The camp was named in honor of Henry Lewis Benning, a Columbus native who served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War and later as a justice of the Georgia Supreme Court.

The Army created a rudimentary landing field at Benning in 1919 with the initial mission of determining if data obtained by balloon observation would benefit the infantry.

Lawson served with the 41st French Escadrille during World War I, had one victory, and received the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism in action.

The continued growth of parachute training at Lawson led the Army to turn the field over to the I Troop Carrier Command on 26 August 1942.

The 3rd Composite Squadron was also present at Lawson from April 1942 to November 1945 with a wide variety of fighter, light bombers, and liaison/observation aircraft to provide aerial support for training by the Infantry School.

Lawson and Ft. Benning had many distinguished visitors during the war including Gen. George C. Marshall, Gen. Hap Arnold, Lord Louis Mountbatten and Anthony Eden, the British Foreign Secretary.

Lawson received a major expansion program in 1965 including an 8,200-ft. runway capable of handling large jet transports.