About Us

It all started when…

John King, born in 1875 in Detroit as John H. Kunsky, was a self-made entrepreneur and theatre-magnate who owned and operated twenty-eight movie theaters in Michigan during the 1920s and 1930s. King initially wanted to develop an entertainment destination in Watersmeet, Michigan, not far from Land O' Lakes, but purchased a small cafe and gas station at the intersection of State Highway 45 and County Highway B, just east of the Town of Land O' Lakes in 1936, after passing through the community. He proceeded to construct the Gateway Inn and Lodge and many associated properties, including the airport, over the following few years. 

King constructed an airfield with a main paved runway, taxiway, a cross grass runway, and associated buildings in 1939 to the south of his resort properties. Aerial photography from 1938 shows a wide and clear area south of the Gateway Lodge, which was under construction at the time. Previously, the level land of the current airport site was occasionally used by pilots as an alternative to the first airport in the region, established in 1931 near Black Oak Lake northwest of Land O' Lakes. Both of these runways were simply grass. Used as a private airfield associated with the Gateway Resort, airplanes would taxi upon arrival right to the lodge building. During World War II, the airport was periodically used as a military training facility.

The main airport runway was extended 500 feet and repaved in 1953 to allow DC-3 commercial aircraft, owned and operated by North-Central Airline, to use the airport seasonally, bringing tourists to the Gateway resort and the Northwoods. Land O' Lakes was the smallest town in the country to be served by commercial flights in 1954. King's Gateway Airport, as it was known in the 1940s and 1950s, was privately owned by John King until his death. In 1954, it was donated by his widow, Sarah (Sug) DeMers, tot he Town of Land O' Lakes. The Federal Aviation Administration would not allow commercial flights to land at private airfields, so to maintain and improve tourist flights to the area, the airport was donated and developed by the town. It has since been known as Land O' Lakes Municipal Airport. During this time, the original rustic style airport building was moved to the north side of County Highway B to the north of the airport and used as the Gateway Golf Course clubhouse, which is still extant. A small shack replaced the airport building, for use as a public airport, the same year.

In 1963, the Land O' Lakes town board approved the construction of a new administration building for the airport to accommodate the passenger trade along with additional private hangars, which remain presently. Seasonal flights from Chicago by North-Central Airline, ceased in 1965 as the runway could no longer be expanded to accommodate the airline's new turboprop aircraft. Airborne tourism to the area declined considerably. In 1994, the airport received federal funding for improvements and repairs, which included resurfacing and an expansion that would allow small jet aircraft to land. The runway and associated paved taxiways and strips have been repaired, repaved, and added on to repeatedly since the airport was completed.

THIS HISTORY WAS GATHERD BY https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/

There is so much more we want to share! Stay tuned for more details of how we got here and where we are today!

Want to get up north? No place to store your Aircraft? Here at Land O Lakes we have 9 hangar sites available for lease. Call or stop in to see how you could become part of the LNL family. From time to time we also have existing hangars that go up for sale, but they do go quick, if you are considering building, I hope you consider Land O Lakes.