these men of French descent were raising grapes and producing wine. By the 1860s, nurseries, vineyards and winemaking had become a part of the regions' growing economy. The name - L'Ecole Nº 41 which is French for "the school" located in district number 41 - was chosen to salute these pioneer viticulture efforts.
Airfield Estates was an airplane hanger, which was built just prior to the United States entry into World War II. The Olympic Air Transport Company contacted their founder, H. Lloyd Miller, about the possibility of leasing land from him for a period of a few years in order to build an airbase to train military pilots. Lloyd, a successful realtor and landowner, knew it would be several years before the arrival of Roza irrigation water so he agreed to lease out his property.
Construction of the airbase commenced in the latter part of 1941. The buildings erected on the site included a 70-foot water tower, several airplane hangers, a mess hall, barracks, and several smaller storage buildings. Three dirt runways were also formed, each of which was over a half mile long. The pilots trained primarily on bi-winged Stearman Airplanes.
Airfield Estates now resides in an airplane hangar replica, since where the original
hangar once was, the vineyards are now. From great men to great grapes!
