One of America's few surviving all-wood WWII military hangars — and northwest Arkansas's most continuously documented haunted site.
4290 S School Ave, Fayetteville, AR 72701
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
General admission fee — see website for current pricing.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Large hangar floor with aircraft on display; relatively flat and accessible
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1943 · WWII Military Aviation · All-Wood Wartime Hangar · Drake Field History · Arkansas Register of Historic Places · Military Training History
Drake Field in Fayetteville served as a World War II military aviation training post beginning in 1942 and 1943. The wooden hangar at what is now 4290 South School Avenue was built in 1943 to support that training mission, constructed using the wartime design approach that favored timber framing when steel was needed elsewhere for the war effort. The hangar became the headquarters building for the installation.
After the war, Drake Field was converted to civilian aviation use and continued operating as a regional airport for Fayetteville for several decades. The wooden hangar survived the airport's eventual closure and transfer functions. The Arkansas Air & Military Museum was established in the structure, which Wikipedia documents as being listed on the Arkansas Register of Historic Places in recognition of its historical significance and its rarity as a surviving example of all-wood WWII military construction.
The museum's collection ranges from World War I through modern military aviation. The museum's own site documents Drake Field's history as a training post and the hangar's construction year. The Fayetteville Experience tourism office has cited the museum as one of the most continuously haunted sites in northwest Arkansas, a designation that distinguishes it from more atmospheric claims and suggests a pattern of documented accounts over time.
Sources
The official Experience Fayetteville tourism site — the city's destination marketing organization — documents the Arkansas Air & Military Museum as one of the most continuously haunted places in northwest Arkansas. The phrasing 'continuously haunted' suggests a pattern of consistent, recurring accounts rather than a single incident or a one-time investigation.
The primary entity described in accounts is a male spirit believed to be a WWII aviator. The library at the rear of the hangar is the location most consistently associated with his appearances. The connection to a wartime aviator is logical given the hangar's history as a WWII training post, though no specific individual has been identified by name in the documented sources.
The nature of the hauntings described — visual encounters in a specific room, an identifiable presence — places this museum in a different category than most. The paranormal reputation appears to have accumulated through staff encounters and visitor reports over years of operation rather than through a single high-profile event or investigation. No television program or investigation team has been documented at this site in the sources reviewed.
Notable Entities
Explore the all-wood WWII-era hangar built in 1943 at Drake Field, Fayetteville's wartime aviation training post. The museum houses aircraft from WWI through the present. The library area at the rear of the hangar is documented as the most active location for paranormal encounters — where a male spirit believed to be a WWII aviator is most often seen.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Fayetteville, AR
The Washington County Courthouse in Fayetteville was the seat of capital justice for the region in the late 19th century, with death sentences handed down inside and public hangings carried out on the courthouse grounds. The building's Wikipedia entry documents its history as a significant civic structure in Fayetteville.
Van Buren, AR
The Crawford County Courthouse in Van Buren dates its original section to 1842, making it a candidate for the oldest courthouse in continuous active use west of the Mississippi River. Arsonists gutted the building in 1877 during a bitter county-seat dispute, but it was rebuilt within the surviving original walls. The Civil War left its mark on the structure as well — the building was used as a military post during the conflict.
Hot Springs, AR
Operating since 2008 in downtown Hot Springs, the Gangster Museum of America documents the city's four-decade role as an 'open city' — a protected retreat for organized crime figures from the 1920s through the early 1960s, where local and state authorities permitted gambling, prostitution, and mob operations in exchange for a share of the proceeds.