The Death of Cromwell Dixon

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It was at this spot in 1911 that the tragic death of daredevil pilot Cromwell Dixon took place. Dixon was the youngest pilot in history. Days before, he became the first to fly over the Rocky Mountains in his Curtiss "Pusher" Model D series and received $10,000 in cash.

This all took place during the early years of flight. In was in 1903, just eight years earlier, that Oliver and Wilbur Wright had taken to the skies. Flying was still new and largely untested. Dixon's pilot license was number 22--in the whole country. He was only 19 years old.

On October 2, 1911, Dixon did a flying demonstration at the Interstate Fair. Almost instantly, his airplane was flipped over in a sudden crosswind. "Here I go" he was heard to cry out, as his plane broke apart and plunged towards the ground. He crashed in a railroad cut a quarter-mile from the fair.

Dixon was rushed to the nearest hospital. He died of his wounds an hour later, without regaining consciousness. Cromwell Dixion, the youngest aviator at the time, went down in history as one of the heroes who paved the way for modem flight. There is a small memorial monument near the site of the crash.