The Site of Robbins Airport and Its Local History

Robbins Airport was an early airport and flight school built, owned, and operated by and for African Americans. The Village of Robbins’ development plan describes it as the site of the first African-American airport and aviation school, founded by aviator John C. Robinson.

The National Air and Space Museum says the Challenger Air Pilots Association, organized by Robinson, spearheaded construction of the airstrip in 1931. Cornelius Coffey and Robinson are also credited with the airport’s creation. The Smithsonian’s image record, titled “Robbins airstrip,” documents its history.

The airport’s flight school trained African American pilots, including ten who later became Tuskegee Airmen. That link places the small Robbins airstrip within the wider story of Black aviation in the Chicago area during the 1920s and 1930s.

Robbins Airport matters because it provided a place for Black aviators to build aviation skills at a time when they faced barriers to participation. Its history connects local community organizing and flight training with the later service of Tuskegee Airmen.

The former airport is also part of the African American Heritage Water Trail, which follows the Little Calumet River and Cal-Sag Channel between Beaubien Woods and the Village of Robbins.

Openlands identifies the airport site as a significant place along the trail. Tyrone Haymore, co-founder and director of the Robbins History Museum, has worked as a community partner in highlighting that history.

For a related account of Black labor and history in the region, the A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum visitor guide covers another important part of the area’s African American heritage.

There are essentially no remnants of the airport, according to a historical-society article. The location is best understood as a historic site rather than as a preserved airfield with visible airport structures.

The former airport was at 14046 S. Lawndale Avenue, in southwest Robbins; the lower edge of the site ran along the Tri-State Tollway. A marker was dedicated in Robbins on September 6, 2003, on Cornelius Coffey’s 100th birthday. The historical record also continues to grow: the Robbins Historical Society collects information about the airport.

The former airport site is in the southwest portion of Robbins, with the Tri-State Tollway marking the lower edge of the former grounds. From Kings Inn, the drive takes about 10 minutes. The location is also identified as 14046 S. Lawndale Avenue in a Chicago Defender account.

Since little of the airfield remains, it helps to approach the visit as a chance to understand the site’s location and history, rather than to look for airport buildings. You can pair the stop with other local-history interests; a guide to Calumet Park and its local area gives broader context for the nearby community.