Poole's Airstrip (Latch)

Closed

Poole staged parachute jumps between races in 1960

Raced: ca. 1950s-61
State: Texas
What's left: You can still spot it in aerial photos, or broken pieces of the track surface remain.
On the site today: A driveway called Airstrip Road
Raced on: An airport runway
First race: probably late 1950s
Track: 3,000 feet
Surface: Asphalt
Location: Latch, seven miles southwest of Gilmer via Latch Road
People: Myers Poole, owner and operator
Elevation: 422 ft (128 m)
Coordinates: 32.69450, -95.06765

Poultry farmer Myers Poole ran a 3,000-foot asphalt strip that served as both a drag strip and a landing strip, seven miles southwest of Gilmer out Latch Road at Latch. Drag races were held every Sunday. On June 12, 1960, Poole flew the plane while an Army paratrooper made a jump during intermission, and on July 3-4 he had ten parachutists jumping between races. Old-timers remember racing there, probably from the late 1950s. One racer passed along what his father told him: the old private airstrip is still there as a driveway, now called Airstrip Road.

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