Dorr Field Dorr Field is a former military airfield , located southwest of Arcadia , Florida . The airfield was one of thirty - two Air Service training camps established in 1917 after the United States entry into World War I . History . Dorr Field was named after Flying Cadet Stephen H . Dorr , Jr . , who was killed in a 17 August 1917 midair collision . Dorr enlisted in the summer of 1917 and was sent to Toronto , Ontario , Canada for training with the British Royal Flying Corps . He met his death in a flying collision World War I . In 1917 the Army announced its intention of establishing a series of camps to train prospective pilots after the United States entry into World War I . An Army survey crew was sent to Southwest Florida looking for suitable sites to build airfields , one selected was a site about 13 miles to the southwest of Arcadia , Florida . An agreement to lease the land for the Army was concluded , and the construction of some 46 buildings began 15 March 1918 . It covered over 700 acres which included fourteen hangars that housed four to eight planes each , a hospital , and six barracks that held 175 men each . Dozens of wooden buildings served as headquarters , maintenance , and officers ’ quarters . Enlisted men had to bivouac in tents . The field was opened in April 1918 and the first training squadron , the 76th Aero Squadron , which was transferred from nearly Carlstrom Field . A second squadron , the 109th Aero Squadron was also transferred from Carlstrom , and the first trainees began to arrive . Dorr Field initially acted as an overflow training field for Carlstrom , equipped with Curtiss JN - 4 Jennies . Dorr Field provided primary flight training for air cadets . In 1918 , flight training occurred in two phases : primary and advanced . Primary training took eight weeks and consisted of pilots learning basic flight skills under dual and solo instruction with a student capacity of 300 . After completion of their primary training at Mather , flight cadets were then transferred to another base for advanced training . In July 1918 , an additional three training squadrons were assigned to Dorr Field , and additonal JN - 4s to be used for flight training were shipped in wooden crates by railcar . Training units assigned to Dorr Field : With the sudden end of World War I in November 1918 , the future operational status of Dorr Field was unknown . Many local officials speculated that the U . S . government would keep the field open because of the outstanding combat record established by Dorr - trained pilots in Europe . Locals also pointed to the optimal weather conditions in the Southwest Florida area for flight training . Cadets in flight training on 11 November 1918 were allowed to complete their training , however no new cadets were assigned to the base . Also the separate training squadrons were consolidated into a single Flying School detachment , as many of the personnel assigned were being demobilized . However , Dorr Field was ordered to phase down all activities at the base in accordance with sharply reduced military budgets . and flight training activities ceased in November , 1919 . Thereafter the field was placed in a dormant state , and a small caretaker unit was assigned to the facility for administrative reasons . World War II . In January 1920 primary pilot instruction resumed on a small scale at Carlstrom Field with the opening of the Air Service Pilots ' School . Training in primary flying took place at both Carlstrom and Dorr Fields . However , the administrative difficulties of the Air Service training about 200 flying cadets concurrently at such widely separated locations in Texas , California and Florida prompted a decision in 1923 to centralize all flying training in San Antonio , Texas . The War Department ordered that Dorr Field be dismantled and all remaining structures be sold as surplus . During the remainder 1920s and 1930s , the War Department leased out the vacant land to local farmers and ranchers . However , with the sudden need for pilots as part of the buildup of the Army Air Corps in 1941 , Dorr Field was reactivated on 4 October as one of at least 5 satellite airfields used to support flight training operations as a sub - base of Carlstrom Field . Assigned to the USAAF East Coast Training Center ( later Central Eastern Training Command ) as a primary ( level 1 ) pilot training airfield . Operated by Embry - Riddle Corporation under 54th Flying Training Detachment primarily as a training airfield for Royal Air Force flying cadets . Flying training was performed with Fairchild PT - 19 s as the primary trainer . Also had several PT - 17 Stearman s and a few P - 40 Warhawk s assigned . Inactivated 16 October 1944 with the drawdown of AAFTC ' s pilot training program and was declared surplus and turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers . Eventually discharged to the War Assets Administration ( WAA ) . Civil use . Dorr FIeld was subsequently sold to Desoto County and was redeveloped as a county prison . Today only some large concrete pads that were the floors of the World War II hangars remain , although a few small wartime buildings may still be in use by the prison . It is not open to the general public .