Harris Neck Army Air Field Harris Neck Army Airfield is an abandoned military airfield located in what is now the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge , McIntosh County , Georgia . It is located north of the intersection of Route 131 and Harris Neck Airport Road , about southwest of Savannah , Georgia . History . Early years . Harris Neck is a coastal peninsula located south of Savannah , Georgia in McIntosh County . The nearest town is South Newport , six miles ( 10 km ) to the west . Originally named Dickinson ' s Neck , the peninsula was renamed when William Thomas Harris became the principal land owner in the mid 18th century . The land was deeded to a former slave in 1865 by a plantation owner . Black families settled in the area and built houses as well as oyster and crab processing factories . The original Harris Neck airfield was built sometime between 1929 - 32 . It was named " Harris Neck Intermediate Field Site # 8 " , it was an emergency airfield for commercial planes on the Richmond - Jacksonville air route . The field consisted of an irregularly - shaped sod parcel , with two sod runways 2 , 600 ' east / west & 2 , 550 ' north / south in a criss - cross pattern . The field was said to be illuminated , but to offer no services . Harris Neck airfield closed to the public on 1 January 1942 when the Civil Air Patrol began anti - submarine flights . It was evidently abandoned when in 1942 the new military airfield was built a half - mile north . There is no trace of its existence today . Building begins . In mid - 1942 , the Army Air Force decided to build a base at Harris Neck . The land was expropriated and families were given two weeks to remove themselves . At the time of transfer the black families ( who owned 1 , 102 acres ) were given $ 26 . 90 per acre and the white families ( who owned 1 , 532 acres ) were given $ 37 . 31 per acre . This included the Livingston estate which included the Lorillard mansion and a deep - water dock . Construction was started on 15 July 1942 by the United States Army Air Forces First Air Force . The original plan provided for two runways . The Army ' s decision to add a third runway required the acquisition of additional land . A detachment of men from the 855th Guard Squadron , stationed at Hunter Army Air Field occupied the Harris Neck facility on 7 December 1942 . It was activated on 28 January 1943 as an auxiliary of Dale Mabry Army Airfield in Tallahassee , Florida . In March 1943 , the Army enlarged the project to provide facilities for one dive - bomber squadron of 24 airplanes and an oversized fighter Replacement Training Unit of 36 aircraft . The increase necessitated enlarging the parking apron by . Accommodations were eventually provided for 120 officers and 400 enlisted men . Construction totaled eleven prefabricated buildings and included a 37×99 ft combination theater , a recreation building and chapel , a 20×100 ft combination service club and exchange , and a 20×60 ft office building . The three concrete runways were laid out in a triangle that enclosed 15 revetments . Livingston House , a former private residence , served as the officer ' s club . Since the closest town of any significance , Brunswick was away , one might surmise that the officer ' s club must have gotten a lot of use . Motion pictures were shown in the post theater three nights a week . Training , the navy and decay . Harris Neck AAF was used primarily for the training of fighter pilots . Numerous units would rotate through for training sessions . It was home to the single - seat Bell P - 39 Airacobra , which was replaced during February , 1944 , by the Curtiss P - 40E Kittyhawk . Known units assigned to the airfield were : A typical complement of aircraft consisted of 32 P - 40s and five BT - 13 s . In March 1944 , a Noorduyn UC - 64 , was also assigned to the airfield . Both squadrons were assigned to the 85th Fighter - Bomber Group at Waycross AAF , Georgia . The 86th FBG was inactivated at Waycross AAF and The 346th Army Air Force Base Unit ( Replacement Training Unit , Fighter ) , was activated on 1 May 1944 . Pilots receiving training were normally organized into two classes , ( an upper and a lower ) , of thirty pilots each . Synthetic training devices present included two Link trainers , two Gunairstructors , and one deflection gunnery trainer . The airfield ended its training mission and was assigned to Air Technical Service Command , becoming a sub - base of Statesboro AAF on 31 December 1944 . On 5 January 1945 , the airfield was turned over to the United States Navy and remained under its control until 1962 . It was listed as Harris Neck OLF and as a sub - base of Glynco NAS in Brunswick , Georgia . It was restricted in its military use , as it was closed to all traffic except on prior approval . In October 1946 , the War Assets Administration deeded the of the Harris Neck airbase to McIntosh County for use as a county airport . The venture was doomed before it even started . To successfully operate an airport , there must be a need . Harris Neck Airfield is in the middle of nowhere . The population of McIntosh County totaled only 5 , 200 in 1940 . During the summer of 1949 , several of the former Army buildings were discovered to have been stripped of useful equipment . Local law enforcement made several arrests . Due to county mismanagement of the land resources , Harris Neck Airport was transferred at some point to the Federal Aviation Administration . The property was then turned over to the US Bureau of Sport Fisheries & Wildlife ( forerunner of the USFWS ) in 1962 . That is presumably when the airfield was closed . The property was then declared a migratory bird refuge . The modern era . Today , there is very little left to show that the area was once an airfield . Other than the overgrown runways , taxiways , revetments , munitions bunkers and the bore sighting range , the only structure that still exists on the former military airfield is a water fountain which must have belonged to Livingston House . The area is very overgrown , access is limited by ' keep out ' signs . Former residents of the displaced community and their descendants are attempting to work out a compromise with the federal government to allow them to return to their land , without significantly disrupting the wildlife refuge .