Columbia, SC (WLTX) -- Starting today, images of signatures from pilots who landed at Owens Field Airport in the 1930's and 40's are available online.
All thanks to a collaboration between the Richland Library and Hamilton-Owens Airport.
While one autograph may look familiar, it's another discovery that has experts on cloud nine.
When the Municipal Airport Owens Field opened in April 1930, it was a big deal. Over the 2-day period of opening exercises and air races, 15,000 people visited the airport. It's the second-oldest public use airport in South Carolina and the oldest in the Midlands.
"One of the Goodyear Blimps was on site...there was a lot of interest in aviation and Columbia's airport," said Christopher Eversmann, General Manager of Jim Hamilton-L.B. Owens Airport.
Then, November 17, 1931, Amelia Earhart would travel the nation and make a stop at Owens Field.
Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, and the first woman to fly a solo, non-stop flight across the United States.
"It was part of the Autogiro Promotional Tour, and an Autogiro was basically an early prototype helicopter," said Eversmann. "If word got out that Amelia Earhart was visiting, my guess is that we could have had a pretty good crowd here as well!""
When the Municipal Airport Owens Field opened, up until 1940, pilots who flew in would sign the airport register.
All 50 pages can now be seen online.
"In the ledger, there is Amelia Earhart's signature...There's also the signatures of many historic women aviators who landed at Owens Field Airport in the 1930's," said Debbie Bloom, Manager of the Walker Local and Family History Center at Richland Library.
The ledger shows where the aircraft came from, and where the pilots were headed.
"The plane [Earhart]'s on is a Beechnut," said Bloom. "She's coming from Greenville and going to Charlotte."
That's not all researchers found inside.
Just a few pages before Earhart's signature you can see signatures of the participants in the Woman's Dixie Derby that flew through Columbia before the race.
"We did some research about it and the Derby they say was the biggest event of Chicago Air Races," said Bloom.
The National Air Races were an annual, week-long event including formation flying, parachute drops, aerobatic displays, and races.
"Everybody knew about Amelia's signature, but these women, nobody knew about them," said Bloom. "This is new, uncovered Columbia history!"
To see the pages for yourself, click here.
To learn more about the 30-page report released on what is believed to be Earhart's last radio signals, click here.