1948-1963
In the time after World War II, proposals for using the land were numerous. The Commonwealth announced in 1948 that it would build a hospital on the site. For years, Virginia was concerned about the overcrowding it was suffering in the hospitals for Blacks (as hospitals in Virginia at the time were segregated). Political wrangling followed, however, and by 1955 all that had been accomplished was the development of the infrastructure of the land. A water tower and sewage treatment facility had been completed, along with several miles of roadwork, complete with gutters, curbs, and fire hydrants. In March 1956, the entire project was scrapped, and the proposed hospital was started at a different site. In 1960, the State Hospital Board attempted to sell the land and its timber resources. A series of bids for the land were rejected as being too low, the last coming in 1963. That failed bid would be the last time that Elko Tract was mentioned in local media for several decades.
A 1955 approach plate for the real airport displays Elko as a "Dummy Airfield (For Bombing Practice Only)." This is the only mention made of bombing practice at the airfield (see External Links below).
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