WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio — Estabrook Road, located on Area A and running from Wright-Patterson Medical Center to Turtle Pond, honors Brig. Gen. Merrick Estabrook Jr.
Estabrook was born July 12, 1886, in Boston. He graduated from Harvard University in 1909 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. After spending years as a mine operator, he joined the Army in 1917.
During his 27-year military career, he achieved the rank of brigadier general and served as commander of both Patterson Field and Fairfield Air Depot from 1939 to 1943.
“General Estabrook commanded Patterson Field (now WPAFB Area A) and its primary tenant, the Fairfield Air Depot, during the largest expansion the base had ever — and would ever — see,” said Kevin Rusnak, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center chief historian. “New facilities for leadership, maintenance, training, support and overhaul were all built in these years.”
Some of the buildings constructed during his tenure were:
- 10 — now 88th Air Base Wing headquarters
- 70 — now home to Wright-Patt’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response team
- 146 — now Area A fire station
- 206 — now 88th Operations Support Squadron headquarters
- 219 — now Air Force Marathon Office
- 257 — now mobility bag storage
- 258 — now the U.S. Postal Service
- 262 and 262A — now Air Force Materiel Command headquarters
“Brig. Gen. Estabrook reportedly worked day and night managing all of this growth, but the pace aggravated his health conditions,” Rusnak added. “After giving all he had for four years, he was transferred to Air Service Command headquarters at Patterson Field in 1944 to relieve some of his stress, but he retired for health reasons just a few months later.”
Estabrook retired from active duty due to a disability Aug. 31, 1944. He passed away three years later on Dec. 19, 1947.