Warner Robins first existed as a community named Wellston, which served as a whistle-stop for the new train line when the Georgia Southern and Florida Railroad connected from Macon to Perry. Wellston was surrounded by dairy farms, cornfields, peach orchards, and pecan groves until the United States Army built an aviation field on Highway 247 after the Great Depression.

The City of Wellston agreed to build 2,000 affordable homes for new residents along with the town’s first official school, civic buildings and the town’s business district known as Commercial Circle.

The town’s first depot commander Colonel Charles E. Thomas lobbied to change the name of the town to Warner Robins after his late mentor and one of the air corps’ first logisticians Brigadier General Augustine Warner Robins. In September of 1942 citizens of Wellston agreed to rename the town and the following March, Warner Robins was incorporated. During World War II, Robins Air Field employed approximately 23,000 personnel and the new city was growing rapidly.

When the war was over, the workforce was reduced to 3,900 until 1947. Robins Field was re-designated Robins Air Force Base when the escalation of the Korean and Cold War created new jobs in the City of Warner Robins.