Elko Airport

On April 6, 1926, Varney Air Lines pilot Leon Cuddeback carried one bag of mail and landed his tiny Curtiss Swallow biplane at Elko, Nevada, completing the first scheduled Air Mail run in the United States.

The single-engine 90 horsepower aircraft had taken off from Pasco, Washington, stopped in Boise, Idaho for fuel and mail, and then completed the 460-mile flight to Elko.  The Varney contract was awarded October 27, 1925, at a rate of 8  cents an ounce.  Varney sold to Boeing, which merged with United Airlines in 1931.

STATE HISTORICAL MARKER NO.  107

STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE

NORTHEASTERN HISTORICAL SOCIETY