Scope and Contents 

Love Field is owned and operated by the City of Dallas Department of Aviation.   On October 19, 1917, Love Field opened as a United States Air Service air training base.  After World War I ended, the airfield was used for commercial business and barnstorming pilots.  Airmail service began at Love Field in 1926.  The City purchased Love Field in 1927, and passenger service began soon after.  Major additions to the land were acquired in 1931 (from the development Love Field Acres) and 1941.  Love became an Army field again in 1942 and served during World War II as headquarters for the United States Air Transport Command.  The Women Airforce Service Pilots also used Love Field.  The facilities were greatly expanded by the Army Air Corps before transfer back to the City of Dallas, and by 1964 Love Field was the largest air terminal in the Southwest

Growth of air traffic in Texas led to the establishment of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in 1974 and the sudden reversal of Love Field's prominence. By the next year it had lost all its carriers except Southwest Airlines to the new facility. In 1979 when the Civil Aeronautics Board ordered all carriers to use the new airport, Southwest, an intrastate carrier, refused to do so and won a lawsuit to continue using Love Field. Further restrictions on flights include the Shelby and Wright Amendments, in which Federal law prohibits Southwest Airlines from providing direct flights between Dallas Love Field and any point beyond Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Mississippi, and Alabama.

Love Field is named for Lt. Moss L. Love, an Army Air Corps pilot who was killed during a training flight at San Diego, California, on September 4, 1913.  Love had no connection with Dallas, but he was one of the first American military pilots to lose his life.  The Army named multiple airfields after those early pilots. 

The bulk of the collection contains abstracts of title​​ to the lands comprising Love Field Acres, 1923-1931. Other items include land purchase legal documents and property tax receipts relating to Mattie Prewitt 1923-1929; a 1926 tentative agreement between the United States Army and the City of Dallas regarding use of the airfield; documents from 1941 concerning land purchases to expand Love Field; a 1966 agreement regarding improvements by American Airlines; and promotional materials for the airport from 1987 and 1996.

Organization

The collection is arranged by subject.

Access​

Permission to publish, reproduce, distribute, or use by any and all other current or future developed methods or procedures must be obtained in writing from the Dallas Municipal Archives.  All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards.

Citation

Love Field, 1920-1941, 1966, 1987, 1996 (Box <x>, Folder <y>), Dallas Municipal Archives

Related Material

Collection 2001-003—Love Field Photographs and Files, 1918-1993

​Index Terms

Aeronautics -- Texas -- Dallas -- History
Airports -- Texas -- Dallas ​Metropolitan Area -- ​History
Dallas -- Texas -- History
Dallas Love Field

​Container List ​