The U.S. Government first invested in Terrell County Aviation in 1919, with an airfield built west of Sanderson for the 90th Aero Squadron that flew biplanes for the border patrol. After the squadron relocated, the East Dryden Aerodrome was an active field until 1941. During World War II, American Airlines and the government joined to build a new civilian intermediate and emergency military landing field here. The Civilian Aeronautics Administration supervised construction that ended in October 1943. Two intersecting runways, each nearly a mile in length, were built of rock asphalt on a caliche base. Later named Terrell County Airport, this facility has also hosted civil air patrol and military training exercises.