Bamberg County Airport Airfield Dedicated as Tobul Field in March 2022

Bamberg County’s lone general aviation airport now bears a name meant to cement decades of local investment and keep a small but vital transportation link open to residents and businesses. The county dedicated the airport’s airfield as Tobul Field on March 22, 2022, honoring Joseph “Joe” Tobul for his role in developing and sustaining airport facilities and supporting local economic activity.

The airport, FAA LID 99N, sits on 94 acres about 5 nautical miles (roughly 9.3 kilometres) west of downtown Bamberg. The field includes a single asphalt runway, designated 05/23, measuring 3,603 feet by 60 feet, at an elevation of 231 feet above mean sea level. Published facility notes list non-precision runway lighting, a white-green rotating beacon and precision approach path indicators (PAPI) for both runway directions, along with pilot amenities such as tiedowns, self-service 100LL fuel and hangar leasing opportunities. The field was officially activated in October 1982 and continues to serve private aviation, business access and occasional public-service flights.

Activity at the field has grown from a handful of movements in earlier years to roughly 700 aircraft operations in the 12-month reporting period ending July 29, 2020, an average of about two flights per day under that reporting window. County materials note the airport was averaging about three operations per day in 2021 and that the 700 operations represented a large increase over 2015 totals. As of the FAA reporting period tied to those figures, three single-engine aircraft were based at the airport.

The March 22 dedication ran from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and drew several hundred people, including state and local officials. County Administrator Joey R. Preston, who officiated the ceremony, said, “Ultimately, it was his leadership and his influence through the many years in maintaining airport facilities that contributed to the airport’s success.” Preston also noted, “Joe Tobul and especially his son, Jim, also played a significant role in restoring and preserving several World War ll aircraft.” Bamberg County Council Chairman Spencer Donaldson added, “It’s exciting to see all the improvements and the growing interest in our county airport… of course, all of this would not be possible without the many decades of investment the Tobul family made into our airport and into our community, providing great employment opportunities for residents at Tobul Accumulators. It’s only fitting that we dedicate our airfield in their honor.”

Officials presented the Tobul family with a signed resolution and framed copies of the airport’s original construction documents and current master plan. Maj. Gen. Van McCarty of the South Carolina Military Department presented Jim Tobul with a flight jacket and a Bamberg County Airport challenge coin, and a monument honoring Joseph “Joe” Tobul was unveiled. Photographs from the event show a restored F4U-4 Corsair on the taxiway and the Tobul family receiving honors inside a hangar.

For Bamberg County residents, the dedication ties a familiar name to a public asset that supports local jobs, business access and emergency or public-service aviation when needed. County officials say airport use has increased and the field remains an anchor for modest economic activity; the new Tobul Field monument formalizes that role while preserving the airfield as a piece of local infrastructure and community memory.