CR-2
Cultural and Traditional Resources
Historical Settings
APPENDIX CR-2 HISTORICAL SETTING
Langley AFB Historical Setting
People first entered the region about 10,000 years ago after the retreat of the last glaciers.
Large Pleistocene mammals such as mastodon, woodland musk ox, stag moose, mammoth,
and horse, small game, and plant resources were available for human use during this period.
As the climate gradually warmed, the forests changed and a new range of resources became
available. Technology also changed and inhabitants of the region hunted smaller game such
as moose, bear, elk, and deer. The wider variety of tools includes a range of stone projectile
point types, ground stone tools, carved bone awls, fishhooks, atlatls, and atlatl hooks.
Freshwater interior swamps and bogs, with their diverse array of resources, may have been
the favored settlement locations (Air Force 1996). Eventually modern forests emerged, and
the freshwater marshes of the Inner Coastal Plain, the upper reaches of rivers in the
Piedmont, and estuaries along coastal regions became available for human use. The estuaries
offered a variety of new food resources like anadromous fish and shellfish, particularly
oysters (Air Force 1996).
As the regional populations grew, technological specialization increased and trade networks
were established. The emergence of the high-energy-yielding oak forests and the continuing
refinement of adaptive subsistence strategies contributed to population expansion and to an
elaboration and refinement of the region’s material culture. A diverse suite of tools reflected
an increasing reliance on forest-based resources and plant foods (Air Force 1996).
Ceramics appeared and eventually maize-growing cultures emerged (Air Force 1996). Inland
people continued to rely on forest resources as well as the resources of rivers and estuaries.
The bow and arrow were introduced during this period. The basic subsistence pattern
consisted of staple agriculture which could support large agricultural villages, usually on
floodplains. Hunting and gathering complemented agricultural activities.
The first contacts between Europeans and the Native Americans of the lower Chesapeake
Bay took place in the 1570s when the Spanish attempted to locate a mission in the region
(Air Force 1996). Later, an English settlement was established on Roanoke Island and at
Jamestown. When the Jamestown colony was established, the Virginia Tidewater, from the
Potomac River south to the Great Dismal Swamp, was occupied by the Algonkian-speaking
Powhatan people. Tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy occupied the entire coastal plain
from North Carolina to Washington D.C. (Virginia Indian Council 1997).
In response to fur trading opportunities with Europeans, local native groups began
developing centralized trade networks (Moore 1997). However, as a result of intense
competition for the fur market and newly introduced communicable diseases, few native
residents remained in Virginia by the 18th century when European settlement intensified
(Moore 1997). Today, there are several tribes in eastern Virginia including the
Chickahominy, the Eastern Chickahominy, the Pamunkey, and the Mattaponi, and the
Nansemond (Virginia Indian Council 1997).
CR-2-1
English settlements on the James/York Peninsula grew very slowly because mortality rates
were extremely high (Air Force 1996). After the Virginia Company lost its charter in 1624,
some Virginians were able to assemble vast tracts of private land, expanding plantation
agriculture and the production of tobacco (Air Force 1996). Major agricultural complexes
dominated the shorelines of streams and estuaries of Chesapeake Bay. Smaller agricultural
units occupied interior parcels adjacent to smaller stream drainages. By the mid-18th century,
declining tobacco prices resulted in the diversification of many local plantations. Eventually,
limited markets, combined with restrictive British commercial measures, prompted locals to
support the cause of independence (Air Force 1996).
The James/York peninsula figured prominently in the initial and the final phases of the
Revolutionary War (Air Force 1996). In 1775, the British governor abandoned Williamsburg
in the face of angry colonial militia, and retreated to the safety of the British fleet offshore at
Yorktown. The major focus of military activity subsequently moved north into New
England and the upper Middle Atlantic colonies, where it remained until approximately
1780. Toward the end of the Revolutionary War, British activity once again focused on the
Carolinas and southern Virginia. In 1781, British forces occupied Yorktown, awaiting
supplies and reinforcements. Combined maneuvers of French and American forces,
coupled with the French blockade of the Chesapeake Bay, eventually resulted in the British
surrender (Air Force 1996).
After the location of Virginia’s capitol at Richmond in 1779, the importance of the Peninsula
region declined. This was accompanied by severe economic problems associated with
recovery from the effects of the Revolutionary War (Air Force 1996). Population declined,
real estate values fell, and large plantations often were acquired by speculators or were
subdivided and sold off. In agriculture, continuing diversification became the norm as
tobacco was replaced by other crops, including small grains, hay and vegetables. The city of
Hampton emerged as an important oystering center. Some large plantations survived, but
small farms came to comprise the majority of landholdings in the area. Approximately 60
percent of the region’s population during this period consisted of slaves. The York and
James rivers and their tributaries continued to serve as the primary commercial and
transportation arteries. Land remained largely agricultural.
After Virginia joined the Confederacy and the Confederate capital was moved to Richmond,
the state experienced some of the fiercest fighting in the Civil War (Air Force 1996). Union
and Confederate forces foraged for supplies on the local plantations and obtained slaves to
use as forced labor in constructing defensive works around Williamsburg and Yorktown (Air
Force 1996). The clash between Union and Confederate troops around Little Bethel and Big
Bethel churches resulted in a defeat for Union troops. In April of 1862, Union forces
proceeding up the Peninsula toward Richmond were delayed by Confederate local troops,
allowing the main Confederate force to regroup and prepare its defenses around Richmond
(Air Force 1996). Although the Union army was driven from the Peninsula, Fort Monroe,
which dominated Chesapeake Bay, remained in Union hands until the end of the war.
The defeat of the Confederacy in 1865 resulted in major readjustments in the economy and
social structure of the Peninsula. The region’s population and agricultural production
declined; loss of slave labor forced landowners to alter their farming patterns; the average
size of the region’s farms decreased; and the number of farms multiplied (Air Force 1996).
CR-2-2
African-American sharecroppers often worked land as tenant farmers upon which they were
formerly held as slaves. Urban development began in Hampton and Newport News as
railroads connected local farmers with local shipping lines and stimulated the development
of small towns (Air Force 1996). However, the York and James Rivers still attracted
steamboat traffic, and waterways continued to provide the primary modes for transporting
farm products until after World War II.
The military buildup for World War I expanded the regional population and was an
important cause of prosperity for the city of Newport News (Air Force 1996). Regional
agriculture suffered a shortage of labor as farm workers left the fields to take more lucrative
jobs with industry. After World War I, agriculture and tourism supported the local economy
on the Peninsula. The Jamestown Exposition of 1907 highlighted the area’s history and
encouraged the beginnings of preservation efforts. This effort was carried forward during
the 1920s and 1930s by development and restoration of the colonial capital at Williamsburg,
which became a magnet for regional tourism (Air Force 1996).
During World War II, shipbuilding facilities at Newport News and other Tidewater ports
expanded to meet wartime needs, and the demand for civilian workers at military bases
increased dramatically (Air Force 1996). After World War II, farms within the peninsula
began to consolidate. The rise of the automobile and improved roadways spurred the
development of truck farming during the 1950s.
Langley Field was established in 1916 for the research and development of aircraft (Air
Force 1996). It became the first permanent military airfield in the United States whose
mission was to serve as an aeronautical experimental station and proving ground for the
Army, Navy, and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The base
served as the center for aircraft experimentation and evaluation, conducting testing of
foreign aircraft, bombardment and tactical training, and aerial photography training. Langley
was involved in early efforts with lighter-than-air flight in 1918 with the arrival of a balloon
detachment and construction of an airship station (Air Force 1996).
Langley was reorganized in the 1930s and the General Headquarters Air Force was
headquartered there. With the United States entry into World War II, facilities and
personnel at Langley were greatly expanded and the base became headquarters for the 1st
Bomber Command (Air Force 1996). Following World War II, the Tactical Air Command
of the Army Air Force established headquarters at Langley Field, and the base was redesignated Langley AFB (Air Force 1996). In 1958, NACA was renamed the National
Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA).
Presently, the primary mission of Langley AFB is to provide air operational support to a
broad spectrum of Air Force aircraft in peacetime and combat environments. The base is
headquarters for Air Combat Command (ACC) and the 1st Fighter Wing. ACC, one of eight
major commands in the Air Force, is responsible for organizing, equipping, training, and
maintaining combat-ready troops. The 1st Fighter Wing trains and equips units to achieve
the highest level of combat readiness, and the NASA research facility continues to occupy a
portion of the base.
CR-2-3
Table CR-2-1. Langley Field Historic District
Contributing Buildings
(Page 1 of 7)
Bldg. No.
404
409
410
412
413
414
Date
1935
1939
1939
1935
1931
1934
415
1934
417
1934
418
1934
421
1934
422
1934
423
1932
424
1934
426
1931
428
1934
429
1931
430
1934
431
1931
432
434
1931
1932
435
1931
437
441
442
445
1940
pre-1945
1940
1931
446
1931
447
1932
448
449
1917
1931
Building Name
Road Bridge
Swimming Pool Bath House
Swimming Pool
Officers’ Club
Seawall
Officer’s Quarters
152 Benedict Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
153 Benedict Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
151 Benedict Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
150 Benedict Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
149 Benedict Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
148 Benedict Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
49 A&B Bryant Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
154 Benedict Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
50 A&B Eagan Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
144 A&B Wright Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
51 A&B Eagan Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
143 A&B Benedict Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
52 A&B Glover Ave.
Sewage Pumping Station
Officer’s Quarters
53 Dodd Blvd.
Officer’s Quarters
141 A&B Glover Ave.
Cemetery Wall
Red Cross
Shoppette
Officer’s Quarters
28 A&B Glover Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
29 A&B Glover Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
30 Dodd Blvd.
Dodd Hall
Officer’s Quarters
31 A&B Wright Ave.
CR-2-4
Table CR-2-1. Langley Field Historic District
Contributing Buildings
(Page 2 of 7)
Bldg. No.
450
Date
1931
451
1932
452
1931
453
1931
454
1931
455
1920
456
1920
458
1920
459
460
1934
1920
461
1920
462
1920
463
472
500
502
1934
1917
1942
1931
503
1932
504
1931
505
1931
506
1932
507
1931
508
1932
510
1931
512
1932
513
1931
514
1932
519
520
1934
1935
Building Name
Officer’s Quarters
32 A&B Wright Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
36 Dodd Blvd.
Officer’s Quarters
35 A&B Dodd Blvd.
Officer’s Quarters
34 A&B Bryant Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
33 A&B Eagan Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
27 A&B Eagan Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
26 A&B Eagan Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
25 A&B Eagan Ave.
Residential Garage
Officer’s Quarters
23 A&B Eagan Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
22 A&B Eagan Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
23 A&B Eagan Ave.
Residential Garage
Lawson Hall
Post Office
Officer’s Quarters
39 A&B Bryant Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
40 A&B Eagan Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
41 A&B Tyndal Pl.
Officer’s Quarters
42 A&B Tyndal Pl.
Officer’s Quarters
44 A&B Eagan St.
Officer’s Quarters
43 A&B Bowen St.
Officer’s Quarters
38 A&B Bryant Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
37 A&B Dodd Blvd.
Officer’s Quarters
47 A&B Bowen St.
Officer’s Quarters
46 A&B Bowen St.
Officer’s Quarters
45 Eagan Ave.
Residential Garage
Post Chapel
CR-2-5
Table CR-2-1. Langley Field Historic District
Contributing Buildings
(Page 3 of 7)
Bldg. No.
523
524
Date
1934
1918
525
1918
526
1918
527
1918
530
1918
531
1918
532
1918
533
1918
534
1918
535
1918
536
1918
537
1918
538
1918
539
1918
541
1918
542
1918
543
544
546
548
1934
1934
1924
1934
549
1934
551
1931
554
1934
556
1934
557
1934
558
566
1932
1934
Building Name
Residential Garage
Officer’s Quarters
15 A&B Eagan Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
17 A&B Eagan Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
19 A&B Eagan Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
21 A&B Eagan Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
20 A&B Eagan Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
18 A&B Eagan Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
16 A&B Eagan Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
14 A&B Eagan Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
12 A&B Eagan Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
10 A&B Eagan Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
8 A&B Eagan Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
6 A&B Plumb St.
Officer’s Quarters
7 A&B Nealy Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
9 A&B Eagan Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
11 A&B Nealy Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
13 A&B Thompson St.
Residential Garage
Residential Garage
Austin Hall (Barracks)
Officer’s Quarters
155 Benedict Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
156 Benedict Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
48 A&B Bowen St.
Officer’s Quarters
147 Benedict Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
146 Benedict Ave.
Officer’s Quarters
145 Benedict Ave.
Hospital
Medical
CR-2-6
Table CR-2-1. Langley Field Historic District
Contributing Buildings
(Page 4 of 7)
Bldg. No.
567
569
570
580
581
582
582A
583
583A
584
585
586
587
590
591
605
606
607
610
615
616
617
620
621
622
623
625
626
628
633
635
655
656
657
658
661
662
664
669
671
680
681
684
685
688
689
690
691
693
Date
1931
1933
1931
1924
1940
1921
1940
1938
1929
1935
1934
1926
1917
1943
1939
1934
1920
1931
1932
1942
1942
1934
1921
1932
1927
1920
1933
1932
1932
1921
1932
1932
1931
1933
1933
1924
1940
1932
1932
1932
1940
1932
1934
1934
1918
1918
1918
1918
1917
Building Name
Medical Housing
Residential Garage
Medical Housing
Wind Tunnel (NACA)
Substation
Wind Tunnel (NACA)
Pressure Tunnel (NACA)
Transonic Tunnel (NACA)
NACA
NACA
Tank (NACA)
NACA
NACA Laboratory
Unknown
Elementary School
Central Heating Plant/Officers Area
Truck Shed
Radio Building
Pier
Maintenance Shop
Water Tank
Quartermaster Maintenance
Water Tank
Quartermaster Garage
Boiler House
Technical Warehouse
Blueprint Room
Electrical Substation
Utility Vault
Seaplane Hangars
Barracks
Central Heating Plant/Barracks
Sewage Pumping Station
Theater
Gymnasium
Post Machine Shop/Commissary
Utility Vault
Barracks
Barracks
Barracks
Utility Vault
Barracks
Residential Garage
Residential Garage
Officer’s Quarters
Officer’s Quarters
Officer’s Quarters
Officer’s Quarters
Army Aeronautical Laboratory
CR-2-7
Table CR-2-1. Langley Field Historic District
Contributing Buildings
(Page 5 of 7)
Bldg. No.
703
712
714
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
768
771
775
777
781
784
788
801
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
823
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
Date
1932
1940
1932
1932
1932
1932
1932
1932
1932
1932
1929
1932
1943
1932
1919
1918
1931
1932
1932
1933
1931
1931
1932
1932
1931
1931
1933
1942
1931
1931
1933
1932
1932
1931
1931
1933
1931
1931
1931
1931
1933
1931
1931
1931
1933
1931
1933
1931
1933
Building Name
Barracks
Electrical Switch Station
Guard House
Hangar
Hangar
Hangar
Hangar
Hangar
Hangar
Hangar
Hangar
Building not identified
Building not identified
Building not identified
Hangar
Hangar
Parachute Building
Photography Laboratory
Barracks
Residential Garage
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
Residential Garage
Building not identified
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
Residential Garage
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
Residential Garage
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
Residential Garage
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
Residential Garage
NCO Housing
Residential Garage
NCO Housing
Residential Garage
CR-2-8
Table CR-2-1. Langley Field Historic District
Contributing Buildings
(Page 6 of 7)
Bldg. No.
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
856
857
858
864
868
869
870
873
874
875
876
878
879
880
881
882
883
894
901
912
937
938
948
949
950
951
956
957
958
959
960
969
970
971
Date
1931
1933
1931
1933
1931
1931
1933
1932
1931
1931
1933
1931
1931
1933
1931
1931
1931
1940
1940
1923
1923
1940
1932
1932
1932
1932
1932
1942
1933
1932
1931
1933
1941
1943
1940
1940
1931
1921
1921
1934
1934
1934
1934
1940
1934/1935
1934
1934
1934/1935
1934
Building Name
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
Residential Garage
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
Residential Garage
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
Residential Garage
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
Residential garage
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
Residential Garage
Utility Vault
LTA Officers’ Quarters
LTA Officers’ Quarters
Residential Garage
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
Utility Vault
Residential Garage
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
Residential Garage
Aero Club
Pier
Electric Switch Station
Utility Vault
Sewage Pump Station
LTA NCO Quarters
LTA NCO Quarters
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
Utility Vault
Residential Garage
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
Residential Garage
NCO Housing
CR-2-9
Table CR2-1. Langley Field Historic District
Contributing Buildings
(Page 7 of 7)
Bldg. No.
972
974
975
976
977
978
980
981
982
983
985
986
987
988
989
991
993
995
997
998
999
1000
1001
1003
1004
1007
1018
6005
6010
7025
7030
7040
7095
7100
7105
17035
No #
Date
1933
1934
1932
1932
1940
1933
1932
1933/1935
1932
1932
1934
1932
1934
1934
1934
1934
1934/1935
1934
1934
1940
1942
1930
1934
1940
1917
1917
1940
1941
1938
1938
1944
1944
1941
1945
1938
1944
1917
Building Name
Residential Garage
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
Utility Vault
Residential Garage
NCO Housing
Residential Garage
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
NCO Housing
Utility Vault
Chapel
Water Tank
Greenhouse
Utility Vault
Generator Gas Plant
Compressor Gas Plant
Building not described
Apron
Apron
Runway
Taxiway
Taxiway
Taxiway
Taxiway
Taxiway
Runway
Roadway System
CR-2-10
Table CR-2-2. National Register-Listed Historic Properties
Under Langley AFB Primary Airspace
Airspace
Farmville
MOA
State
Virginia
County
Amelia
Campbell
Charlotte
Property
Sayler’s Creek Battlefield National
Historic Landmark
Ingleside
Egglestetton
Wigwam
Farmer House
Cat Rock Sluice
Salem School
Toombs Tobacco Farm
Red Hill
Staunton Hill
Mulberry Hill
Roanoke Plantation
Charlotte County Courthouse
Charlotte Court House Historic
District
Greenfield
Cumberland
Halifax
Loudoun
Lunenburg
Mecklenburg
Nottoway
Powhatan
Prince
Edward
Warning
Areas
North
Carolina
Appomattox
Dare
Charles Irving Thornton
Tombstone
Indian Jim’s Cave
Black Walnut
Old Providence Presbyterian
Church
Cumberland County Courthouse
Lunenburg Courthouse Historic
District
Victoria High School
Shadow Lawn
Burke’s Tavern
Inverness
Blenheim
French’s Tavern
Buffalo Presbyterian Church
Falkland
Hampden-Sydney College Historic
District
Debtor’s Prison
Old Prince Edward County
Clerk’s Office
Briery Church
Pamplin Pipe Factory
USS Monitor (Shipwreck)
Source: National Register Information Service 2000
CR-2-11
Location
Farmville
Amelia
Chula
Chula
Deatonville
Brookneal
Red Oak
Red Oak
Brookneal
Brookneal
Randolph
Saxe
Charlotte Court
House
Charlotte Court
House
Charlotte Court
House
Cumberland
Brookneal
Clover
Providence
Cumberland
Lunenberg
Victoria
Chase City
Burkeville
Burkeville
Ballsville
Ballsville
Pamplin
Pamplin
Hampden-Sydney
Worsham
Worsham
Briery
Pamplin
Cape Hatteras
Eglin AFB Historical Setting
Florida has been inhabited for about 15,000 years. Archaeological evidence indicates that
Paleoindians hunted now-extinct Pleistocene animals, in addition to using small game and
gathering wild plants and shellfish (Russo 1990). As the climate gradually warmed, the
resource base expanded and people developed new technologies and settlement patterns.
They hunted animals such as deer, raccoon, and waterfowl. Fishing was a common activity
along the coasts and rivers; shellfish were common food items. A wide range of plants were
also collected. More specialized bone, stone, and shell tools were manufactured. Eventually
pottery was introduced and trade networks developed. Several different kinds of cemeteries
are known from this period (Russo 1990).
Population growth was accompanied by the development of elaborate ceremonial
complexes, mound burial, permanent settlements, and an increasing reliance on cultivated
plants (Milanich 1990). Baskets, weirs, and nets were intensively used to harvest shellfish
and fish. Traps, throwing stones, and spears may have been used for hunting small
mammals and deer (Eglin AFB 2000). A variety of ceramics were also used. Coastal shell
middens occurred in a variety of shapes: circular, horseshoe-shaped, rectangular with cleared
interior areas, and small linear shapes. Burial mounds often occured in conjunction with the
larger coastal shell middens.
Later villages, hamlets, and camps clustered around mounds and cemeteries. Shellfish were
collected, and fishing and hunting may have been supplemented by maize horticulture.
Increasing ceremonialism is reflected in the presence of ceremonial complexes centered
around large platform mounds containing burials. The major river valleys were densely
occupied by intensive agriculturalists who were organized around the large ceremonial
centers (Eglin AFB 2000).
Spanish explorers entering the region in the early 1500s encountered Maskoki-speaking
groups called Seminoles by later English settlers. The name Seminole derived from the
Maskoki isti siminoli meaning “free people.” In southern Georgia, English traders who
encountered Maskoki-speaking groups living along the creeks referred to them as Creeks
(Seminole 2000). The Creek culture arrived in Florida with the Chiscas (Yuchis), joining the
Chatot and Pensacola tribes. The Creeks and the Seminoles migrated into Choctawhatchee
Bay by the 18th century (Eglin AFB 2000).
Most evidence indicates that Spanish exploration focused on the Pensacola Bay area. The
only permanent occupation in the region was a Spanish colony established in 1699 (Eglin
AFB 2000), although Spanish fishermen may have lived on the shores of St. Andrew Bay.
There is also some evidence that Smack Bayou was used during this time as a place to repair
ships and boats.
After the Revolutionary War, Euroamericans moved south into the former Spanish and
English lands, and conflicts arose between the native inhabitants and the settlers. In the
Creek War of 1813-1814, some Creek groups in Alabama rose up against the settlers and the
native groups that supported them. General Andrew Jackson brought in United States
troops to quell the uprising and negotiated a treaty that took more than 2 million acres of
CR-2-12
land from the Native Americans (Seminole 2000). Following the war, many Creeks migrated
southward into Spanish Florida with the Seminoles, where they resisted Jackson’s continued
attacks. Eventually, more than 3,000 natives were removed by the United States government
to Arkansas and Oklahoma.
With the development of southern Florida during the 20th century, the remaining Seminoles
became agricultural workers and worked in the tourist industry. The Seminole Tribe of
Florida was established in 1957 in southern Florida (Seminole 2000). Native American
groups within the project region include the Poarch Band of Creek and the Florida Tribe of
the Eastern Creek (BIA 1998). The Poarch Band of Creek, a federally recognized tribe, were
part of the Creek Nation that avoided removal and remained in southern Alabama. More
than 1,000 remain in the vicinity of Poarch, Alabama near Atmore (Poarch Creek Indians
2000). The Florida Tribe of Eastern Creeks is an organization of Creek Indian descendants
with members concentrated in Calhoun and Walton counties, Florida (FSU 1995). The
Eastern Creeks are not federally recognized.
Initial Euroamerican settlement following United States annexation of Florida territory was
concentrated along the coast, rivers, and navigable creeks due to a lack of roads in the
interior (Eglin AFB 2000). Timbering was an important source of income, and early settlers
also raised stock, allowing them to free forage on tracts of less arable land. After Florida
became part of the United States in 1845, Americans gradually moved into western Florida.
Following the Civil War, the economy supported an increased market for timber and
extracting pine resin for turpentine. Stock ranching also continued to be a viable economic
option.
In the early 1900s, the federal government regained control over lands previously transferred
to the state of Florida and railroad companies (Eglin AFB 2000). This acreage, along with
tracts of federal land deemed unsuitable for agriculture, formed the basis for what became
the Choctawhatchee National Forest (1908), the first national forest east of the Mississippi.
Camp Pinchot, now a historic district on Eglin AFB, was the administrative headquarters for
the forest.
A modern military presence in the Eglin area in the 1930s began with a donation of 1,579
acres to the federal government. Eglin AFB was established as Valparaiso Bombing and
Gunnery Base in 1935. The base was re-designated Eglin Field in 1937, and as the Army Air
Corps Proving Ground, Eglin Field in 1941. The range functioned as an auxiliary to
Maxwell Field until 1940, when the Choctawhatchee National Forest and contiguous
privately owned parcels were incorporated into the installation.
The base grew to a major command during World War II, with responsibility for testing
aircraft, weapons, and equipment used in combat. The relative isolation and sparsely
inhabited surrounding communities created an ideal location to test and develop military
projects that included assault tactics for the invasion of Normandy; testing of bombardment
aircraft and pursuit fighter and interceptors; testing electronic warfare equipment and tactics;
development of tactics to eliminate German V-1 and V-2 launch facilities and the
development of U.S. versions of the V-1, JB-2, and JB-10; construction of an environmental
test chamber, McKinley Climatic Laboratory; testing of the RAZON radio-controlled bomb;
CR-2-13
training of torpedo squadrons; and testing of new torpedo racks and other devices (Eglin
AFB 2000). By the end of World War II, Eglin AFB covered 510,251 acres.
Mission requirements were greatly reduced after World War II. By 1950, Eglin Field had
been re-designated Eglin AFB. Its activities expanded when the Air Research and
Development Command (later Air Force Systems Command) established the Air Force
Armament Center at Eglin AFB (Eglin AFB 2000). By 1955, many of the test areas and all
of the auxiliary fields on Eglin AFB had been developed. An instrument test range was
added in the Gulf of Mexico in the mid-1950s. Mission activities at Eglin AFB increased in
the 1960s with increased emphasis on conventional weapons. The Air Force Development
Test Center currently provides test and evaluation support primarily for the development of
non-nuclear munitions, electronic systems, and navigation/guidance systems (Eglin AFB
2000).
CR-2-14
Table CR-2-3. Historic District Buildings
Bldg. No.
2
Date
1943
Building Name
Law Center
Historic District
Eglin Field
4
1943
ARMT RSCH Eng
Eglin Field
6
1943
HQ WG
Eglin Field
23
1948
Garage FAM HSG DET
Eglin Field
25
1944
FAM HSG APPR PFY50
Eglin Field
26
1944
FAM HSG APPR PFY50
Eglin Field
27
1944
FAM HSG APPR PFY50
Eglin Field
28
1944
FAM HSG APPR PFY50
Eglin Field
29
1944
FAM HSG APPR PFY50
Eglin Field
30
1943
HQ Group
Eglin Field
200
1943
FLT SURG Clinic
Eglin Field
201
1943
AF Clinic
Eglin Field
202
1943
AF Clinic
Eglin Field
214
1943
AF Clinic
Eglin Field
215
1943
AFOSI Office
Eglin Field
216
1943
HQ Center
Eglin Field
217
1943
FLT SURG Clinic
Eglin Field
218
1943
Med COMD & ADMIN
Eglin Field
220
1943
Admin OFC, NON-AF
Eglin Field
238
1943
HQ Center
Eglin Field
246
1943
HQ Group
Eglin Field
1551
1943
Garage FAM HSG DET
Camp Pinchot
1552
1943
Garage FAM HSG DET
Camp Pinchot
1553
1943
BE STOR CV FCLTY
Camp Pinchot
1555
1943
Garage FAM HSG DET
Camp Pinchot
1556
1943
FAM HSG APPR PFY50
Camp Pinchot
1557
1943
FAM HSG APPR PFY50
Camp Pinchot
1558
1946
FAM HSG, Other
Camp Pinchot
1559
1946
FAM HSG APPR PFY50
Camp Pinchot
1559A
1946
FAM HSG APPR PFY50
Camp Pinchot
1561
1944
BT STOR
Camp Pinchot
1562
1943
BE STOR CV FCLTY
Camp Pinchot
1565
1952
BLDG WTR SUP
Camp Pinchot
Source: Air Force 2000b
CR-2-15
Table CR-2-4. National Register-Listed Properties
Under Eglin and Tyndall AFB Airspace
(Page 1 of 2)
Airspace
Camden Ridge
MOA
State
Alabama
County
Clarke
Washington
Wilcox
Moody 3 MOA
Georgia
Calhoun
Clay
Decatur
Early
Miller
Property
Airmount Grave Shelter
Thomasville Historic District
Whatley Historic District
Alston-Cobb House
Bush House
S.B. Cleveland House
J.A. Coate House
Cobb House
Dickinson House
Fort Sinquefield
Grove Hill Courthouse Square
Historic District
J.P. Pugh Farmstead
Old St. Stephens Site
Washington County Courthouse
W.K. Beck House
T. Bethea House
Liberty Hall
Liddell Archeological Site
Tait-Ervin House
Wilcox County Courthouse Historic
District
Wilcox Female Institute
Oak Hill Historic District
Arlington Methodist Episcopal
Church South
Clay County Courthouse
Dill House
Fort Gaines Cemetery Site
Fort Gaines Historic District
Warren Sutton House
Toney-Standley House
Brinson Family Historic District
Coheelee Creek Covered Bridge
Early County Courthouse
J.D. Harrell House
Kolomoki Mounds National Historic
Landmark
Colquitt Town Square Historic
District
CR-2-16
Location
Thomasville
Thomasville
Whatley
Grove Hill
Grove Hill
Suggsville
Grove Hill
Grove Hill
Grove Hill
Grove Hill
Grove Hill
Grove Hill
St. Stephens
St. Stephens
Camden
Camden
Camden
Camden
Camden
Camden
Camden
Oak Hill
Arlington
Fort Gaines
Fort Gaines
Fort Gaines
Fort Gaines
Edison
Fort Gaines
Brinson
Hilton
Blakely
Jakin
Blakely
Colquitt
Table CR-2-4. National Register-Listed Properties
Under Eglin and Tyndall AFB Airspace
(Page 2 of 2)
Airspace
Rose Hill MOA
State
Alabama
County
Coffee
Tyndall MOAs
Florida
Covington
Calhoun
Franklin
Liberty
Washington
Property
Coffee County Courthouse
Pea River Power Company
Hydroelectric Facility
W.T. Shepard House
Cayson Mound and Village Site
Old Calhoun County Courthouse
Apalachicola Historic District
Crooked River Lighthouse
Fort Gadsden Historic Memorial
Governor Stone Schooner National
Historic Landmark
Pierce Site
Porter’s Site Bar
D.G. Raney House
Trinity Episcopal Church
Otis Hare Archeological Site
Torreya State Park
Yon Mound and Village Site
Moss Hill Church
CR-2-17
Location
Elba
Elba
Opp
Blountstown
Blountstown
Apalachicola
Carrabelle
Sumatra
Apalachicola
Apalachicola
Eastpoint
Apalachicola
Apalachicola
Blountstown
Bristol
Bristol
Vernon
Elmendorf AFB Historical Setting
The earliest known inhabitants of the region are thought to have arrived between glacial
episodes, most recently about 10,000 years ago (NPS 2000). These early people hunted large
land animals of the region and used the resources of the sea. As the climate gradually
warmed and the forests moved northward, inhabitants used a wider range of food resources
and developed new tools. During this period a greater number of cultural traditions are
identified, differentiated by physiography, ecology, and geography. Some of these groups
may have been ancestral to later Athabaskan groups of Alaska and the lower United States.
One archaeological site in the middle Porcupine River drainage contains evidence of 1,500
years of continuous occupation that culminates in a well-documented Athabaskan village
component (NPS 2000). By about 1,600 years ago, Athabaskan village inhabitants are
thought to have been primarily caribou hunters, oriented toward upland, treeless areas (NPS
2000). Based on linguistic evidence, the earliest directions of Athabaskan expansion were
probably from the west into Alaska and southward into southern and central British
Columbia.
Other groups developed ceramics and maintained an economy based on coastal resources
(NPS 2000). Southwestern Alaska is an area of Pacific Eskimo co-traditions stretching from
the Alaska Peninsula west of Kodiak Island to the Copper River delta on the Gulf of Alaska.
In late prehistoric times, the people of this region fell into two major linguistic divisions:
Aleutian and Eskimoan. The dividing line between the two groups was the Alaska
Peninsula. Both groups shared traits based on their common subsistence strategies as
marine hunters and their common roots as Eskaleut peoples (NPS 2000).
At the time of European contact, the coast of Alaska north of the Alaska Peninsula was
occupied by people adapted to life along winter ice-bound coasts. They spoke two distinct
Eskimoan languages. The Aleuts, whose language was related to Eskimoan, inhabited the
region from the tip of the Alaska Peninsula, westward throughout the Aleutian Islands.
They practiced open-water hunting and fishing. The Alaskan interior was home to broadly
adapted hunters and fishers of the boreal forest. Several distinct languages were spoken by
these people, all part of the Athabaskan family of languages (NPS 2000).
In 1741, Vitus Bering’s Russian expedition visited Alaska, initiating the wholesale harvest of
sea otter pelts (NPS 2000). The Russian American Company was granted sole trading rights
in America in 1799, and the fur harvest increased. Gold was discovered by Russian
prospectors on the Kenai Peninsula in 1849. Following attacks on Russian settlements by
native groups, rising costs of administering the territory, and the collapse of the fur trade,
Russia sold Alaska to the United States in 1867 for $7.2 million (NPS 2000).
Alaska was largely ignored by the United States until the mid-1890s when gold was
discovered on Birch Creek and in the Yukon Territory of Canada (NPS 2000b). By the
1890s, and the rush to the Klondike Gold fields, gold exploration took place throughout the
state. Gold was discovered on Iditirod Creek in 1908. In 1911 and 1912, gold miners
rushed to the Ruby Mining District, including Ruby City and Poorman. Work continued
until World War I when many of the miners entered military service. A new find in 1930 set
CR-2-18
off another rush to the vicinity of Poorman. The area prospered for a few years until the
mines closed for World War II (L’Ecuyer 1993).
In 1912, Alaska became a United States territory. Two years later, construction began on the
Alaska Railroad, planned to extend from Seward to Fairbanks. Anchorage was established as
a construction camp on the railroad line and thousands of workers poured into the area in
1915.
A United States military presence was established in Alaska beginning in 1940 with the
construction of Fort Richardson near Anchorage. The air facilities on the post were named
Elmendorf Field (Air Force 2000). The first Air Force unit arrived in 1941 and other units
arrived as the Japanese threat developed into World War II. The 11th Air Force formed at
Elmendorf Field in 1942. In 1945, the 11th Air Force was designated the Alaskan Air
Command.
After World War II, the Army moved its operations to a new Fort Richardson site, while the
Air Force assumed control of the original Fort Richardson and renamed it Elmendorf Air
Force Base in 1948 (Air Force 2000). Post-war uncertainties led to a buildup of air defense
forces in Alaska with the Alaskan NORAD Regional Operations Control Center at
Elmendorf serving as the center for air defense operations in Alaska (Air Force 2000).
During the 1960s and 1970s, air defense forces in Alaska declined because of mission
changes and the demands of the Vietnam War.
In the 1980s, Elmendorf AFB experienced a period of growth and modernization, including
the construction of an enhanced Regional Operations Control Center and the replacement
of 1950s aircraft control and warning radar with AN/FPS-117 Minimally Attended Radar
(Air Force 2000). Elmendorf continued to expand into the early 1990s. Presently,
Elmendorf AFB is the largest Air Force installation in Alaska and home of Headquarters
Alaskan Command, Alaskan NORAD Region, 11th Air Force, and the 3rd Wing (Air Force
2000).
CR-2-19
Table CR-2-5. National Register Eligible Buildings
(Page 1 of 2)
Bldg No.
8565
9549
9560
10547
9570
10549
10571
11550
11525
11540
11551
4305
4314
5327
5332
5303
5312
7250
7271
6263
7309
8317
7301
8326
8324
8306
8288
9268
9309
9311
9341
9340
9342
9361
10334
10306
10286
No #
8436
8434, 8409, 8445,
8411, 8439
8419
8433
8423
8450
12837, 11827, 11863,
12889, 11889, 11865,
10861, 10871, 10909,
10907, 11921
Date
1941
1943
1942
1945
1943
1941
1942
1942
1942
1943
1942
1944
1944
1944
1943
1944
1944
1944
1948
1944
1944
1944
1944
1944
1944
1944
1944
1944
1943
1944
1944
1945
1944
1944
1945
1944
1944
1943-45
1942
1942
1942
1942
1942
1942
1942
Building
Hangar 4
Cope Thunder/ACMI
Cold Storage
Shop Avionics
Parts Storage
Info Management Publishing
Hangar 3
Wing Headquarters
Hangar 2
Admin Offices
Hangar 1
Housing Maintenance
Hazardous Storage
Maintenance Shop
Explosive Ordnance Disposal
3rd CES Prime Beef
Safety/Environ
Vehicle Operations
Community Center
Corrosion Control
Hangar 5
Petrol Operations
Rec Issue/Prime Rib
AGE Storage Facility
Vehicle Fill Station
Liquid Fuels Maintenance
Heavy Equipment Shop
Oxygen General Plant
C12 Operations
Hangar 6
Spill Response Team
Hobby Shop
Mobility/Supply
Snow Barn
Auxiliary Power Plant
Liquid Fuels Maintenance
Hangar 7-Aero Club
Air Depot Taxi and Runways
FO/CO Housing
FO/CO Garages
Historic District
Flightline
Flightline
Flightline
Flightline
Flightline
Flightline
Flightline
Flightline
Flightline
Flightline
Flightline
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Alaska Air Depot
Generals’ Quad
Generals’ Quad
FO/CO Housing
Quarters One
FO/CO Housing
VOQ Chateau
Storage Area B
Generals’ Quad
Generals’ Quad
Generals’ Quad
Generals’ Quad
None
CR-2-20
Table CR-2-5. National Register Eligible Buildings
(Page 2 of 2)
Bldg No.
8481
9485
9431
26282
9480
18176
15658
No #
Date
1945
1945
1942
1945
1948
1962
1952
ca. 1982
Building Name
Wildlife Museum
Log Cabin
Chapel 2
Green Lake Cabin
Alaska Command
Operations AFSS
Hangar 16
ALCOP TRAIN
Source: NPS 1999
CR-2-21
Historic District
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
Table CR-2-6. National Register-Listed Properties
Under Elmendorf AFB Airspace
Airspace
Borough
Property
Location
Stony B MOA
Bethel
Kolmakov Redoubt Site
Sleetmute
Yukon MOAs
Yukon-Koyukuk
F. Slaven Roadhouse
Eagle
Woodchopper Roadhouse
Eagle
E. Beiderman Fish Camp
Eagle
Central House
Central
Coal Creek Historic Mining District
Circle
G. McGregor Cabin
Eagle
Eagle Historic District National
Historic Landmark
Eagle
Steele Creek Roadhouse
Eagle
Southeast
Fairbanks
Source: National Register Information Service 2000
CR-2-22
Mountain Home AFB Historical Setting
The cultural sequences of early Native Americans in southwestern Idaho, southeastern
Oregon, and extreme northern Nevada follow the general trends of the Great Basin (Air
Force 1998b). Archaeological evidence places humans in the region possibly as early as
16,000 years before present (B.P.), when people foraged and hunted large game in small,
mobile groups. As the climate gradually warmed and new food resources became available,
technology expanded and settlement and subsistence activities were focused around
predictable water sources, especially along rivers. Settlement occurred in large base camps (Air
Force 1998b) from which task groups were sent to obtain resources elsewhere, including the
uplands and broad plains. Ceramics appeared in the region, and the bow and arrow were
introduced. Settled villages occurred along rivers. The introduction of the horse into the
region resulted in equestrian bands of people participating in communal bison hunting and
the gathering of resources at widespread locations. Mounted groups adopted settlement
systems and social organizations similar to the Great Plains people. This lifeway persisted
until contact with Euroamericans in the early 1800s.
In 1811, when the first Euroamericans traveled through southwestern Idaho, the Shoshone,
Paiute, and Bannock people (who spoke languages belonging to the larger Numic language
family) occupied the region (Air Force 1998b). The effect of Euroamerican contact began to
be felt by Native Americans in the 1820s as trappers exploited game resources needed for
Native American subsistence. By the 1840s and the beginning of the United States’ great
westward emigration, much of the game in the region had been depleted and Native
American economies crashed (Air Force 1998c). As a result of these conditions, early
Euroamerican historic accounts document extreme poverty among the Shoshone and Paiute.
Initially, Native Americans in the region responded to the influx of population and growth
of settlements by retreating to remote areas or clustering around and trading with the
settlements. Although isolated attacks on emigrants occurred in the late 1840s through the
1850s, hostilities were limited. However, the settlement and expansion stimulated by mining
forced groups of Native Americans to occupy areas with marginal resources. This
engendered hostilities that culminated in the Snake Indian War and the Bannock War (Air
Force 1998b).
Treaties between the United States and the Shoshone people in the 1860s recognized the
Shoshone homeland as including lands from northern Nevada to the Snake River. One
treaty gave non-Indians rights to use and occupy the land and resources but did not cede
Shoshone lands to the federal government (Air Force 1998b). In the 1950s, the Western
Shoshone Tribe sought compensation for the loss of aboriginal title to the lands. The Indian
Claims Commission held that aboriginal title had been extinguished, and the Tribe was
awarded $26 million in compensation. The Tribe refused the money and it was placed in a
trust account. Later, the United States Supreme Court held that the trust account money
constituted compensation for the treaty and full discharge of all claims and demands.
Despite the ruling, many Shoshone continue to assert ownership of the lands based on their
interpretation of the original treaty (Air Force 1998b). Two other treaties, never ratified by
Congress, also are used to support the contention that the tribes continue to hold claim to
southwestern Idaho. Eventually the Shoshone people in the project region were moved to
CR-2-23
the Duck Valley Reservation, on the border of Idaho and Nevada, which was established in
1877.
The Fort McDermitt Reservation, also home to Shoshone and Paiute people, was
established in 1892 along the Nevada-Oregon border (Air Force 1998b). Fort McDermitt
was originally one of number of forts established in southern Oregon and northern Nevada
in the 1860s to protect miners headed to the Idaho mines. Paiute people also settled around
Fort McDermitt in the 1860s. Following conflicts with native groups and the United States
Army, many of the Fort McDermitt Paiute were forced to go to Yakima, Washington.
However, most had returned to the Fort McDermitt area by the early 1880s. Fort
McDermitt lands were set aside for Native Americans in the area in 1892. Today, Native
American groups in the project region are the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe at
the Fort McDermitt Reservation, and the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes at the Duck Valley
Reservation.
Euroamerican occupation of the region began in 1811 when members of Astor’s Pacific Fur
Company followed the Snake River to the west. The Astor expedition ushered in the era of
fur trapping that continued in the region until 1839. By the end of the 1830s, competition
among fur companies resulted in severe decline in the beaver population (Air Force 1998b)
and reduced trapping opportunities. In 1836, the Whitman-Spalding missionary party
followed what would become the Oregon Trail west, ushering in an era of westward
migration. Thousands of wagons and pioneers passed through the region on the Oregon
Trail, but little settlement occurred in southwestern Idaho.
Discovery of gold in the Owyhee Mountains in the 1860s eventually provided the stimulus
for settlement in the region (Air Force 1998b). This discovery spurred a rapid population
increase and development of regional boom towns. Population growth and settlement
centered around the mines in the Owyhee Mountains. Freight roads and stage lines, linking
southwestern Idaho to California, Nevada, and the Plains, developed during the mining era.
Continuing through the 1870s, mining provided the foundations for Idaho’s statehood in
1890.
Following the decline of large-scale mining, farming and ranching became the mainstays of
the region’s economy. Herds were brought into the Owyhee area from Texas, California,
and Oregon. Most of the ranching and farming operations clustered in the more fertile,
well-watered locations, but the upland plateaus and valleys provided extensive grazing areas
(Air Force 1998b). Cattle dominated the area until 1888-89 when a drought, followed by an
exceptionally harsh winter, decimated most of the herds. The following spring, large herds
of sheep were brought into the area to graze on the lands previously occupied by cattle (Air
Force 1998c).
Construction of the Oregon Short Line Railroad began in 1882, linking the main settlements
in the region to the rest of the country. The railroad bypassed Owyhee County for the most
part, and prompted the development of the city of Mountain Home in nearby Elmore
County (Air Force 1998c). Ranching and grazing, accompanied by minor mining operations,
constituted the primary activities in the area from the late 19th century to the present. Some
modern ranchers in the area maintain a traditional lifeway and culture, following seasonal
cycles of ranch work, moving cattle among range locations and feed lots, caring for old or
CR-2-24
infirm animals, calving, branding, and shipping cattle to buyers (Air Force 1998c). Most
ranches in Owyhee County also cultivate hay or other crops for feed. Some residents of the
Duck Valley Reservation continue to use parts of Owyhee County for traditional activities
including religious activities and hunting and gathering food resources to supplement a
modern diet.
In 1942, the Army selected Mountain Home, Idaho, as the locations of a new army airfield
to be used for training purposes (Air Force 1998a). Construction on Mountain Home Army
Airfield was completed in 1943. That same year, the Army acquired 420,000 acres south of
the Snake River to establish Saylor Creek Bombing Range. Throughout World War II,
various bombardment groups and wings used the range. At the end of the war, the base was
deactivated.
The base reopened as Mountain Home AFB from 1948 to 1950 and again in 1951.
Mountain Home AFB became a Strategic Air Command base in 1953 (Air Force 1998a).
The Tactical Air Command assumed control of the base and range in 1966, and in 1992,
ACC assumed control. Today, the base is home to the 366th Wing, which is an Air Force
Aerospace Expeditionary Wing.
CR-2-25
Table CR-2-7. Mountain Home AFB National
Register-Eligible Buildings
Bldg No.
201
204
Date
1943
1943
205
1943
208
1943
211
1943
291
1960
611
2215
1943
1988
4473
4476
4478
1959
1959
1959
Building Name
Small Aircraft Maintenance Dock
Small Aircraft Maintenance Dock/Hangar (Falcon
Country)
Small Aircraft Maintenance Dock/Hanger (Falcon
Country)
Small Aircraft Maintenance Dock/Hangar (Mun Load
Crew)
Small Aircraft Maintenance Dock/Hangar (Maintenance
Training/Showing Glass Block Lighting/Windows)
NCO Professional Military Education Center (Alert
Facility)
Base Chapel 2
Group Headquarters (OTH-B/Over the Horizon
Backscatter Building)
Capehart Family Housing – Richard Nuetra
Capehart Family Housing – Richard Nuetra
Capehart Family Housing – Richard Nuetra
Source: Air Force 1998b
CR-2-26
Table CR-2-8. National Register-Listed Properties
Under Mountain Home AFB Airspace
Airspace
State
County
Property
Location
Owyhee
MOA
Idaho
Owyhee
Camas and Pole Creeks
Archaeological District
Wagon Box Basin
Jarbidge
MOA
Idaho
Owyhee
Wickahoney Post Office and
Stage Station
Wickahoney
Saddle A
MOA
Oregon
Malheur
Sheep Ranch Fortified House
Arock
Birch Creek Ranch Historic
Rural District
Jordan Valley
Source: National Register Information Service 2000
CR-2-27
Tyndall AFB Historical Setting
Florida has been inhabited for about 15,000 years. Archaeological evidence indicates that
Paleoindians hunted now-extinct Pleistocene animals, in addition to using small game and
gathering wild plants and shellfish (Russo 1990). As the climate gradually warmed, the
resource base expanded and people developed new technologies and settlement patterns.
They hunted animals such as deer, raccoon, and waterfowl. Fishing was a common activity
along the coasts and rivers and shellfish were common food items. A wide range of plants
were also collected. More specialized bone, stone, and shell tools were manufactured.
Eventually pottery was introduced and trade networks developed. Several different kinds of
cemeteries are known from this period (Russo 1990).
Population growth was accompanied by the development of elaborate ceremonial
complexes, mound burial, permanent settlements, and an increasing reliance on cultivated
plants (Milanich 1990). Baskets, weirs, and nets were intensively used to harvest shellfish
and fish. Traps, throwing stones, and spears may have been used for hunting small
mammals and deer (Air Force 2000). A variety of ceramics were also used. Coastal shell
middens occurred in a variety of shapes: circular, horseshoe-shaped, rectangular with cleared
interior areas, and small linear shapes. Burial mounds often occurred in conjunction with
the larger coastal shell middens (Air Force 2000).
Later villages, hamlets, and camps clustered around mounds and cemeteries. Shellfish were
collected, and fishing and hunting may have been supplemented by maize horticulture.
Increasing ceremonialism is reflected in the presence of ceremonial complexes centered
around large platform mounds containing burials. The major river valleys were densely
occupied by intensive agriculturalists who were organized around the large ceremonial
centers.
Spanish explorers entering the region in the early 1500s encountered Maskoki-speaking
groups called Seminoles by later English settlers. The name Seminole derived from the
Maskoki isti siminoli meaning “free people.” In southern Georgia, English traders who
encountered Maskoki-speaking groups living along the creeks referred to them as Creeks
(Seminole 2000). The Creek culture arrived in Florida with the Chiscas (Yuchis), joining the
Chatot and Pensacola tribes (Eglin 2000).
Most evidence indicates that Spanish exploration focused on the Pensacola Bay area. The
only permanent occupation in the region was a Spanish colony established at there Bay in
1699 (Eglin 2000), although Spanish fishermen may have lived on the shores of St. Andrew
Bay. There is also some evidence that Smack Bayou was used during this time as a place to
repair ships and boats.
After the Revolutionary War, Euroamericans moved south into the former Spanish and
English lands and conflicts arose between the native inhabitants and the settlers. In the
Creek War of 1813-1814, some Creek groups in Alabama rose up against the settlers and the
native groups that supported them. General Andrew Jackson brought in United States
troops to quell the uprising and negotiated a treaty that took more than 2 million acres of
land from the Native Americans (Seminole 2000). Following the war, many Creeks migrated
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southward into Spanish Florida with the Seminoles where they resisted Jackson’s continued
attacks. Eventually more than 3,000 natives were removed by the United States government
to Arkansas and Oklahoma.
With the development of southern Florida during the 20th century, the remaining Seminoles
became agricultural workers and worked in the tourist industry. The Seminole Tribe of
Florida was established in 1957 in southern Florida (Seminole 2000). Native American
groups within the project region include the Poarch Band of Creek and the Florida Tribe of
the Eastern Creek (BIA 1998). The Poarch Band of Creek, a federally-recognized tribe, were
part of the Creek Nation who avoided removal and remained in southern Alabama. More
than 1,000 remain in the vicinity of Poarch, Alabama near Atmore (Poarch Creek Indians
2000). The Florida Tribe of Eastern Creeks is an organization of Creek Indian descendants
with members concentrated in Calhoun and Walton counties, Florida (FSU 1995). The
Eastern Creeks are not federally recognized.
Initial Euroamerican settlement following United States annexation of Florida territory was
concentrated along the coast, rivers, and navigable creeks due to a lack of roads in the
interior (Eglin 2000). Timbering was an important source of income in areas where mules
could move logs to creeks or rivers for transport. Early settlers also raised stock, allowing
them to free forage on tracts of less arable land, and then herding them to market.
Agricultural pursuits were hindered by generally poor soils.
After Florida became part of the United States in 1845, Americans gradually moved into
western Florida. Following the Civil War, the economy supported an increased market for
timber and naval stores. Construction of railroads in the 1880s facilitated increased
development of these industries, leading to the establishment of temporary communities
focused on cutting or processing timber or extracting pine resin for turpentine. Stock
ranching also continued to be a viable economic option (Air Force 2000).
The economic mainstay of settlements on East Peninsula was the exploitation of pine
resources. Between the 1880s and the 1920s, turpentining and lumbering were the most
economically feasible activities in this agriculturally poor area (Air Force 2000). When the
lumber and turpentine industry faltered, most settlers moved near the new industries
established around Panama City.
The gradual depopulation of East Peninsula paved the way for federal purchase of the area
in the early 1940s and the creation of an airfield (Air Force 2000). By 1941, the federal
government had title to East Peninsula (Air Force 2000) and plans were made for an airfield,
a cantonment area, three runways (with a fourth to the added later), taxi strips, a parking
apron, and a technical area with a hangar, warehouse, sub-depot and ordnance facilities (Air
Force 2000). Tyndall AFB was named for Lieutenant Francis B. Tyndall, a Florida native
and World War I fighter pilot who died in an air crash in 1930. It was the largest of three
aerial gunnery schools in the United States. All gunnery training halted at the end of World
War II, except for foreign nationals including French and Chinese trainees (Air Force 2000).
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During and after the Korean and Vietnam Wars, Tyndall continued to host training schools.
In 1979, the base gained an additional mission when it was transferred to the Tactical Air
Command. It was now required to defend the southeastern portion of the United States
from Soviet forces in the Caribbean and Central America. By late 1984, F-15s were
stationed on the base and, today, Tyndall AFB is the site of advanced F-15 fighter pilot
training and is home to the 325th Fighter Wing, which consists of three F-15 fighter
squadrons (Air Force 2000). In 1993, Tyndall AFB was transferred to the Air Education
Training Command, which currently provides training for the majority of F-15 pilots in the
Air Force.
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