There are only a handful of days in recent history that were as consequential as December 17, 1903. After working for years on a viable design, the trailblazing Wright Brothers launched the world’s first powered airplane flight in what was Kitty Hawk, NC. Their seminal achievement led to rapid advancements in aviation and fundamentally changed how we travel.
In 1927, the federal government commissioned what would later be designated the Wright Brothers National Memorial at the site of their groundbreaking flight in the Outer Banks. The monument, shown in my video above, was completed in 1932. Orville Wright attended its dedication ceremony in the same year; his brother Wilbur had already died in 1912.
The words wrapping around the 60-feet-tall (~18 meters) granite monument, which stands in modern-day Kill Devil Hills, are as follows: “In commemoration of the conquest of the air by the brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright conceived by genius achieved by dauntless resolution and unconquerable faith.”
The site is managed by the National Park Service, and it’s open every day but Christmas from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Entrance to the park costs $10 USD per adult ticket (16 and older) and is free for children. There’s also a museum and gift shop. I spent 2 hours browsing the exhibits, walking the grounds, and observing the monument.
Related Content
– Click to read my travel guide “Top Things to Do in the Outer Banks.”
– Click to view my high-resolution photo of Teach’s Hole on the Outer Banks island of Ocracoke, which is where the notorious pirate Blackbeard was killed.
– Click to read my travel guide “Top Places to Camp in the Outer Banks.”