Final Honors
The Wright brothers were the most memorialized of Americans in the 20th century. Of all their countrymen, only Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln have inspired commemorative zeal to match.
Wright biographer Tom Crouch
To perfect a flying machine was nothing short of a miracle. Dayton's two most famous sons were soon hailed throughout the world for making the ancient dream of flight a reality.
After Wilbur Wright died unexpectedly in 1912, prominent Dayton leaders initially thought that Huffman Prairie Flying Field, which you can see from this bluff, would be the best place to build a memorial.
The committee wanted a simple, classic design "thoroughly in keeping with the unassuming modesty of Wilbur and Orville Wright."
But the devastation of a great flood in 1913 postponed efforts to build any monument until 1938. This Wright Memorial fittingly overlooks the place where their greatest work was done.
Marker is on Memorial Road, on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
