The history of Mather Field goes back a century, taking its name from a young pilot who was among the first to train for World War I.
Carl Spencer Mather earned his pilot’s license at age 16, and when WW I broke out in 1917, Mather, then 24, enlisted as an aviation cadet and was commissioned as a second lieutenant due to his flying experience.
Sadly, Mather was killed in an air collision in January 1918, during a training exercise at Ellington Field in Texas, according to a history of the base posted on the U.S. Air Force website. Mather’s flight school classmates were subsequently stationed at a brand-new pilot training base near Sacramento, originally called Mills Field (named for nearby community Mills Station). His fellow pilots requested the base be renamed in Mather’s honor. And before spring was out, it was christened Mather Field.
The base, described by the U.S. Air Force as the best known for navigation training, was operational during WW I and II and the Cold War. Throughout de-activations and re-activations over the years, the base has kept the name of the young pilot.
Notably, after two navigation schools at Texas bases were closed in the 1960's, Mather (by then called Mather Air Force Base), was the only U.S. Air Force aerial navigation school of the Cold War era, according to the U.S.A.F.
“Mather hosted the Strategic Air Command 320th Bombardment Wing from 1958-1989,” according to the center’s history.
Mather, which sprawled over 5,845 acres, ceased operation as a military base in September 1993 in accordance with the Base Realignment and Closure Act. Sacramento County quickly acted to re-purpose the field, opening in 1995 as a Sacramento Mather Airport, specializing in cargo and general aviation.
By late 2010, Mather accommodated 54 businesses and government agencies employing more than 4,000 workers. The former bases also hosts a spacious park, 18-hole golf course and more than 1,200 homes.
Mather Field is home of the popular California Capital Airshow, and, at 11,300 feet, one of its two lighted and paved runways is among the longest in California, according to a history posted on the Sacramento County website.
More detailed information about the base's history can be found here.