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In 1936, The City of Oroville acquired 188 acres of land to build an airport that would serve the community and its region. Two runways were constructed, Runway 1-19 and 12-30. These were later extended in 1941 as the City acquired additional land to expand the airport to a total of 428 acres.

In 1942, the airport was commandeered by the U.S. Army War Department and renamed Oroville Army Air Field (AAF), or "Oroville Gap Filler Annex"That same year the Army purchased an additional 381.98 acres of land for expansion of the field and construction of a cantonement area. Once operational, it served as a fighter group training installation from spring of 1943 through early summer 1944. Two fighter groups rotated through Oroville AAF: the 357th Fighter Group (fighter group of famed pilots Chuck Yeager and Bud Anderson) and the 369th Fighter Group. Aircraft present at the field were identified as the Bell P-39Q Airacobra, North American P-51B/C/D Mustangs, and possibly the North American A-36 Apache, the ground attack version of the P-51.

Layout plans of the former Oroville AAF dated 1944 indicate a Bomb Storage Area west of the two runways and a skeet range between the southern extents of the runways. Fueling pit boxes were located along former Taxiways A (running parallel to runway 12/30) and C (connecting the southernmost ends of runways 1/19 and 12/30). A 1947 Inventory Report of Buildings and Structures states that bombs were stored in earth revetments.

In 1945 Oroville AAF was listed as "temporarily inactive" under assignment to Air Technical Service Command and was later classified as surplus. In 1946 the War Assets Administration (WAA) assumed custody of the site and on 21 May 1947, the WAA terminated the U.S. Army's lease with the City of Oroville and quitclaimed the fee owned property to that municipality.. In addition to the 428 acres, the U.S. Army acquired 382 acres to expand the airfield and construct a cantonment area. From spring 1943 to summer 1944, Oroville AAF serves as a fighter group training installation. Listed as "temporarily inactive" in 1945, Oroville AAF was later classified as surplus and was disposed of by the U.S. Army in 1948. The 428 acres leased from the City were returned, in addition to the 382 acres acquired by the Army, resulting in a total airport area of 810 acres.

Since 1948, the City has acquired additional land to further develop the airport and upgrade its facilities through various capital improvement programs. Today the airport encompasses approximately 877 acres and serves general aviation and business traffic, as well as experimental aircraft.