Wright Brothers Historic First Flight Kitty Hawk,
December 17, 1903 Photographic Print
24 in. x 20 in.
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Framed
Banks Before European Settlement
Indian
Village of PomeioocBuy this Giclee Print at AllPosters.com
The Arrival of The Englishmen in Virginia
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Before the European Explored arrived, the lands around the Outer Banks
were populated with native Americans who lived in villages, practiced
farming and fishing. These drawings were prepared by artist John White,
a visitor to the area when the English first arrived. The village of Secoton
was believed to have been located near present day Manns Harbor. Far from
being uncivilized savages, the local indians had developed a working culture
that benifited their entire community.
The Indian village of Secoton, book
illustration , c.1570-80
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Map of Raleigh's Virginia
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Indians Fishing
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Indian Village of Secoton
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Indian Conjuror
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Indian Priest
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Indian
Man and Woman EatingBuy this Giclee Print at AllPosters.com
Indians Dancing
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Life
After European Exploration and Settlement
KITTY
HAWK AREA HISTORY
Long before the Wright brothers made Kitty Hawk famous with their flight experiments, this area experienced a rich history. Native American Indians first settled on the Outer Banks over a thousand years ago.
The area was visited by French and Spanish explorers in the early 1500s. The English Captain Arthur Barlowe arrived here in 1584. This explorer traveled to Albemarle Sound through an inlet that was located at the present day site of Jeanguite Creek in Southern Shores. The Captain explored Kitty Hawk as well as the Roanoke Island area. The following description by Captain Arthur Barlowe about the area comes from David Sticks excellent book entitled, “The Outer Banks of North Carolina”.
“Wee viewed the lande about us, being…very sandie, and lowe towards the water side, but so full of grapes, as the very beating, and surge of the Sea overflowed them, of which we founde such plenty…that I thinke in all the world the like aboundance is not to be founde..
We passed from the Sea side towards the toppes of those hils next adioyning, being but of meane height, and from thence wee behelde the Sea on both sides to the North, and to the South, finding no ende any ofboth waies. This lande laye stretching it selfe to the West, which after wee founde to be but an Island ot twentie leagues long, and not above sixe miles broade. Under the banks or hill, whereon we stoode, we behelde the vallies replenished with goodly Cedar trees, and having discharged our harquebushot, such a flocke of Cranes(the most part white)arose under us, with such a crye redoubled by many Ecchoes, as if an armie of men had showted all together.
This Island had many goodly woods, full of Deere, Conies, Hares, and Fowle, even in the middest of Summer, in incredible aboundance…and the highest, and reddest Cedars of the world”.
In 1584 the first English colony in the new world was established at Roanoke Island, less than 20 miles from Kitty Hawk. This was 34 years before the Jamestown colony in Virginia was established. The settlement didn't prosper, and the starving colonists left In 1585 aboard a ship in the visiting fleet of Captain Sir Francis Drake. Drake was visiting the Kitty Hawk area after a successful cruise plundering spanish treasure ships. This is the same Captain, that in 1588 defeated the Spanish Armada. The King of Spain sent the armada against England in an effort to put a stop to the English habit of raiding spanish gold ships sailing from the new world back to Spain. Drakes victory against the Spanish, signaled the decline of Spain and the ascent of England as a world power.
That first group of settlers were replaced in 1587, by another group of colonist on the north end of Roanoke Island. This attempt was organized by Sir Walter Raleigh and produced Virginia Dare, the first English child born in America. This colony vanished into an unknown fate. When re-supply ships finally arrived in 1590 delayed by the war with Spain, no colonists were to be found. The only clue being the word "Croatoan" carved into a tree. Archaeologists are still attempting to solve the mystery of the lost colony. Raleigh would later meet his death in the famous Tower of London for other misdeeds of his time.
Years later, the area was ravaged by Black Beard the pirate. Eventually, Lieutenant Robert Maynard of HMS Pearl began the hunt for Blackbeard, which led to an engagement in Ocracoke Harbor. In a brief but fierce battle, Blackbeard was defeated and suffered his head being hung from the bowsprit of the warship. Since then the North Carolina coast has remained relatively free from pirates.
The famous union ironclad Monitor fought the merimac just a few miles north of Kitty Hawk, and later journeyed past this coastal area towards its tragic sinking in a storm off Cape Hatteras about sixty miles away.
Some locals say that the name Kitty Hawk is derived from the local Native American name for goose hunting season: "killy honker" or "killy honk." Others say the name evolved from mosquito hawks that populated the area, or from ospreys that preyed on the area's kitty wren.
Looking for a remote site, away from prying eyes, Orville and Wilbur Wright came here to experiment with gliders after hearing that the "winds were always steady, generally from 10 to 20 miles per hour ... and not a tree or a bush anywhere to break the wind current." The Wright brothers lived in Kitty Hawk Village and conducted many of their experiments there, but it was actually in Kill Devil Hills, about three miles south, that they made their historic first engine powered flight.
Kitty Hawk's initiation as a vacation destination took root in the 1930s, when the Wright Memorial Bridge Company created a three-mile wooden span across the Currituck Sound to the Outer Banks. Today, only a few of the first cottages built on the beach can still be seen due to the ever-changing shoreline. Since 1993, scores of houses have been swept away during hurricanes and nor'easters.
Although Kitty Hawk owes much to the Wright Brothers for bringing attention to the area, history has touched this area in many other ways that few places can compare with. Thanks for visiting our history page and please enjoy the selected pictures that represent only a part of the areas rich history. editor
For more information about the Outer Banks, I suggest “The Outer Banks of North Carolina” by David Stick.
Long before the Wright brothers made Kitty Hawk famous with their flight experiments, this area experienced a rich history. Native American Indians first settled on the Outer Banks over a thousand years ago.
The area was visited by French and Spanish explorers in the early 1500s. The English Captain Arthur Barlowe arrived here in 1584. This explorer traveled to Albemarle Sound through an inlet that was located at the present day site of Jeanguite Creek in Southern Shores. The Captain explored Kitty Hawk as well as the Roanoke Island area. The following description by Captain Arthur Barlowe about the area comes from David Sticks excellent book entitled, “The Outer Banks of North Carolina”.
“Wee viewed the lande about us, being…very sandie, and lowe towards the water side, but so full of grapes, as the very beating, and surge of the Sea overflowed them, of which we founde such plenty…that I thinke in all the world the like aboundance is not to be founde..
We passed from the Sea side towards the toppes of those hils next adioyning, being but of meane height, and from thence wee behelde the Sea on both sides to the North, and to the South, finding no ende any ofboth waies. This lande laye stretching it selfe to the West, which after wee founde to be but an Island ot twentie leagues long, and not above sixe miles broade. Under the banks or hill, whereon we stoode, we behelde the vallies replenished with goodly Cedar trees, and having discharged our harquebushot, such a flocke of Cranes(the most part white)arose under us, with such a crye redoubled by many Ecchoes, as if an armie of men had showted all together.
This Island had many goodly woods, full of Deere, Conies, Hares, and Fowle, even in the middest of Summer, in incredible aboundance…and the highest, and reddest Cedars of the world”.
In 1584 the first English colony in the new world was established at Roanoke Island, less than 20 miles from Kitty Hawk. This was 34 years before the Jamestown colony in Virginia was established. The settlement didn't prosper, and the starving colonists left In 1585 aboard a ship in the visiting fleet of Captain Sir Francis Drake. Drake was visiting the Kitty Hawk area after a successful cruise plundering spanish treasure ships. This is the same Captain, that in 1588 defeated the Spanish Armada. The King of Spain sent the armada against England in an effort to put a stop to the English habit of raiding spanish gold ships sailing from the new world back to Spain. Drakes victory against the Spanish, signaled the decline of Spain and the ascent of England as a world power.
That first group of settlers were replaced in 1587, by another group of colonist on the north end of Roanoke Island. This attempt was organized by Sir Walter Raleigh and produced Virginia Dare, the first English child born in America. This colony vanished into an unknown fate. When re-supply ships finally arrived in 1590 delayed by the war with Spain, no colonists were to be found. The only clue being the word "Croatoan" carved into a tree. Archaeologists are still attempting to solve the mystery of the lost colony. Raleigh would later meet his death in the famous Tower of London for other misdeeds of his time.
Years later, the area was ravaged by Black Beard the pirate. Eventually, Lieutenant Robert Maynard of HMS Pearl began the hunt for Blackbeard, which led to an engagement in Ocracoke Harbor. In a brief but fierce battle, Blackbeard was defeated and suffered his head being hung from the bowsprit of the warship. Since then the North Carolina coast has remained relatively free from pirates.
The famous union ironclad Monitor fought the merimac just a few miles north of Kitty Hawk, and later journeyed past this coastal area towards its tragic sinking in a storm off Cape Hatteras about sixty miles away.
Some locals say that the name Kitty Hawk is derived from the local Native American name for goose hunting season: "killy honker" or "killy honk." Others say the name evolved from mosquito hawks that populated the area, or from ospreys that preyed on the area's kitty wren.
Looking for a remote site, away from prying eyes, Orville and Wilbur Wright came here to experiment with gliders after hearing that the "winds were always steady, generally from 10 to 20 miles per hour ... and not a tree or a bush anywhere to break the wind current." The Wright brothers lived in Kitty Hawk Village and conducted many of their experiments there, but it was actually in Kill Devil Hills, about three miles south, that they made their historic first engine powered flight.
Kitty Hawk's initiation as a vacation destination took root in the 1930s, when the Wright Memorial Bridge Company created a three-mile wooden span across the Currituck Sound to the Outer Banks. Today, only a few of the first cottages built on the beach can still be seen due to the ever-changing shoreline. Since 1993, scores of houses have been swept away during hurricanes and nor'easters.
Although Kitty Hawk owes much to the Wright Brothers for bringing attention to the area, history has touched this area in many other ways that few places can compare with. Thanks for visiting our history page and please enjoy the selected pictures that represent only a part of the areas rich history. editor
For more information about the Outer Banks, I suggest “The Outer Banks of North Carolina” by David Stick.
English
courtier, navigator, and historian Sir Walter Raleigh (below) sponsored
the first English colonists in North America. The settlers established
a village on Roanoke Island (below), off the coast of present-day North
Carolina. That colony saw the birth of the first english child ,Virginia
Dare before vanishing to become the mystery of the lost colony. Sir Walter
was later imprisoned in the Tower of London and beheaded in 1618
and a visitor to the Kitty Hawk area.
Indian in Body Paint
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residents of the Outer Banks about 1585
Indian Woman
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Indian
ritual dance from the village of Secoton, book illustration, c.1570-80
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Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Photographic Print Elisofon, Eliot
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The
Elizabeth II at left is a composite design of a 16th-century ship and
is named after one of the seven vessels that sailed the ocean when Sir
Walter Raleigh first brought colonists to Roanoke Island in 1587. The
ship is docked in Shallowbag Bay in Manter North Carolina. Tour the ship
while costumed guides portraying mariners and colonists bring the history
of Raleigh’s voyages to life.
Roanoke Festival Park
The world at about the time Roanoke Island was settled.
Kitty Hawk Lifesaving Crew about 1903
Wright Brothers with their
glider at Kitty Hawk
BICYCLE
KITTY HAWK
All of the historic areas in Kitty Hawk can be visited
by bicycle. Since the Wright Brothers were bicycle
mechanics, this is especially appropiate for
bicycle enthusiasts. Check out Kitty Hawk Cycle Co. for bicycle rentals,
repairs and group rides. 261-2060
Bicycle path on the Woods Road.
Bicycle
Historic Kitty Hawk
The major bicycle pathway runs along The Woods Road through
historic Kitty Hawk. This pathway connects US 158 with Kitty Hawk Road.
Starting at 158 and The Woods Road, a separate pathway runs south to
Kitty Hawk Road. From Kitty Hawk Road to the Beach the bike path is
a 2 foot wide apron on both sides of the road. A mile east of the Woods
Road, a detour onto Moore Shore Drive takes you on the historic main
road from Kitty Hawk to Nags Head. On this route you will see a monument
on the right. This was the location of William Tate's home, where the
Wright Brothers first stayed in Kitty Hawk. (See right column for pictures.)
Moore Shore Drive continues south along Kitty Hawk Bay to the new Wright
Brothers Memorial multiuse path scheduled to open in May 2004. This
route winds along historic Kitty Hawk Bay toward Kill Devil Hills and
the Wright Memorial National Park. For a beach ride, journey back to
Kitty Hawk Road and continue east to the ocean. Crossing US158 toward
the Beach Road, you will see the Black Pelican restaurant on the right.
Look closely, and you will notice this was part of the old Kitty Hawk
Life Saving station. (picture in right column) The Beach road can be
ridden north to the historic Kitty Hawk Pier or south towards Kill Devil
Hills and beyond. A note to riders; Kitty Hawk Road and the Beach road
requires you to share the roadway with cars. This route can be dangerous
for children and should only be taken by experienced bicyclists. The
Woods Road and Kitty Hawk Bay routes have separate pathways and traverse
residential roads that are less dangerous.
Above,
the Kitty Hawk Life saving station about 1902. today it is part of the
Black Pelican restaurant below .
Kitty Hawk Life Saving Station today.
Kitty Hawk Life Saving Station about 1900. More
Historic Judy Rand Hotel on Kitty Hawk Rd.
This was a school in early Kitty Hawk history.
Kill Devil
Hills Life Saving Station
presently located in Corolla
An early Kitty Hawk Post Office in the village of Kitty Hawk. Outer Banks History Center
Wight Brothers and Their Place at Kitty Hawk
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Framed Mounted
William
Tate, Post Master and family at the Kitty Hawk Post office about 1903.
Today the monument below on Moore Shore Drive. recognizes the location
of the post office and first house that the Wright brothers stayed when
they first visited Kitty Hawk
.source
Wright Brothers Flight at Kitty Hawk
24 in. x 36 in.
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Framed Mounted
USS Monitor
Twenty-five
priceless artifacts from the U.S.S. Monitor, a Civil War-era war ship,
were publicly granted to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum (GAM) at
a press conference held at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh
Monday. GAM, located in Hatteras, received the pieces from the Mariner's
Museum in Newport News, Va., where the famous icon of naval history has
been stored for conservation and exhibition since 1987. story
The
Whalehead Club, an exquisite Hunt Club located in Corolla, 20 miles north
of Kitty Hawk. Construction began in 1922, and was completed in 1925 at
a cost of $383,000.00. Built by Edward Collings Knight, Jr. for his wife,
Marie Louise, this ''mansion by the sea'' is the most exotic and unique
of the shooting clubs. Its Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts style, signed
and numbered Tiffany lighting fixtures, corduroy walls and cork flooring
made it a ''comfortable'' winter retreat for the wealthy northern industrialist
and his wife. Rooms carved with water lilies and morning glories, with
window and door hardware to match the floral motif, further captures the
eloquent beauty found throughout. It was the first home on the Outer Banks
to have a basement, a swimming pool, and an elevator. Originally named
''Corolla Island'' by Mrs. Knight, the name was changed to Whalehead Club
by the second owner, Ray T. Adams in the early 1950s. source
Edward Collings Knight, builder
of the Whalehead Club in Corolla
Looking west from downtown Manteo 1930s. Outer Banks History Center
Looking east from downtown Manteo 1930s. Outer Banks History Center
there was a bridge to the Outer Banks.
The
Buffalo Post Office opened for business on October 11, 1889. In it's hay
day there were over 2,000 Residents. There was a hotel, Company store,
and all other necessities. There were reportedly 8 Trains that came to
the city. Lumber was taken by train, barge or just floated to nearby Elizabeth
City. The Post office closed August 15, 1903. But, it was reopened February
29, 1908. During Prohibition Buffalo City flourished, as it was hard to
get to, by any means other than boat or Train. Whiskey was a big business,
and special boats were used to drag the 5 gallon "jimmy johns"
tied to a "trott line" if the revenuers were spotted, the ropes
were simply cut, and the whiskey would sink to the bottom. The Post Office
closed for good June 11, 1947. Completly deserted about 50 years ago.
source
Manteo
about 1895
Guest Cottages in the Kitty Hawk area
about 1940s ? Outer Banks History Center
The roads on the Outer Banks before blacktop.
Kitty Hawk Mayor Bill Harris welcomes the Dayton Cycling Club after their amazing 900 mile ride from Dayton, Ohio to the Wright Memorial in Kill Devil Hills. more bicycling on the Outer Banks
A virtual super store
for sporting goods
Above,
Kitty Hawk Bay in 1900, Picture was taken by the Wright Brothers. Below
Kitty Hawk Bay as it appears today.
Two
views of historic Moore Shore Drive. Above as a sandy pathway and below
as the new Wright Brothers Multi-Use Path. This was a major roadway in
early Kitty Hawk history.
On
this sandy hilltop in Kitty Hawk, The Wright's perfected their skills
of wing warping to control movement on their large gliders. This was the
technical area of flight that the Wright brothers led their peers. After
perfecting their warping method, This achievement was integrated into
the engine powered machine. With a control method perfected, the brother's
went on to become the first in getting an engine powered flying machine
into the air.
Below is a picture of Moore Shore Drive about 1960, This photo was taken at the top of the dunes, close to where the Wright brothers experimented with flight. The view is to the south. Picture courtesy of Mrs. Foreman. The current route of the Wright Brothers Multi-use pathway follows this historic roadbed.
The steamer Trenton was a common sight for early Kitty Hawk residents
as it steamed by Kitty Hawk Bay on its route between Manteo, Nags Head
and Elizabeth City. Nags Head was a major resort for wealthy planters
from eastern North Carolina and the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds were
the major highways of the time.
Looking toward Kitty Hawk 1931. Outer Banks History Center
Looking toward Currituck County from Kitty Hawk. Outer Banks History Center
This
is a good example of an early house in Kitty Hawk. Notice the kitchen
to the left, separated with a walk through. This helped keep the kitchen
heat out of the other parts of the home in the hot summer months.
Many
Kitty Hawk families still earn their living as their anscesters. This
is a modern crab operation.
Austin
cemetery is the resting place for many famous names in Kitty Hawk history.
Located near the end of Kitty Hawk Road.
Wilbur Wright's Aeroplane
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At
left the Wright Brothers, center, one of their bicycle shops in Dayton
Ohio. At right the plane on the Outer Banks.
Wilbur Wright after failed flight Dec. 14, 1903 source
First sucessful Flight on Dec. 17, 2003 source
Failed flight exactly 100 years later. Dec. 17, 2003
The
attempted repeat of the Wright brothers powered flight exactly 100 years
later in Kill Devil Hills. Using modern equipment to reproduce the original
plane, the attempt failed because of poor wind conditions. This proved
how difficult the task was for that original flight. The Wright Brothers
performed their glider experiments in Kitty Hawk and their famous powered
flight took place at Kill Devil Hill. The reproduction plane used in the
photo is in the Ford museum.
Monument
to Flight, Wright Brothers National Monument. 2003 Centennial Celebration
Kill Devil Hills
Kill Devil Hills
Windmills
of the Outer Banks
19th
century Outer Banks windmill source
Icarus
Monument to a Century of Flight. located next to the Aycock Brown Welcome
Center at milepost 1 in Kitty Hawk
Flying Machine Takes To The Air!
12 in. x 16 in.
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Framed Mounted
As
we contemplate our future energy needs, it helps to be guided by the past.
Our need for energy has been paramount in our inability to remove ourselves
from Middle Eastern oil fields and culture. This has brought about a great
clash between our two cultures. One side attempting to control the resources
it desperately needs to remain a super power; and the other wishing to
retain their culture, and benefit from their natural resources. Read what
vsitors from another great conflict found when they first came to the
Outer Banks.
Union soldiers were surprised at the number of windmills along the Outer Banks when they visited the state in 1861 with the Union invasion force. Charles Johnson, a young Swede who landed at Hatteras with Hawkins' Zouaves, had these impressions of Hatteras Island: "Everything on the Island seems to be devoid of paint -dwellings, barns and windmills, of which latter there are a greater number than I supposed were in existence in the whole country."
In the 19th century, the Outer Banks and coastal North Carolina were devoid of the running water that provided power for gristmills in the Piedmont and mountain regions of the state. Instead, maritime communities turned to the most obvious natural resource at hand: wind. At that time there were about 50 windmills located on the Outer Banks. Although those windmills are long gone, the natural resources that powered them are still with us.
The Wright borthers harnessed this efficient resource in Kitty Hawk, and it is still available to us. We only need direct our minds to this important task in order to make it so.
Wind is a natural resource that does not pollute, and is owned by no one. Let’s not forget the past as we journey into the future. sources
Union soldiers were surprised at the number of windmills along the Outer Banks when they visited the state in 1861 with the Union invasion force. Charles Johnson, a young Swede who landed at Hatteras with Hawkins' Zouaves, had these impressions of Hatteras Island: "Everything on the Island seems to be devoid of paint -dwellings, barns and windmills, of which latter there are a greater number than I supposed were in existence in the whole country."
In the 19th century, the Outer Banks and coastal North Carolina were devoid of the running water that provided power for gristmills in the Piedmont and mountain regions of the state. Instead, maritime communities turned to the most obvious natural resource at hand: wind. At that time there were about 50 windmills located on the Outer Banks. Although those windmills are long gone, the natural resources that powered them are still with us.
The Wright borthers harnessed this efficient resource in Kitty Hawk, and it is still available to us. We only need direct our minds to this important task in order to make it so.
Wind is a natural resource that does not pollute, and is owned by no one. Let’s not forget the past as we journey into the future. sources
This remaining windmill can still be seen behind the Windmill Point restaurant in Nags Head. Located at about 16 mile post. The original milling stones appear in the left photo, and are currently on display only a few feet from the windmill.
Below,
are two photos of the historic Winks grocery located on the corner of
Eckner and Virginia Dare Trail, or the "Beach Rd". in Kitty
Hawk. The first photo is looking from the air toward the southwest. This
picture was taken before Art's restaurant was built. The second building
south of Winks was the original Kitty Hawk Fire Station, later used as
a book store by noted Outer Banks author David Stick. Today, the old Fire
Station is a coffee and wine shop. I think this picture was taken about
1958-60 ?. Notice that Lindberg street doesn't exist in this photo. The
dark area at the top of the picture are trees. The sound is visable at
the top left.
Looking southwest toward Wings Grocery 1950s.
Kitty Hawk beach and pier in background.1950s.Outer Banks History Center
Picture of Whale Skeleton at Whalebone Junction in Nags Head about 1950?
Hatteras Weather Bureau Station
Island was built & Managed by the Army in 1874
Church and Religion on Ocracoke Island
The Mail Boat Aleta.source
During
the 1940s and early 1950s Ocracoke's communication lifeline to the mainland
was a privately owned and operated mail boat named Aleta. The Alete made
one daily round-trip between Ocracoke Island and Atlantic, North Carolina.
She would leave the remote island at 6:30 every morning and arrived back
home around 4:30 each evening.
Read the story of the Aleta.
Images of the Outer Banks