Transportation was an integral part of the Goleta Valley. The Southern Pacific Railroad reached Goleta in 1887 where the rails ended at a turntable in the Ellwood area. The route was completed in 1901 through to San Francisco. An airport was begun at Hollister and Fairview Avenues in 1928. Hangars were added in 1932 and United Airlines service began in 1936. WWII saw the airport vastly improved with Navy funds and the establishment of the Marine's Flying Leatherneck base. Crews were trained on Corsairs and posted to the Pacific Theatre. Construction of the base led to the elimination of the Chumash villages on and around Mescaltitlan Island. At the end of the war in 1946, the airport was turned over to the City of Santa Barbara and later annexed to that city as their airport. Other parts of the Marine base were turned over to the University of California in Santa Barbara and became their new campus in the Goleta Valley.