Briggs Brothers Airfield

As a private-use airfield owned by the Briggs family, the closure was not due to a public event like a military conversion or a major accident. The most probable reasons are related to the private owners, such as retirement from flying, the sale of the property, the passing of the original aviators, or the increasing cost and liability associated with maintaining a registered airfield.

The site remains private property and is part of a larger agricultural landscape. Satellite imagery of the coordinates (42.423599, -90.504303) clearly shows the well-defined outline of a grass runway running northwest to southeast. The strip appears to be mowed and maintained, but it is not an officially active or registered airport. The land is primarily used for farming.

Briggs Brothers Airfield was a classic example of a private American farm strip. Its primary purpose was to serve the personal, recreational, and potentially agricultural (e.g., crop dusting, farm transport) needs of its owners. Its significance is not in major commercial or military operations, but in representing the grassroots general aviation culture prevalent in the rural United States during the mid-to-late 20th century, where farmers and landowners often maintained their own runways for personal aircraft.

There are no known public plans or prospects for Briggs Brothers Airfield to reopen as an officially registered airport. As it is on private land, any future use for aviation would be at the sole discretion of the current landowners and would require re-registration with the FAA, which is highly unlikely.