19766 SR 117 - Golden Eagle Airport  

Today's location; it is assumed more of the property around it was in the orignial holdings

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1960 - Culver Airport Inc

Summer Resident Erecting Airport on East Shore

Gales Spending Quarter million



Ronald J. Gales, an Indianapolis buiness executive who has never owned an airplane, is building an airport at Culver .



Gales project, the Golden Eagle Airport. Will cost more than $250,000 before it is finished next fall and will include a half-mile long paved runway and an administation building, he said.

Gales, who has had a summer home on Lake Maxinkuckee 10 years is building the facility along Ind. 117 on the southeast side of the lake.

The two story administration building contains a kitchen, dinning room, lounge and six bedrooms for airport guests.

Next spring two wings will be added, one to be used as an operations center and the other for more lodging faclities.

Gales said the airport will be operated privately, but he has not yet determined the exact method.

The 2,800 foot runway has a paved 75 foot center section and the cleared width is 200 feet

Gales is president of the Ronald Gales Machine compant at 4400 west Michigan Street in Indianapolis. - Culver Citizen 12 Oct 1960

In 1962 Gales announced plans for a hotel and restaurant at the facliliy but the project was never completed.


1962 - Nov 16 - Work to Start onf Golden Eagel Structure

William F. Lee - Vedette

Three years ago a man has an ideas. Like most ideas, it had a definite pupose and a definte need behind it. This idea - relatively staganat in actual development duiring the past two years - is beginning to move again and it advantages may be felt throughout the Marshall county area

The Man is Ronald Gales, an Indianapolis businessman and the owner of a lakside home here. The idea - to provide Culver Military Academ and the Lake Maxinkuckee community with a new airport, one that will accommodate mroe and larger plasnes.

To eyes of parents and caders who have driven out Route 117 past the Maxinkuckee Country Club golf course, the only manifestation of the idea has been a freshly painted white building with a pink roof and a golden eagle perched on top. The building hass been there for several years, but the bulldozers that plowed what looked to be a runnway have been gone for some time. ALone, with no sign of lide, the building has attracted attenetion from residents and visitors who have wondered about it purpose

COntacted by the Vedette, Mrs. Gales said that her husband is beginning to work again on the development of the site for the Golden Eagle Airport. The plans calls for a new and larger airport hat will accomodate one and two enginge planes that will be able to land during the fay-time and at night. The later is a rarely accomplished on the present Academy strip, and pilots for example meeding transportation from the airport to the Academty have had to buzz the Culver twon water tower as a signal for taxki service.

Mrs. Gales said this will no lonfer be necessary once the Golden Eagle Airpport is completed. She said it is hoped ground-to-air communication will be established with personnel at the strip to give landing instrcutions. She added contracts are presently drawn to have wires put down for a lighted runway sometime before winter.

FOur buildings stand as a poart of the present plan. The main buildind is the one that has aroused interest for some time because it took shape so quicckly and then has remained virtually alone in the middle of the Indiana countryside. This building, Mrs. Gales said is to be a combimation restaurant - mitel, although the interior is not yet complete.

The three other buildings are designed to contain techincal equipment for servicing and maintaining airplanes. One is a garage and another will be made so that it can double as sleepign quarters for a pilot for a private airplane.

Mrs. Gales was unable to say exactly when further construction will begin on the airport; but indicated some progress will be made in the near future.



The building will be a combintion restaurant and motel when the plan of Indianapolis businessman Ronald Gales is completes. Located on Route 117 at the end of a tract of land connected to the Academy's air strip, the building will be the focal point of the Golden Eagle Airpoirt, designed by Mr. Gales for use by Adademy personnel, alumni, parents, guests, and other area residents. After laying idle for two years additional work is espected to begin again soon

During the mid and late 1960's and 1970's and maybe into the 1980's it stood empty most of the time.

The history according to plat maps is as follows - excepting the last four enteries which are from property cards: 1835 - A part of Aub-be-naub-ee's Reservation
1872 - W. A Curtis -160A 1876 - hard to determine possibly L. T. VanShoiak - 105A
1880 - L. T. VanShoiak - 120A
1898 - L. T. VanShoiak - 40A
1908 - Lovina Walker etal 118.50A
1922 - George and Louis VanShoiak
1929 - 1936 - G & L VanShoiak - 95.8A.
1948-1962 - Chas. Minarik 38.50A
1963 - Charles Minarik 80A.
1967 - Ron and Clara Gales 80A, 27A
1968 - Ron and Clara Gales 80A, 23.3A
1968 -1978- Ron and Clara Gales 80A, 23.3A, 7A
1979 - Donald R Muehlhausen 80A, 23.3A, 7A
1981 - Donald R Muehlhausen etal 80A, 23.3A, 7A
? 10 Mar 1987 - Donald R Muehlhausen & David Feagler

? Mar. 1987 - First National Bank of Elkhart

Mar. 1987 - May 2010 - Gerald A. & Monica M. Cox (shows on the 1995/1996 plat map

2010, May - 2016, apr. - Gerald A. Cox Sr.

2016, APR.-2017, Feb - Reverse Portage solutions, Inc.

2017, Feb-? -2024 Culver Educational Foundation, Inc.

2017 - Mar 21 - Has petition Marshall county Board of Zoning Appeals for s special use permit under the 'Bed & breakfast' category.

It is currently being remodeled and contains a kitchen, living facilities, and also sex apartments that have their own bathrooms.

It is to be used on occasion for lodging for visitors, sometimes staff; not meant to be used for permenant residence. But to be used for house employees and their spoused of the school during summer camps which run about six weeks.

A "Bed & breakfast classification is "an accessory to use a residential dwelling carried out for gain by the residents of the dwelling...up five rooms may be rented to guests, whether in the residence or some other appropriate structure on the property....Guests occupying shall not stay for more than 14 consecutive days...and breakfast shall only be provided to guests occupying rented rooms."

A vairance was granted as long as it stays six rooms total with two person occupancy and the length of stay does not exceeded eight weeks. also the workers or guests must be associated with Culver Academies.