Witham Field

WWII brought about a patriotic fervor that swept the nation. As such, private landowners offered their property to Martin County as space for an airport. Known initially as MacArthur Field, the airport was later renamed Witham Field in honor of Paul “Homer” Witham, the first Naval Aviator from the City of Stuart to die in WWII. The airfield was leased to the U.S. government in 1942, intending to be used as a military training field. The county was paid $800,000 for using the airport, which was then operated by the U.S. Navy (who committed $10 million to construct a modern naval air station). Known as Naval Auxiliary Air Station Witham Field, it operated as an auxiliary field to Naval Air Station Vero Beach, and it served as an additional training and proficiency center for Naval Aviators from both the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps. Finally, the war ended, and on July 1st, 1947, the base was decommissioned, with the property returned to Martin County. The next few decades saw the Grumman Aircraft Corporation (now known as Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corporation) lease most of the property as “Plant 77” in order to conduct flight testing while also manufacturing parts and subassemblies for various aircraft (which were by and large military). This lasted until 1994, at which point Northrup downsized their Whitman operation, whereby the property was again returned to the county. In turn, the county hired an Airport Director to manage the property. 
 

The airport is located one mile southeast of the central business district of the city of Stuart. 

• The Stuart Air Show is hosted at the airport every November. 
• The airport is home to two FBOs. 
• Despite not having scheduled airline service, the airport is home to over 200 private and business aircraft.