Kearns came into existence 1 May 1942 as a World War II United States Army Air Forces training facility known as Kearns Army Air Base (also known as Kearns Center; redesignated: Camp Kearns, 1 January 1944). Construction of the base involved building airplane runways and hangars, with several taxiways and a large parking apron and a control tower. Several hundred buildings were also constructed and quickly assembled. Most base buildings, not meant for long-term use, were constructed of temporary or semi-permanent materials. Most support buildings sat on concrete foundations but were of frame construction clad in little more than plywood and tarpaper. The thousands of soldiers and airmen stationed there temporarily made the base one of the largest cities in the state. On 15 August 1946 the Air Force inactivated the base, and turned the facility over to the State of Utah.