Carmel Valley

In 1946, Byington Ford and his brother, Tirey Ford Jr., developed the Carmel Valley Village and Airway Market. By 1947, the Airway General Store, barbershop, drug store (with soda fountain), beauty shop, Stirrup Cup bar, and the Grapevine liquor store had been built. All were in walking distance of the Airpark and decorated to resemble a Mexican village.

Ford and his brother developed the Carmel Valley Airport for pilot-owners who would want to be “at home a minute or two after getting out of their planes.” His brother Tirey built a prototype hangar house off Ford Road at the west end of the airfield to serve as an example for the airborne community of the future. Following the War it became apparent that there would not be a plane in every garage, so Ford had to adjust his enterprise, combining sales to plane owners with sales to home seekers. He enjoyed a brisk trade. Only 2 true hangar houses were ever built at Carmel Valley Airport: Tirey’s (which later burned), and one other, still standing on the north side of the runway. Non-pilots bought up many of the runway Airpark sites, and to suit their many tastes Byington created ranch-house sites of 1-3 acres and envisioned hillside homes where residents could look down on incoming planes.During World War 2, it served as an alternative landing field for military planes flying out of Wastonville and King city. A clubhouse built for the Airpark later became an integral part of the Village’s Blue Sky Lodge, which is still in operation today.

The Monterey County Board of Supervisors was intent on shutting down the airport. A handful of Carmel Valley residents also aligned themselves toward the same goal. A group of local pilots and concerned citizens formed the Carmel Valley Historic Airpark Society (CVHAS) in 2000, grabbed some petitions, started talking to the neighbors and set out to fight city hall. In a fitting ironic twist, the CVHAS used one of city hall’s favorite tactics to push their cause. They turned to environmental protection, a strategy not commonly used to protect an airport.

The airport was shut down in 2000. Now the airport is used by local residents as a park and for modelers to fly remote controlled planes. The Carmel Valley Village is about 12 miles from the mouth of Carmel Valley.