Tootle Airport

While no single official reason is documented, the closure is characteristic of many small, privately-owned airfields. The most likely cause is economic, stemming from factors such as the high cost of maintenance, insurance liability, a change in land ownership, or the owner no longer having a use for it. Its function was also made redundant by the nearby public-use Reidsville Municipal Airport (KRVJ). There is no evidence it was closed due to a specific accident or for military conversion.

The airport is abandoned and completely unusable for aviation. Satellite imagery shows the faint but clear outline of the north-south runway. The pavement is severely cracked, weathered, and overgrown with vegetation. The southern portion of the runway has been permanently bisected by the construction of a public road, Optimist Road. The surrounding property appears to be used for agricultural or light industrial purposes, and the runway itself is slowly being reclaimed by nature.

Tootle Airport was a private general aviation airfield that served the local community for approximately four decades. It was not depicted on charts in the 1940s or early 1950s, with its first known appearance being on the 1956 Savannah Sectional Chart, which listed it with a 2,600-foot unpaved runway. By the mid-1960s, the airport had been significantly upgraded with a 3,200-foot paved asphalt runway (designated 17/35). It primarily handled light, single-engine private aircraft, supporting local pilots and agricultural operations in Tattnall County before its eventual closure.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Tootle Airport. The physical state of the runway is beyond simple repair, and the construction of a road across its southern end presents a permanent obstruction. Given the existence of the well-maintained public Reidsville Municipal Airport just a few miles away, there is no practical or economic incentive to restore this former private field.