The Slade Airport was named for local businessman Fredrick C. Slade and operated until the late 1960s. The runway cuts through what is now The Woodlands and Winsor Manor, near Rock Lake Middle School. Slade Road today is nearby, betraying the former owner of this swath of land that is now numerous different subdivisions. Slade’s former house is in the historic district.
The airport was constructed in the 1940s and operated until 1968. At one time it was fairly busy, reportedly servicing 1,000 planes a year. It serviced mostly hobbyists and wealthy tourists.
Fredrick Charles Slade moved to Longwood in 1920. He was involved in a sawmill, boat building and other enterprises around town. Died in 1951. His wife Eleanor/Ella lived in Longwood until 1952. They had a son named Harry Fredrick Slade, who died in 1951 in Longwood. Their grandson, Fredrick E. Slade, operated the airport and Slade Ranch before it was sold off piece by piece for development in 1971.