“Eight years ago, I stumbled across information concerning the airmail route while trying to figure out what an old airway beacon near Fernley was used for,” said Fernley’s Ed Rajki. From the area of Patrick outside of Reno to Lovelock, to Golconda Summit to Battle Mountain, a number of other arrows or remnants have been reported. The remaining air mail arrows in Nevada have piqued the curiosity of people who have come across them in their explorations of the state. Unlike the Pony Express Trail, which has a number of historical markers across Nevada, the Air Mail arrows were unmarked and largely forgotten. Most of the towers were torn down and the metal scrapped for use in World War II. The concrete arrows generally were placed in remote areas, many of which remain remote today, such as the Steamboat Ditch arrow. Cleveland Bryan, Ohio Chicago Iowa City, Iowa Omaha, Neb. In Nevada, the stops were in Elko and Reno. In addition to New York and San Francisco, the transcontinental route included 13 intermediate stops where mails were exchanged and aircrew relieved. Aviation buffs compared the fearless fliers to the famous Pony Express riders of the 19th century.

The lights and the bright yellow paint were to help the air mail pilots, who flew open cockpit biplanes on the route, ensure they were on the correct route. As part of the effort to help pilots successfully navigate the route between New York and San Francisco, the arrows (usually painted yellow) and an accompanying tower equipped with a gas-powered beacon were installed at roughly 10-mile intervals across the country.

The large arrows are relics of the transcontinental delivery of mail for the U.S. There are more than a dozen in various conditions between Reno and the Nevada-Utah state line.Īnd an effort is now under way for a historical marker to placed at the Steamboat Ditch Trail site. We also learned that the Steamboat Ditch arrow, while unknown to most, is not the only such arrow still in existence in Nevada. It consists of a lighted tower, a small building with a generator, and a concrete arrow which helped aviators find the correct direction to continue in.Last month’s Reno Gazette-Journal story about a concrete air mail arrow above the Steamboat Ditch Trail sparked more than a passing interest from Nevada history buffs, historic preservationists, geocachers and other outdoor enthusiasts.Īlong with dozens of people who wanted to hike to the marker, we heard from aviation fans and people who love exploring the outback of Nevada in search of interesting tidbits of history. It was dedicated on JIt commemorates the Los Angeles to Amarillo segment of the Transcontinental Air Transport, an early air mail provider. The Western New Mexico Aviation Heritage Museum is a small aviation museum located at the Grants-Milan airport (KGNT) in Grants, New Mexico. Don't worry, if you get lost, the arrows will point the way. You can see lovingly-restored beacons at the National Postal Museum, or visit an original beacon site at the Aviation Heritage Museum in New Mexico, but if you want to go hunting for the giant arrows yourself, one of your best bets is to head out to the Utah desert. Thankfully, there are preservation programs like Passport in Time which aim to protect the few remaining beacon sites for those looking to experience the history of air mail for themselves.

Most of the airway lighthouses were scrapped and recycled during the war, but many of the giant arrows still sit in the desert to this day. The giant arrows worked surprisingly well, guiding pilots through every manner of rough weather, but by the time WWII rolled around, use of the radio was commonplace, rendering the giant beacons obsolete. Each arrow was placed near a 50 foot lighthouse, ensuring that pilots had a sort of cross-country runway for their midnight flights. The solution came in 1924 when the federal government funded the creation of giant concrete arrows, painted bright yellow and measuring anywhere from 50 to 70 feet in length, to be placed every ten miles across the entire country. In order to do so, and without the help of radio control towers, pilots would need a fool-proof way to navigate accross the country. Postal service decided to imporve their mail delivery by putting old World War I military planes to use for an air mail service. Postal service.īefore the days when radio was in common use, the U.S. They all point the same direction, but who put them there? Where do they lead? The answer to the mystery of America's giant arrows lies in the history of the U.S. In deserts and empty lots across America, gigantic arrows can be found crumbling in the heat. For years, intrepid adventurers have been discovering something strange way out in the middle of nowhere.

Airmail beacon map