Witham Field

Witham Field is a public-use airport located 1mi southeast of the central business district of the city of Stuart in Martin County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned.HistoryWith the onset of World War II, patriotic private landowners offered their property to Martin County to build an airport. Martin County's airport was originally known as MacArthur Field, however, it was later named Witham Field in honor of Paul "Homer" Witham, who was the first Naval Aviator from the City of Stuart to die in World War II.In October 1942, Martin County leased the 900acre airport to the U.S. Government for use as a military training field. The U.S. Navy assumed operation of the airport in exchange for an $800,000 payment to the County. The Navy then committed $10 million to construct and operate a modern naval air station. During the war years, Naval Auxiliary Air Station Witham Field operated as an auxiliary field to Naval Air Station Vero Beach, providing an additional training and proficiency facility for Naval Aviators from the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps operating carrier-based and land-based fighter and light bomber aircraft.