Matson Field

The closure was a direct result of the death of its owner. Matson Field was a private airport owned and operated by Dale L. Matson. Mr. Matson passed away on December 21, 2010. Following his death, the family likely had no means or desire to continue operating the private airfield, leading to its official closure with the FAA four months later. This is a common reason for the closure of small, privately-owned airstrips.

The site is currently private agricultural and residential land. Satellite imagery of the coordinates shows the farmstead, including a house and outbuildings, remains. The faint outline of the former north-south grass runway is still visible as a mowed strip of land, but it is no longer maintained or marked as an active runway. The land has been fully reverted to private farm use.

Matson Field was a classic example of a small, private general aviation airport. Its significance was not national or military, but local. It served as a personal airfield for its owner and likely a small community of local pilots who used it for recreational flying. According to FAA records from just before its closure, the airport featured a single turf runway designated 18/36, with dimensions of 2400 x 100 feet. It supported light, single-engine aircraft typical of general aviation, contributing to the local aviation culture in the Spring Valley area.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Matson Field. Given that it was a private facility, its closure was tied to its owner, and the land has been absorbed back into a private farm, the likelihood of it ever being re-certified and reopened as an airport is virtually zero.