Walter Varney Airfield and United Airlines

The original airfields used for landing and taking off of aircraft were usually any flat surface they could utilize — cow fields or open pastures. These were very primitive and there was no consistency as far as specs as to what an airfield should be. In Northern California, there had been a number of successful flights by the mid-1910s from a number of landing strips scattered throughout the Peninsula.

The idea of using aircraft to transport mail was formulated by the U.S. government and the United States Postal Service initiated a search for adequate facilities to serve this need. The race was on by the major cities to come up with adequate facilities and San Francisco and Oakland was in the forefront of this search.

The Peninsula had a lot of open space that could be developed for landing the simple aircraft that was being made in the early 1900s. Lynch Field in Redwood City, between Veterans Boulevard and Broadway (near the Municipal Service Center) was purchased by Silas Christofferson in June 1916. He was to develop an airfield, a flying school and facilities to construct aircraft almost immediately. Christofferson came from Portland, Ore., and had had great success with his airplanes and had flown to an altitude record of nearly 20,000 feet. In 1914, he flew from San Francisco to San Diego. His one day-day record flight of 271 miles gained him tremendous prestige. His reputation drew numerous people to his flying school from all over the world. The school was a great success almost immediately and people from all over came to observe the flights that occurred to the northeast of downtown Redwood City by Chestnut Street. However, on Oct. 31, 1916, Silas Christofferson was killed when he went into a steep dive in his aircraft and was unable to pull out of it and the plane crashed, killing Christofferson.

The flying school continued to operate and aircraft were manufactured for a number of years. In 1920, Walter T. Varney, a local resident born in San Francisco in 1888, purchased the airfield, and it became known as Varney Field. Varney, a World War I veteran pilot, was a very determined and aggressive individual that would eventually make a name for himself in the aircraft industry. Varney took over ownership of the United Aircraft and Transportation Company and distributed flowers by air from the greenhouses in Redwood City. He later based his business, Varney Air Lines, in Boise, Idaho.

In San Francisco, there was pressure to develop an adequate airfield for commercial purposes. Better and more dependable air flight from coast to coast was needed to carry the mail. Its service had been proven in 1920, although the transfer of mail had been by a combination of air travel and train travel that occurred during the night when planes could not fly. The Army’s Crissy Field, just west of the Marina in San Francisco had been thought of as a usable field, however, the fog and weather conditions did not encourage that use. The Kelly Bill of 1924 allowed the government to contract private companies to carry the mail. On the first contracted air mail flight, April 6, 1926 Varney Air Lines flew 64 pounds of mail from the Paseo, Wash. to Elko, Nev. on the first contracted air mail flight. After this was publicized, other cities jumped in to get airmail contracts. In 1930, Varney sold Varney Airlines to United Aircraft and Transport later merged. In 1933, the company’s name was changed to United Airlines. In 1934 Walter Varney and his partner Louis Mueller started Varney Speed Lines. This became Continental Airlines.

San Francisco set out specifications for a 9000 foot runway, a meteorological station, provisions of a machine shop with proper lighting, and adequate use of gasoline and oil servicing units. The search is was on for a place that would have these specifications. The 403-acre Redwood City Varney Field met those specifications, however competition was tough and other areas were vying for this opportunity. The transportation system had improved considerably for automobile traffic down the Peninsula and roads became one of the main considerations for placing the new airfield. A site in South San Francisco was being considered along with the Mills Estate property along the Bay by San Bruno, as well as the possibility of Treasure Island shoal area ( where Treasure Island was later built), McLaren Park in San Francisco, as well as a platform suggested over the waterfront wharves in San Francisco.

Due to the distance from San Francisco, Redwood City was scratched off the list and eventually the area chosen was owned by D.O. Mills. The field was named Mills Field, later changed to San Francisco International Airport.