Camp McQuaide

Camp McQuaide is a former United States Army camp located near the city of Watsonville in Santa Cruz County, California, USA. After it was closed, it redeveloped into the Monterey Bay Academy and the airfield was reopened as the Monterey Bay Academy Airport.

Camp McQuaide
Camp McQuaide is located in California
Camp McQuaide
Location of Camp McQuaide in California
LocationWatsonville, California
Coordinates36°54′36″N 121°50′16″W
Area664 acres
Built1938
ArchitectUS Army

History

In 1926, the 250th Coast Artillery Regiment[1] moved from Santa Cruz, California, to an area just east of the town of Capitola. Its camp was named for Major Joseph P. McQuaide, who was born in 1867 and graduated from Santa Clara University. He served as Chaplain of the California National Guard in the Spanish–American War and World War I, and died March 29, 1924. By 1938, noise from target practice annoyed Capitola residents, so a more remote place was found.[2] 379 acres (1.53 km2) were purchased farther south, on coastal farmland near the town of Watsonville. The Works Progress Administration built San Andreas road to the new site.[3][4]

It became the training center of what was then the 250th Coast Artillery regiment. In September 1940, the regiment was called up for duty in Alaska. During World War II it returned for training in 1944, and then was deployed in Italy. The camp was used as a stockade for army deserters. The camp housed 2,000 military prisoners of war during the war.[5] After the end of the war, in 1948, it was converted to the private boarding school Monterey Bay Academy.[6]

Capitola Airport

The Capitola Airport also called the Santa Cruz-Capitola Airport was opened in the 1920s with two unpaved runways. In the 1930s a third runway was added, the airport had two 2,500 foot runways and one 1,600 foot runway with a hangar at the north end of the airport. The US Army took over the landing strip during World War 2. The small aircraft landing strip was used so airplanes could drop targets into the ocean. After the war it returned to private use and was closed in 1954 by its owners Russell & Ester Rice. Most of the planes moved to the Santa Cruz Sky Park (SRU), in Scotts Valley, California, that closed in January 1983. Nothing of the Capitola Airport remains. The land is now housing.[7]

See also

References
  1. "Historic California Posts: Camp McQuaide". The California Military Museum. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  2. "The 63rd Coast Artillery and Camp McQuaide" (PDF). Capitola Sunsets, newsletter of the Capitola Museum. September 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 23, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  3. Sarah Weston (August 8, 2006). "A Brief Look Back at Camp McQuaide: Moving from Capitola to La Selva Beach, National Guard Maintained Artillery Ranges for 40 Years". The Mid-county Post. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  4. militarymuseum.org, Camp McQuaide
  5. "Historic California Posts: Camp McQuaide". The California Military Museum. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  6. "Monterey Bay Academy Beginnings". MBA web site. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  7. Santa Cruz-Capitola Airport
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