Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park
Park honoring Wright brothers and poet Paul Laurence Dunbar in Dayton.
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, located in Dayton, Ohio, honors three key figures from the Miami Valley: Wilbur Wright, Orville Wright, and poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. The Wright brothers, who taught themselves aviation, built the world’s first powered, heavier-than-air aircraft capable of sustained, controlled flight in their Dayton bicycle shops. They refined their invention in 1904 and 1905 at Huffman Prairie Flying Field. Dunbar, a neighbor and lifelong friend of the Wrights, gained national and international fame in a literary field largely closed to Black writers. His output included novels, plays, short stories, lyrics, and more than 400 poems, and his work reflected African American experiences, helping shape social consciousness and cultural identity. His writings later influenced the Harlem Renaissance and the early Civil Rights Movement.
The park’s creation was first proposed by Jerry Sharkey. By the 1970s, much of the Wrights’ old Dayton neighborhood had been lost to neglect, 1960s riots, and a highway project. Henry Ford had earlier moved one of their bicycle shops to Greenfield Village, Michigan. Sharkey saved the Wrights’ last surviving Dayton bicycle shop from demolition by buying it for $10,000. He founded Aviation Trail Inc., a nonprofit pushing for a national park or historic district around the Wrights’ buildings. With help from local political and media figures—including Wright descendants, aviation historian Tom Crouch, U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice, then-U.S. Rep. Dave Hobson, Dayton Daily News publisher Brad Tillson, and Michael Gessel, an aide to former U.S. Rep. Tony P. Hall—the group lobbied federal officials and the National Park Service to link the city’s scattered Wright-related landmarks into a historic trail. Congress passed legislation, and President George H. W. Bush signed the bill creating the park in 1992. The park also included the home of Paul Laurence Dunbar. Sharkey donated the bicycle shop he had saved to the National Park Service as part of the deal. A new visitor center opened in 2003, timed for the centennial of the Wrights’ first flight. Sharkey died in April 2014.
The park operates through a partnership between the National Park Service and several organizations. Its sites include: the Wright Cycle Company Complex in Dayton (housing the Wright Cycle Company building, the Wright-Dunbar In
- field
- Aviation and Literature
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- Invention of powered flight (Wright brothers); acclaimed poetry and writings (Paul Laurence Dunbar)
- born
- Wilbur Wright: 1867; Orville Wright: 1871; Paul Laurence Dunbar: 1872
- died
- Wilbur Wright: 1912; Orville Wright: 1948; Paul Laurence Dunbar: 1906
Lore & Background
The idea for the present-day Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park was first conceived by Jerry Sharkey. Much of the Dayton neighborhood where Orville and Wilbur Wright had lived and worked had already been destroyed by the 1970s. Neglect, riots during the 1960s, and a highway project through the city had leveled much of the neighborhood. Sharkey's quest to preserve the Wright brothers' legacy began when he purchased their last surviving bicycle shop in Dayton for just $10,000, which saved the building from demolition. He also founded the Aviation Trail Inc., a nonprofit group dedicated to the creation of a potential national park or historic district encompassing the Wright brothers' buildings.
Reader's Guide
The park commemorates the Wright brothers, who in their Dayton bicycle shops researched and built the world's first power-driven, heavier-than-air machine capable of free, controlled, and sustained flight. They also perfected their invention during 1904 and 1905 at the Huffman Prairie Flying Field. Paul Laurence Dunbar, a neighbor and lifelong friend of the Wright brothers, produced over 400 published poems and other works that reflected much of the African American experience, contributing to a growing social consciousness and cultural identity for African Americans. His writings contributed to later developments such as the Harlem Renaissance and the early Civil Rights Movement. The park was established by legislation passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President George H. W. Bush in 1992. It includes multiple sites, such as the Wright Cycle Company Complex, Huffman Prairie Flying Field, the Wright Company factory, the Wright Brothers Aviation Center, the Paul Laurence Dunbar State Memorial, and Hawthorn Hill. The park is a central component of the National Aviation Heritage Area, an eight-county region established as a National Heritage Area by Congress in 2004.
Did You Know?
- Jerry Sharkey first conceived the idea for the park and saved the Wright brothers' last surviving bicycle shop from demolition by purchasing it for $10,000.
- The park was created by legislation signed into law by President George H. W. Bush in 1992.
- Paul Laurence Dunbar was a neighbor and lifelong friend of Wilbur and Orville Wright.
- Three units of the park were listed on the 2008 U.S. World Heritage Tentative List as part of the Dayton Aviation Sites listing.
More in World Heritage Tentative List 1-24
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