Although Bowman Field became an airport in May 1920 with the incorporation of the Bowman-Gast Aero Company, Louisville was no stranger to the airplane. It was Glenn Curtiss who brought the first airplane to the city with flights at Churchill Downs during June 1910. Following that, there was usually an airplane event each year at the state fair or local amusement park. During World War I airplanes were seen flying in and out of Camp Zachery Taylor. After the war the availability of surplus military planes for sale to the public opened the age of the Barnstormer creating a need for local airports. It was Bowman Field that took the city into the age of aviation. Bowman Field’s first decade was significant in that it went from a private airport to an Army Airdrome and on to a municipal airport. This period also opened commercial development with the opening of flying services and paved the way for the future. This talk will discuss the historical side of Bowman Field’s nearly 100 year history. It will cover the beginning of air mail and the arrival of the airlines and finish with Bowman Field during World War II. Charlie Arrington is a lifelong Louisville resident and a retired middle school teacher who has a long time fascination with aviation history. Over the years he has given numerous talks on local aviation history and in 2007, he co-authored a book with Garry Nokes on the aviation history of Indiana’s Clark and Floyd Counties titled, Wings Over The Falls: A Century of Aviation in Southern Indiana. Last year his book on Bowman Field was released by Arcadia Books as part of their Images of Aviation series.