as a sub-depot of the Middletown Air Depot near Harrisburg. Original airport construction occurred from 1936 to 1938 under the WPA. California University of Pennsylvania helped conduct pilot training in support of the war effort at the Connellsville Airport starting in late 1939. The 805th Army Air Forces Specialized Depot, which opened on July 1, 1941, repaired and overhauled aircraft and returned them to active service. With the winding down of the war effort during the summer of 1945, the Air Force closed its facilities at Connellsville on June 1, 1945. The airport remained under Federal Government control from 1941 until July 1947 when the Government returned the airport to the city of Connellsville, stipulating it be used for public purposes. During the war, the Government improved the airport facilities greatly, mainly due to the increased industrialization occurring during the war and the expectation that the war would last for some time. Post War Industry Connellsville Airport also served as the site of a Taylorcraft airplane maintenance facility where Taylorcraft airplanes were built and/or repaired in the late 1940s and 1950s. The current main terminal site is the remnants of the Taylorcraft hangar. Connellsville became the headquarters for the Taylor Aircraft Corporation in 1950. The United States Marine Corps (USMC) Reserve also had training areas on the airport in the 1950s. A two-story brick building at the center of the airport held the base for the Marine Corps Reserve Training Center, which also utilized other buildings on the airport for various uses including a gymnasium, maintenance buildings, a weapons range, and locker rooms. Jet Age By the 1960s, the Connellsville airport had three paved runways, one of approximately 3,400 feet and the other two at 3,000 feet. Of those three, only two survive today. The middle runway was deactivated in the late 1960s. Today it is used as a taxiway and an area for driver training. Anchor Hocking ‘Glass Corporation’, a former major Fayette County employer, rented significant space on the airport, mostly warehouse type space, in the 1960s. The Fayette County Airport Authority (FCAA) was established in December 1965 to take ownership and management of the airport. Membership to the authority would be based on a representative sample of the county and be selected on the basis of business competence and proven community leadership. Fayette County Airport Authority in February 1966 worked with Penn Central Airways to provide air