Pioneers of Aviation

— WACO Aircraft —

Clayton Brunkner was one of the founders of the WACo
Aircraft Company which relocated to Troy from Medina,
Ohio in 1923. WACO quickly became the largest commercial
builder of aircraft in the world. The original plant was on
Union St, near the train station. Final assembly and flight
took place just to the west of this site which is the present
location of the Troy Public Park and Troy Memorial
Football Stadium. Charles Lindbergh was employd by a
WACO distributor to deliver airplanes to buyers around
the US. In 1928, in order to keep WACO from moving, the
citizens of Troy purchased and gave to the company 115
acres of land. In the early 1940s, WACO produced trainers
for the Army as well as producing large troop and cargo
carrying gliders used in the June 6, 1944, D-Day landing.
WACO employed more than 2,600 workers during so-
called "Glider Years" and built nearly 1,100 military
gliders. Clayton Brukner purchased and developed the
Brukner Nature Center and also donated funds for the
Brukner Wing at Stouder Memorial Hospital. Brukner once
said "I made my money in Troy and I am going to give all of it
back." Brukner was inducted into the Troy Hall of Fame and
the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1997.

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