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Dakota Datebook

July 3: Chester Jacobson: Aviation Pioneer

By Grace Kaiser
Published July 3, 2026 at 5:00 AM CDT
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Aviator Chester Jacobson was one of North Dakota’s earliest flyers who earned himself the reputation of a daredevil. Jacobson would often give aerial demonstrations where he would perform barrel rolls, tailspins, and other aerobatic maneuvers that made him one of North Dakota’s early aviation celebrities.

Born in 1890 to a Ward County pioneer family, Jacobson attended Minot high school and then later attended the Shattuck Military school in Faribault, Minnesota. His aviation career began in 1917 when he volunteered in the army air corps and trained in San Diego. He was later stationed at Mather Field in Sacramento, California, where he was employed as a flying instructor teaching gunnery and acrobatic techniques to new recruits. During the war, Jacobson also had the task of mapping out aerial routes between San Francisco and Portland. He and his wife, Mae, resided in San Diego until the end of the war.

After the end of World War I, Jacobson turned his attention to civilian aviation. In June of 1919, he travelled to New York to purchase parts for a new Curtis airplane, spending around $5,000 to assemble the plane in Minot. On this date in 1919, the investment paid off during the city’s welcome home celebrations for WWI soldiers and the 4th of July, where he performed six aerial exhibitions and offered passenger flights for $15 per half-hour and entertained spectators with loops, spins, and other daring stunts.

Jacobson’s aviation career continued. He would often perform for crowds all across North Dakota, as well as flying airmail and passenger routes for short periods of time. He even had the honor of flying his plane to welcome Woodrow Wilson’s train while the president was making a visit to North Dakota in September of 1919.

Jacobson would also serve as deputy sheriff and sheriff of Ward County, where he would often employ the use of his plane in his official duties. He also established the first registered airport in North Dakota, which is no longer in use, west of Minot. A pioneer of aviation in the state, Jacobson remained active in the field until his death in 1950.

Dakota Datebook by Grace Kaiser

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Grace Kaiser
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Dakota Datebook is made in partnership with the State Historical Society of North Dakota, and funded by Humanities North Dakota, a nonprofit, independent state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the program do not necessarily reflect those of Humanities North Dakota or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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