In 1938 the Board of Directors of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (as Texas A&M was known at the time) authorized the development of an airport at the existing site. The University applied to the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) for certification as a primary flight training school under provisions of the Civilian Pilot Training Program.

In May 1940 the airport opened, named for U.S. Navy Lieutenant Jesse L. Easterwood. Easterwood was a former A&M student who enlisted in the British Royal Naval Air Service in 1917. After being commissioned as Ensign, he was later promoted to Lieutenant in the Naval Air Service and was the second American to qualify as Naval Aviation Pilot. He served with the Royal Flying Corps in 1918 and had sixteen successful raids behind German lines. He served in three foreign countries and was killed in an airplane accident in the Canal Zone May 19, 1919. He was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously "for distinguished and heroic service as an aviator."

The facility in 1940 had one hangar and a turf landing strip and taxiway which were eventually paved through funding provided by the CAA, the Works Projects Administration (WPA), and Texas A&M.

In 1948 a large hangar was relocated to the airfield from a US Army flying field near Corsicana, Texas. The FAA established a Flight Service Station (FSS) at the Airport in 1951 and Pioneer Air Lines began scheduled air service in that year. Many changes have occurred including moving the Flight Service Station to Montgomery County – as of 2022, only American Eagle provides scheduled air service. United Express formerly served the airport from Houston, but ended this service on January 4, 2022.

The first control tower was erected at the Airport in 1952 and a commercial passenger terminal was constructed in 1957. Work began on an extension of Runway 16-34 (now 17–35) to its present 7,000-foot (2,100 m) length in 1984. At the same time the parallel taxiway to Runway 16-34 was extended.

In 1988 work began on improvements to the Airport access road and construction of a new passenger terminal began. The new McKenzie Terminal opened in 1990 and plans were made to convert the old passenger terminal into a general aviation terminal. It was remodeled and re-opened for service in 1994 as a modern general aviation facility, housing line service and support personnel as well as flight operations.