It was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the United States entry into World War I in April 1917.

Souther was head of the Aircraft Engineering Division of the Air Service when he died in August 1917 after a brief illness contracted while acting as director of Langley Field, Virginia.

[2] Its history begins in 1918, when on 19 January, the War Department leased 407 acres (165 ha) 4.5 miles (7.2 km) north of the center of Americus, Georgia from Sumter County for a primary training airfield and an aviation supply depot.

The contract for construction of the airfield and base was let on 7 February 1918 to J.B. McCray Company of Atlanta, and work was begun on the 19th.

When completed, the base consisted of warehouses, accommodations for 2,000 officers and men, 15 wooden hangars, and a hospital plus other structures.

When completed, the facility had schools, a YMCA, a fire department, electric lighting, underground sewers, water lines, telephones, a railroad spur, hospital, post office, barracks, mess halls and other infrastructure.

Souther Field was completing its transition from a pilot training base to a mecca for would-be barnstormers looking for a deal on an airplane still in the crate.

After nearly dinging up the plane with an attempted takeoff, he taxied back to the hangars and asked Mr. Messer if he would ride with him.

A few hours later, Messer exited the craft satisfied that his student would do fine but he suggested that Mr. Lindbergh wait till later in the afternoon when the wind had calmed.

Jack Currie, a young RAF cadet who soloed at Souther in early 1942, survived the war, and wrote a successful series of books about his experiences.

[5] With the United States entry into the war, the Defense Plant Corporation bought Graham's investment in Souther.

The school reached its peak in the winter of 1943/44 with 600 cadets on board and over 450 civil employees that included over 100 flight instructors.

In 1944, Souther Army Airfield became a site for German prisoners of war, who worked on the farms in the area.

The army deactivated Souther Field at the end of World War II and deeded the land to Americus.

In 2009, Souther Field was renamed Jimmy Carter Regional Airport in honor of the former President who lived in nearby Plains.