Following
the Footsteps of the Wright Brothers
In the spirit of celebrating
the centennial of flight, I decided to visit some local and nearby sites
where Wilbur and Orville once stood. The Wilbur Wright Birthplace in Millville,
Indiana; the Henry Ford museum in Detroit, Michigan and the center of
the development of aviation, Dayton, Ohio, are all within easy reach of
a day or two and you don't have to go to North Carolina.
 |
Wilbur Wright Birthplace & Museum, Millville, Indiana
A real treat right
here in Indiana is the Wilbur Wright Birthplace. Located just east of
New Castle, Indiana, the Wilbur Wright birthplace is an exact recreation
of the house on the spot where Wilbur Wright was born on April 16, 1867.
The house accurately portrays the life of the Wright family in the late
1800s, and has some original Wright artifacts (The original home was destroyed
by fire and vandals.)
The site campus features three main buildings; an interpretive center,
a museum built to represent a Wright style hangar and the farmhouse replica
(third one built on the site). Other things to see are the original smokehouse;
an exact replica of the 1903 flyer; a considerable amount of Wright history
and the story of the site, historical documentaries and an actual RF-84
that saw action in Korea. There is also a wind tunnel replica that was
made by Orville Wright. You can also walk back in time down a street representing
life in the late 1800s/early 1900s. There you will find one of the five
existing, original Wright bicycles (one is in the Wright-Patterson Air
Force Museum, two are at Carillon Park in Dayton and another is at the
Henry Ford Museum in Detroit).
Just one hour east of Indianapolis, you can easily get there going North on Wilbur Wright Rd. from of I-70. There are a lot of turns as it is a county road, but it is extremely well marked. You can also take the New Castle exit to State Rd. 38 and go east to Wilbur Wright Rd.
For more information go to their website at http://www.wilburwrightbirthplace.com/index.html, or call 765-332-2495.
CLICK TO ENLARGE PHOTOS
|
|
|
