Although started by a private group, the airport was the site of a large New Deal work relief camp during the Great Depression. Civilian Conservation Corps workers lived in tents on the grounds and labored by day. They were generally out-of-work local men who were grateful for a job. The airport was used by the U.S. Navy for basic aviation training in World War II; students, including famous Red Sox players turned aviators Ted Williams and Johnny Pesky trained there. The field was expanded in the ensuing peacetime and eventually gained the name Turners Falls Municipal Airport. The term 'municipal' was dropped as the airport focused on regional economic development.