The plan was to build the airfield with local funds and money supplied by the CAA and the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

However, the local governments had to acquire several parcels of land under private ownership, which were long held by the families which owned them for generations.

Engineers were surveying out the site, water wells were dug and preparations were underway to build a railroad spur to the facility.

Grading for the runways and site preparation for the support station began in June and by the end of October 1942, most of the major construction was completed.

Also four auxiliary airfields were established for support airfields[citation needed]: Construction of a station facility consisted of a large number of buildings based on standardized plans and architectural drawings, with the buildings designed to be the "cheapest, temporary character with structural stability only sufficient to meet the needs of the service which the structure is intended to fulfill during the period of its contemplated war use" was underway.

The station was designed to be nearly self-sufficient, with not only hangars, but barracks, warehouses, hospitals, dental clinics, dining halls, and maintenance shops were needed.

[citation needed] Many residents of Scotland County worked in civilian capacities at the base, which provided them with a secure source of income.

Visits by high-ranking Army and Air Force officers were common at the base, which meant parades and troops passing in review drills were frequent.

Generals Dwight D. Eisenhower and George Marshall visited Laurinburg–Maxton on several occasions during the war, to observe units performing parachute[2] and glider training.

In early 1944, the mission of Laurinburg–Maxton AAB was changed to train student officers in advanced glider techniques and ground fighting.

They took part in Army tactical exercises using maps, compass, setting booby-traps, camouflage and participated in extensive physical training.

Over time, the course curriculum was changed to add tank hunting and jungle reconnaissance, and glider reorganization after landing in enemy territory.

This technique was important as gliders (which were undamaged after landing) were loaded with wounded soldiers from an open field where a runway did not exist.

As the war began drawing to an end in Europe, and later in the summer of 1945 in the Pacific, the number of trainees and the level of activity at the base was reduced rapidly.

The airfield was regularly used as a pursuit driving track for the North Carolina Highway Patrol Basic school cadets from the 1960s through the early 1990s.

As demand for the airport's usage for aviation increased, that coupled with the antiquated nature of the setting and increased training needs prompted the state to fund a new and certified pursuit driving track operated by the NC Highway Patrol, but for use by all NC law enforcement agencies.