The Shadow
Built in 1931 on top of a Warm Springs Mountain ridge in the southernmost section of Bath County, Ingalls Airport continues to feature the highest runway east of the Mississippi River.
The airport has been described by some writers as having been built in the “middle of nowhere,” but at least one U.S. President has flown into Ingalls Field that was built to accommodate visitors to The Homestead, a world famous resort at the time, now renamed the Omni Homestead Resort.
President Bill Clinton landed at Ingalls Field in the winter of 2000 in a DC-9 aircraft, the largest airplane the 5,601’ runway can accommodate.
Constructed near the 4,000 foot elevation mark, the asphalt groove runway provides safe landings for an average of 31 aircraft on a daily basis, private, commercial and military.
The airport features a crosswind airstrip and the main runway, and the Wings and Wheels, an air and car show, has become an annual event. The show for 2022 has been scheduled for Sat., Aug., 26.
The highest elevation for an airport west of the Mississippi River in the lower 48 states is located in Leadville, Co. The Lake County airport has a 6,400’ runway built at a 9,934’ elevation.
