A Brief History

This Spartan rebuild is worthy of the same respect it garnered in 1946. Spartan trailers were so well built than a fair number of the 40,000 units built have survived decades of neglect, elements, and scrap yards; but this trailer from their first year of production is a very special part of our park.

The Spartan Aircraft Company was founded in 1928 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. J.P. Getty (yes, that Getty) acquired the company in the late 1930’s and invested heavily in research and development. When the US got involved in World War II, Getty went to enlist, but was told his efforts would be better served operating the manufacturing plant to supply airplanes and parts for the war. After WWII Spartan used its skilled labor force and manufacturing abilities to create the legendary Spartan Executive; a five seat plane with unparalleled luxury, speed, and flight range for the extremely wealthy. In 1945 Spartan changed focus to a like-industry, travel trailers, and did so with the same cutting edge building techniques and lavishness one would expect.