June 22, 1928
Charles Lindbergh made an unplanned landing at Coxton Field in Duryea. The famed pilot made the stop because of heavy fog in the area of the junction of the Lackawanna and Susquehanna rivers. He was traveling back to New York City from Detroit.
He circled Duryea for a bit and landed the plane in the center of Coxton Field without trouble.
His landing spread like wildfire throughout the Lackawanna and Wyoming valleys. Hundreds descended on the field to catch a glimpse of the famed pilot and his plane.
After a quick visit to nearby Lehigh Valley Railroad roundhouse, Lindbergh returned to his aircraft with a few employees of the shops to help secure the plane with ropes and stakes.
He then went to the Railroad YMCA located at the railyards for dinner. While dining with railroad employees Edward Houser and F.W. Davis, Lindbergh was offered a room for the night, which he quickly accepted.
After dinner, he was given a tour of the roundhouse by the building’s assistant superintendent, Frank Dessoye. While on the tour, Dessoye asked Lindbergh if he would like to drive one of the locomotives. Lindbergh answered, “I sure would.”
Just after 11p.m., an express train stopped at the Coxton Yards, and Lindbergh hopped in the cab with engineer Martin Miller. Lindbergh drove the locomotive from the yards to Mountain Top.
The next morning at 5:46, Lindbergh took off for New York from Coxton Field. But he had to turn back due to heavy fog over the Pocono Mountains. Once back at the field, he was treated to a luncheon hosted by officials of the Lehigh Valley Railroad at the Railroad YMCA.
Following the lunch, he took off again for New York at 1:21p.m. He arrived at Curtiss Field on Long Island, New York, at 4:55p.m.
Brian Fulton has been the librarian at The Times-Tribune for the past 15 years. On his blog, Historically Hip, he writes about the great concerts, plays/musicals and celebrity happenings that have taken place throughout NEPA. He is also the co-host of the local history podcast, Historically Hip. He competed and was crowned grand champion on an episode of NPR quiz show “Ask Me Another.” Contact: bfulton@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9140; or @TTPagesPast
