Municipal Airport (KGEZ)

The origins of the Shelbyville Municipal Airport trace back to the early days of American aviation. In the 1930s, the area served as an emergency landing field for airmail pilots. One of its most notable historic features is the preserved concrete arrow—part of a national network used to guide early aviators across the country.

In 1918, when airmail service first launched, pilots flew without modern navigational tools, often resulting in delays and hazards. To improve this, the U.S. Post Office began installing 50-foot lighted beacons. By 1927, the system was enhanced with 70-foot-long concrete arrows on the ground—simple but effective tools that helped pilots follow specific routes during daylight hours. One such route, the Transcontinental Airway, stretched from New York to San Francisco. Shelbyville’s arrow supported the Cincinnati-to-Chicago corridor.

As technology improved, this guidance system was phased out. Towers were dismantled for wartime metal, and many arrows were lost to erosion or development. Shelbyville’s arrow remains a rare and meaningful tribute to aviation history.