Lakewood Park sign in Flower Mound honors airfield

Lakewood Park in Flower Mound has an aviation theme, and town officials recently had a sign installed at the park at 2601 Stillwater Court that notes the town’s history with aviation.

The sign, a replica of an original Hilliard Landing Area Airfield sign, matches the park's airplane theme, town officials said in a news release. The new sign is a replica of the sign that has hung near 1500 Long Prairie Road since the airfield was established in 1960. The park is located just a couple of minutes away from the airfield.

Other noteworthy aspects of the park, according to town information, include:

• The park was acquired through parkland dedication in 1999.
• The park was originally developed for use in February 2004.
• The park was renovated in 2020 to include a pavilion, park amenities and a new playground.

Lakewood Park is home to two plane play structures for ages 2-5 as well as a large control tower with play panels for ages 5-12, said Melissa Demmitt, communications director for the town of Flower Mound, in an email. Additionally, she said there is a colorful, poured-in-place surfacing runway. The playground features a large play area with upgraded surfacing, a pavilion that resembles an airport hanger with four picnic tables, benches with shade and trash receptacles.

The frame around the Hilliard Airfield Sign was constructed by town staff with materials on hand, and the sign was installed by town staff.

"We had to recreate the double-sided sign as the old one was too oxidized, and we couldn’t apply new lettering or graphics to it," Demmitt said.

The fabrication and installation of the sign cost around $500 and was funded through the parks and recreation department’s operations budget, Demmitt said.

“The airfield, which was built by Ernest Hilliard before Flower Mound was even an incorporated town, was once recognized by Dallas Fort Worth International Airport,” the release states. “For years after the Hilliard Airfield stopped operations, air traffic controllers at DFW [Airport] would still tell incoming aircraft to ‘take the Hilliard Approach’ as a way to tell pilots from which direction they should approach a runway. When the original sign was removed from its location in 2022. Town staff wanted to find a way to honor the Hilliards, one of Flower Mound's oldest families, and this important piece of history."

The replica was created and it was installed in April at Lakewood Park, with the original sign in good hands with a direct descendant of Ernest Hilliard himself, the release states.