History of Kitty Hawk

Woods near camp at Kitty Hawk, 1900.

In 1903, Orville Wright telegraphed home the triumphant news of the first powered flight. The telegraph was dispatched from Kitty Hawk. This, along with the isolation of the area and the unusual names themselves, led to the subsequent confusion as to where the first flight actually occurred.

The actual location of the first flight was some four miles away in what is now known as Kill Devil Hills but newspapers had picked up the dateline of Kitty Hawk.

Wright Brothers National Memorial and Visitor Center and the Memorial Pylon are nearby reminders of the days when Orville and Wilbur Wright made this area their headquarters.

Called Chickahauk by native Indians, some believe "Kitty Hawk" is the closest English pronunciation of the Indian phrase meaning "goose hunting grounds" .....more about the name.

Wilbur Wright gliding, 1901.