“Aviator” is a part of the Capitol Avenue Bronze public art collection . . donated to the City of Cheyenne by private individuals, organizations or companies. For more information about the Capitol Avenue Bronze Project, visit Deselms Fine Art at https://deselmsfineart.com

Aviator is sponsored by Ed Murray, III, and Catherine “Caren” Murray to honor Ed’s grandfather, Edward F Murray, Sr., and great uncle, James P. “Jimmy” Murray, who were among the first ever U.S. Airmail pilots. The Murray brothers were based in Cheyenne at the dawn of transcontinental airmail service and are part of Cheyenne’s unique aviation history.

Prior to using airplanes to transport mail in 1920, postage from one coast to the other was delivered via the transcontinental railroad; and prior thereto, by way of the Pony Express. Following the Civil War, the transcontinental railroad was constructed between 1863 and 1869 along a route through the Rocky Mountains that had the easiest grades. The chosen route crossed southern Wyoming with a depot in Cheyenne, which became an important division point in the Union Pacific Railroad system.

Following the end of World War I in 1918, the U.S. Army Air Service conducted the Transcontinental Reliability Test, which demonstrated that airplanes of the day could fly across the entire continent totaling 2701 statute miles with control stops located at average intervals of 130 miles. Based on the results of the Reliability Test, the U.S. Postal Service established the first transcontinental airmail service in 1920. Importantly, the route for the transcontinental airmail followed the Union Pacific’s railroad tracks between Nebraska and California because early aircraft had no sophisticated navigational devices. Aviation was still in its infancy, (the Wright brothers first flight was in 1903) so pilots flew by sight in their open cockpit biplanes wearing full body leathers and goggles “following the iron compass” and other landmarks.

Once again, Cheyenne had become an important station; previously for the railroad, and now for the fledging aviation industry. The City of Cheyenne, Laramie County, and the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce donated land and provided funding to construct facilities to support the airmail service. Thereafter, the aviation personnel and pilots and their young families arrived. So, while it was the railroad and “iron compass” which brought aviation to Wyoming, it was aviation which brought the Murray brothers to Cheyenne. Pilots, Edward and Jimmy Murray, together with another brother, Lawrence Murray, an airplane mechanic, all made Cheyenne their home.

The Murray brothers and all the early airmail pilots were daring adventurers who initially flew only during daylight hours. Later, airmail pilots were able to fly at night due to the installation of a series of beacons and marking lights along the route. These early air mail pilots were called ‘Cowboys of the Sky” for their grit and tenacity. And just like the cowboys in the arena – they experience numerous wrecks and crashes. Jimmy Murray flew the first airmail plane into Cheyenne on September 8, 1920. Six weeks later, on October 20, 1920, Jimmy crashed his airplane near Sand Lake, in the Snowy Range. Fortunately, he was not injured. The following day, he hiked 17 miles to Arlington, Wyoming, where he was found by rescuers.

After their airmail service was completed, Jimmy Murray studied law and was admitted to the Wyoming State Bar in 1927. He later became Vice-President of Boeing Corporation and worked in Washington D.C. as a lobbyist. Edward F. Murray, Sr. remained in Cheyenne and founded one of Wyoming’s preeminent insurance agencies, Ed Murray & Sons.

The sculpture is a scale model of a larger sculpture completed by Lundeen in 1982 to honor the memory of Elrey Borge Jeppesen (1907 – 1996) who “was an American aviation pioneer noted for his contributions in the field of air navigation. He worked as a pilot and began making detailed notes about his routes at a time when aviators had to rely on little more than automobile road maps and landmarks for navigation.” Jeppesen was also an airmail pilot, but his service was performed for Boeing Corporation after the U.S. Postal Service began contracting with private carriers to transport airmail.

To learn more about the Capitol Avenue Bronze Project, visit this link . For more information about each artist, sponsoring a bronze, or becoming a donor/supporter at any level, please contact Harvey Deselms at Deselms Fine Art, located at 303 E. 17th Street Cheyenne. Email is [email protected] or call at 307 432 0606