Perhaps no other place on the Outer Banks is as widely known and revered as Kitty Hawk, noted as the location of the Wright Brother's famous first flight. However, the history books are mistaken. The Wright Brothers actually made their flights from the ridges of Kill Devil Hills' sand dunes, five miles south of the village of Kitty Hawk.
When the Wrights first came to the Banks, Kitty Hawk was the primary settlement on the northern end of the barrier island. The Wrights lived in the village with local resident and postmaster Bill Tate while testing their craft. In fact, they built their first glider in the front yard of one resident's home.
On December 17, 1903, when their powered plane left the earth for the first time, they announced their discovery to the world in a telegraph message to their father from the Kitty Hawk Weather Station. Thus, when the world covered the event, it was Kitty Hawk that received the glory.
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS TELEGRAPH HOME
by Eric Hause
What's history without legend?
