In 1942, the United States Army Air Forces built Tye Army Air Field on the site of what is now known as Dyess AFB. It was used mostly as a training center for cadets learning to fly the P-47 Thunderbolt. The airfield was closed shortly after the end of World War II and was sold to the city of Abilene for $1. The Texas National Guard used a portion of the old base as a training facility as well.

Shortly after the Korean War broke out, the city of Abilene called for the need of a military installation. They believed the 1,500 acres (6 km²) of the former Tye AAF were the perfect site for a new base. The city's leaders went to The Pentagon with their request. The city showed their determination for a new base by raising almost $1 million dollars to purchase an additional 3,500 acres (14 km²) adjacent to the site. They were able to attract U.S. Senator, and Texan, Lyndon B. Johnson's attention, who had the power to persuade military officials to put a base in Abilene. Finally, in July of 1952, Congress approved the $32 million needed to construct an Air Force Base on the Tye AAF site. It was to be called Abilene Air Force Base and a little over three years after first starting construction, the base was opened on April 15, 1956. Just eight months later, the base was renamed Dyess AFB after Lt. Col. William E. Dyess, a native of Albany, Texas who died in a plane crash during World War II in 1943.^[1]

Following a pattern that was familiar in the development of the West, the city of Abilene, Texas, was founded as a direct result of the building of a railroad. In January of 1881, the Texas and Pacific Railway completed tracks to the townsite of Abilene, and in March of that year an auction sale of town lots was held. Since that time, the city of Abilene has continued to grow and develop, until today, it is known as the commercial, educational, medical, and cultural center of a 22-county trade area.

The first development in the area occurred in 1852 when Fort Phantom Hill was established a few miles northeast of the future location of the city. This Army post was one of a series of garrisons erected to protect the white settlements from Indians. It was also an overnight stop on the overland mail route that followed the Butterfield Trail. The Fort was in use for only three years before the Army abandoned it.