Wilbur and Orville Wright made many trips into Elizabeth City in their quest to make their dream of taking flight become reality. In 1900, Wilbur Wright traveled from Dayton, Ohio by train and steamer as he made his way to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The last train Wilbur boarded was the Norfolk-Southern into the Elizabeth City train depot which was located at 715 North Poindexter Street and is now the location of Mid-Atlantic Christian University. In 1900, Elizabeth City was the end of the Norfolk-Southern rail head train line. Elizabeth City served as the gateway into North Carolina and was the only urban center of action at that time. Finally arriving in Elizabeth City, Wilbur checked into the Arlington Hotel on Water Street. Today this site is a residential apartment building. Wilbur Wright spent several days at the Arlington Hotel while trying to procure a boat to carry him, and his supplies to Kitty Hawk. After a period of four days, Wilbur made contact with Israel Perry at Mariners’ Wharf on Water Street, finally managing to secure his passage across the Albemarle Sound aboard Perry’s schooner, “Curlique”. The “Curlique” with Israel Perry at the helm and Wilbur and his provisions on-board, departed the Elizabeth City Harbor on September 11, 1900. It took three days to arrive in Kitty Hawk. Wilbur later remarked that his three-day journey on-board the “Curlique” was a harrowing trip. Wilbur wrote in his journal from Saturday, September 8 – Tuesday, September 11, 1900: “I engaged passage with Israel Perry on his flat-bottom schooner fishing boat. As it was anchored about three miles down the river we started in his skiff which was loaded almost to the gunwale with three men, my heavy trunk and lumber. The boat leaked very badly and frequently dipped water, but by constant bailing we managed to reach the schooner in safety. The weather was very fine with a light west wind blowing. When I mounted the deck of the larger boat I discovered at a glance that it was in worse condition if possible than the skiff. The sails were rotten, the ropes badly worn and the rudderpost half rotted off, and the cabin so dirty and vermin-infested that I kept out of it from first to last. The wind became very light making progress slow. Though we had started immediately after dinner it was almost dark when we passed out of the mouth of the Pasquotank and headed down the sound. The water was much rougher than the light wind would have led us to expect, and Israel spoke of it several times and seemed a little uneasy. After a time the breeze shifted to the south and east and gradually became stronger. The boat was quite unfitted for sailing against a head wind owing to the large size of the cabin, the lack of load, and its flat bottom. The waves which were now running quite high struck the boat from below with a heavy shock and threw it back about as fast as it went forward. The leeway was greater than the headway. The strain of rolling and pitching sprung a leak and this, together with what water came over the bow at times, made it necessary to bail frequently. At 11 o’clock the wind had increased to a gale and the boat was gradually being driven nearer and nearer the north shore, but as an attempt to turn round would probably have resulted in an upset there seemed nothing else to do but attempt to round the North River light and take refuge behind the point. In a severe gust the foresail was blown loose from the boom and fluttered to leeward with a terrible roar. The boy and I finally succeeded in taking it in though it was rather dangerous work in the dark with the boat rolling so badly. By the time we reached a position even with the end of the point it became doubtful whether we would be able to round the light, which lay at the end of the bar extended out a quarter of a mile from the shore. The suspense was ended by another roaring of the canvas as the mainsail also tore loose from the boom; and shook fiercely in the gale. The only chance was to make a straight run over the bar under nothing but a jib, so we took in the mainsail and let the boat swing round stern to the wind. This was a very dangerous maneuver in such a sea but was in some way accomplished without capsizing. The waves were very high on the bar and broke over the stern very badly. Israel had been so long a stranger to the touch of water upon his skin that it affected him very much.” (Marvin W. McFarland, “The Papers of Wilbur and Orville Wright” (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1953) (Papers, pg. 24-25) Wilbur finally arrived on the Outer Banks in the fishing village of Kitty Hawk on the morning of September 13th. Orville Wright, Wilbur’s brother, joined him in Kitty Hawk 11 days later. According to the Wright Brothers, the steady winds and remote location were the biggest reasons that they chose Kitty Hawk to conduct their flying experiments. Later that Fall, the Wright brothers set up camp in the sand just south of Kitty Hawk and spent the next three years testing their gliders, and refining their initial hypotheses on the sand dunes of Kill Devil Hills. During this time, The Wright Brothers traveled back and forth between Ohio, stopping in Elizabeth City each trip, on their way back to the Outer Banks, as their flight experiments continued. The supplies and materials purchased over the next few years in Elizabeth City included a barrel of oil from the N.G. Grandy Company on Water Street, which was the first delivery point for Standard Oil Company in this area. The brothers patronized the Kramer Mill Company at 306 North Road Street to purchase lumber and materials for their experiments, this general location is now where the old Elizabeth City Middle School still stands. On East Main Street the first stories of the Wright Brothers’ work and flying machine experiments were reported from the offices of the “North Carolinian” newspaper building. In 1902, the “Tar Heel”, a local newspaper located on Water Street, right next to the Singer Sewing store, printed the first article that mentioned the Wright brothers by name. For the first three years, the brothers’ trials and tests consisted of flying gliders with local men assisting by running along on each of their flying machine to keep the wings level. As they sprinted down Big Kill Devil Hill, eventually a speed which they would gain lift into the air was reached, and their flying apparatus would take flight. At long last, on December 17, 1903, after years of refining, their perfected plane design and modified motor found success and achieved powered flight! Elizabeth City even has ties to the announcement of the Wright brothers’ success. After their successful heavier-than-air flight on December 17, 1903, the “Daily Economist”, another resident newspaper interviewed the Wright brothers at the Arlington Hotel and provided the world with the words of Wilbur and Orville Wright. If you would like to see these Elizabeth City sites for yourself, thanks to the Elizabeth City First Leg of Flight Committee, historical markers have been placed around town where the Wright brothers visited, bought supplies and where the first recordings of their experiments took place. There are nine markers that have been incorporated into the Elizabeth City Aviation Trail that runs through Elizabeth City. Download the Elizabeth City Aviation Trail brochure featuring markers and descriptions by following the link. Barbara Putnam is originally from Syracuse, NY, she now lives and works in Downtown Elizabeth City and her hobbies include freelance writing and amateur photography. She shares community information, downtown activities and stories about local folks, as well as her unconventional photo pictorials – that connect the constant barrage of song lyrics playing in her head, to images she captures while out in about walking her dog, Xena, each day in Downtown Elizabeth City on her Facebook page.
Wilbur and Orville Wright made many trips into Elizabeth City in their quest to make their dream of taking flight become reality. In 1900, Wilbur Wright traveled from Dayton, Ohio by train and steamer as he made his way to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The last train Wilbur boarded was the Norfolk-Southern into the Elizabeth City train depot which was located at 715 North Poindexter Street and is now the location of Mid-Atlantic Christian University.
