The airfield once located here was the first major aviation facility in southern West Virginia. It was known as Skelton Field, Scott Field, and most commonly as Beckley-Mount Hope Airport. Construction began in 1933 on land leased from the New River Coal Company, and Herbert Sessler’s Beckley Air Transport operated the airport for many years. Although it saw little action during World War II, nearly 700 pilots were trained to fly here between 1937 and 1950. After World War II, the airport was judged too small for the new generation of commercial aircraft, and Raleigh County Memorial Airport opened in 1952 to handle larger planes. The abandoned grounds were later used by the Beckley Flying Club and Beckley Archery Club until Beckley Plaza, the city’s first major shopping center, was built on the old airport site in 1965.