James Clements Memorial Airport

In 1926 the Bay City Chamber of Commerce recognized the economic benefits that could be derived from a local airport. That year the chamber decided to build one and dedicate it to Bay City men killed during World War I. The Aeronautics Committee immediately sought the financial support of industrialist William L. Clements, whose son Ensign James R. Clements had been an aviator during the war and died of influenza in France. Clements agreed to make a substantial donation, provided the facility was named in honor of his son. This site was chosen because it had served as an airfield for fifteen years. The Neo-Georgian Administration Building, designed by local architect Joseph C. Goddeyne, and the hangar were dedicated on July 29, 1930.

[Back]: From this field in 1912, Bay County’s first pilot, Lionel H. DeRemer (FAI License No. 115), flew his Wright “B” Pusher plane, the fifteenth built by Orville and Wilbur Wright. DeRemer founded one of the first flying schools in Michigan. One of his students, Henry Dora, was the first manager of the James Clements Memorial Airport, built here in 1928-30. Dora also taught flying. Early woman racing pilot Jeanette Lempke Sovereign and Dr. J. M. Jones, a physician who made house calls by plane across northern Michigan, were Dora’s students. Bay City’s first airmail delivery was made here on July 17, 1928. During World War II the airport was a training site for Michigan flyers. The airport Administration Building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.