A flight with Cornelia Clark Fort

By Charlotte Fontaine NASHVILLE, TN — Cornelia Fort Airpark is a fairly popular spot for picnics, walks, biking, and relaxing on a pretty spring or summer day. Located towards East Nashville, the sprawling former runways work nicely as exercise paths creating a friendly environment where one is bound to circle around the same few faces on their rounds. With it being Women’s History Month, today we’ll look deeper into the park’s namesake, pilot Cornelia Fort.& Cornelia Clark Fort was born February 5, 1919 to a distinguished family in Nashville, Tennessee with a deep familial history in Robertson County. She was the daughter of Rufus Elijah Fort, a surgeon who was also a founder of National Life and Accident Insurance Company, and Louise Clark. Cornelia received a top knotch education any female Nashvillian of the era would be envious of, receiving a high school certificate from the now-defunct women’s college Ward–Belmont College (whose campus is now Belmont University). She also received a two-year diploma from Sarah Lawrence College in New York. One of five siblings, Fort’s three brothers were ironically told not to fly by their father because it was too dangerous. Fort was determined to achieve her goal of being...