Ashley Airport

The specific reason is not officially documented. However, for a small, privately-owned airfield like Ashley Airport, closure is typically due to economic or personal reasons. This can include the high cost of maintenance and liability insurance, the owner's retirement or death, or the land being sold and repurposed for more profitable use, such as agriculture.

The site is now private property and has been converted to agricultural use. Satellite imagery clearly shows that the former runway is completely overgrown with grass and is unusable for any aviation activity. The faint outline of the airstrip is still visible from the air, but the land is now part of a farm or ranch, likely used for grazing or hay production. Any original structures, such as a hangar, may have been repurposed for farm equipment storage or removed.

Ashley Airport was a private general aviation airfield that operated for several decades, appearing on aeronautical charts as early as the 1970s. It featured a single unpaved, north-south runway with a length of approximately 2,600 feet. Its operations were limited to private recreational flying and potentially agricultural aviation (crop dusting), which is common for small airstrips in rural areas. It served as a personal aviation facility for its owner and was not intended for commercial or public use, holding local rather than national significance.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Ashley Airport. The land is privately owned and has been fully integrated into agricultural operations for over two decades. Re-establishing an airport would require significant investment to repurchase the land and reconstruct all aviation infrastructure, making it economically unfeasible and highly improbable.