Z 2178.000 S
JOHN BELL WILLIAMS AIRPORT (RAYMOND, HINDS COUNTY, MISS.) SPECIFICATIONS


Biography/History:

The airport in Raymond, Hinds County, Mississippi, was constructed in the early 1940s. During World War II, the Hinds County Board of Supervisors authorized the United States Army Air Corps unrestricted use of the airport in June of 1942. The board voted to name the airport in honor of First Lieutenant John Bell Williams on June 7, 1943. He later became a United States congressman and Mississippi governor. The airport was used as an auxiliary base for the Army Air Corps and for the Royal Netherlands Military Flying School, which was headquartered at the Jackson Army Air Base (Hawkins Field). The airport was returned to Hinds County after the war.

The federal government implemented a program to allocate funds for improving existing airports or constructing new airports in 1947. The John Bell Williams Airport received federal money for an administration building, an entrance road, and runway improvements. Hinds Junior College also agreed to operate and maintain the field on behalf of the Hinds County Board of Supervisors. The airport was mainly used as a location for various agricultural courses offered by the junior college. The Hinds County Board of Supervisors allocated money for improvements to the airport in 1979. Hinds Community College requested that the Hinds County Board of Supervisors consider a $450,000 runway-improvement plan for the airport in 2000.

Scope and Content:

This collection consists of a 1948 Hinds County Board of Supervisors project proposal entitled "Specifications for the John Bell Williams Airport Near Raymond, Mississippi." The 221-page item details airport improvements, including an administration building, concrete and gravel runway aprons, runway lighting, drainage, grading, water and sewer systems, and a well. The proposal also includes information on federal and state laws and regulations and labor requirements for potential bidders. W. B. Montgomery is listed as the project engineer. A mimeographed copy of a revised 1948 contract for a proposed airport administration building prepared by the architectural firm, Fort, White, and Smith, Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, is also included.

Series Identification:

  1. Proposal. 1948. 5 folders.

    Box 1, folders 1-5