.

“It has been a nice community project,” Uhlly said.

Uhlly said Aladdin Signs in Beech Bottom has donated to the project as well, and added that the village has applied for historic roadside markers for the site.

Bennett, meanwhile, is memorialized with a bronze statue called “The Aviator” on the campus of Linsly School in Wheeling.

Bennett did not see his dreams of a West Virginia flying squadron come to fruition, and in 1917 he instead joined the Royal Flying Corps at Toronto, Ontario. He was regarded as a flying ace but lost his life in combat near Marquillies, France, after only nine days in active service. In those nine days, Bennett flew 25 “shorties,” or short missions against the Germans.