Wilbur Wright Birthplace

I had no idea that Wilbur Wright's Birthplace was a roadside attraction. This was pretty cool to see!

I served as an interim pastor in Hagerstown, Indiana for a while and spent a considerable amount of time during my weekends in the small eastern Indiana town that is not far from Richmond and fairly close to the Ohio state line. It was during this time that I first visited the Wilbur Wright Birthplace and Museum, a surprisingly delightful museum celebrating 1/2 of the Wright Brothers team. The home itself is a replica home authorized by Indiana Governor Whitcomb in 1972. A non-profit, Wilbur Wright Birthplace Commission, was incorporated and in 1974 the home and a memorial were dedicated. By 1988, Indiana's DNR voted to close the memorial and there was a brief movement to move the birthplace (which is weird). Instead, Indiana leased the memorial to the newly formed Wilbur Wright Preservation Society and a caretaker was hired. Indiana gave the Society a 3-year trial period to prove it could actually maintain the home and memorial. In 1993, a Wright Flyer replica was built by Buford Gross of Peru, Indiana and it remains a key feature of the museum. In 1995, Indiana gave the deed for the Wright Farm to the commission and a $250,000 donation allowed for the building of the actual museum. The museum opened right next to the farm house in 1996. While I became fairly familiar with Hagerstown, the truth is that it still took me some time to find this birthplace and memorial. It's definitely out in the country. The Wright family only lived in Hagerstown three years. They would move to Dayton, Ohio and briefly back to Indiana in the Richmond area before returning to Dayton. Hagerstown/Richmond is a rather lovely day trip. Hagerstown has a strong Amish community that I used to drive by nearly every Sunday morning. It's a friendly community and a low-key historical site like the Wright birthplace and memorial really fits with the community. The museum is only open from April 1 - November 1, though they do have occasional events and exhibits at other times. You can join as a member of the Preservation Society and this gives you 10% off at the gift shop, $100 rentals for the community room, and free admission to the birthplace and museum. There's a gift shop and a website store (surprisingly affordable!). I sometimes forget how recently flight came into being and this tourist site is a nice reminder of its history. Wilbur Wright died at 45 of typhoid fever - reportedly exacerbated by stress over patent lawsuits and all the controversies over their famous flights. I'm not sure I'd consider this museum a destination museum, but as part of a day trip to this area it's definitely worth a visit. The pandemic itself has definitely impacted things and I would recommend contacting the museum prior to visiting. The museum itself is fairly accessible; definite accommodations made that would not have been there originally (of course). However, for the most part these have been done in a way that remains faithful to the style and function of the original site. The birth home includes five acres with the house, a smoke house, a barn, and an outhouse. Exhibits include the Wright Flyer, a Kitty Hawk room, a "Main Street," the gift shop/visitor center, and a community building that can be rented.

With some time to kill on our way home from Indy, we saw the signs for this and Sweetie suggested I go. Okay, insisted. I knew it was nearby, but hadn't wanted to drag her and Baby K to yet another aviation museum. I love her. Anyway, it is a fair piece off the highway- just follow the signs, and look for a parking lot in the middle of nowhere.There's a nice little visitor's center with a giftshop, and enthusiastic volunteers. You can get a tour, or go on your own. You walk out to an F-84 fighter from the '50s; not sure why it is here, but it is cool and well-cared-for. There are memorials around it, and a nice pergola nearby. Past it is the house. A replica, but filled with period artifacts. Next door is the museum. Fairly small, but filled with artifacts and info about the Wrights and the area. Take your time and read them, watch the movie, etc. There's a replica of the Flyer, and of the hut where the Wrights lived on the beach in North Carolina. In the back is a "Main Street" from the early 1900s, lovingly done. As a history buff, I loved it. As a wing nut, it was a sort of pilgrimage. Baby K was less enthused, though she loved the stuff she could touch (not a whole lot, but enough to keep her occupied while dada walked around.) Well worth a detour if you are into history or aviation. Tolerable for toddlers, interesting for older kids, and great for adults.

Out for a drive and swung into the Wilbur Wright Birthplace. It can be found in the Indiana country near Milton. It has ample parking for being so out of the way. You enter a gift shop and to go on the self -guided tour it will cost $10 each for adults. They do offer several discounts, the kind staff person mentioned military, AARP, AAA.... Luckily I saved $2.00 with my AAA so I only paid $18!Step outside to find an old plane - not from the Wilber Wright era. Straight ahead and you see the home Wilber was supposedly birthed in - you can't enter and looking thru the windows just shows empty rooms. There are buttons you can push that provided a recorded description. Around the home you will find a smoke house and a barn with some fake livestock and a real buggy. There is also an outhouse. To the left of the plane you will find a little museum filled with turn of the century tools and clothing and a replica of one of Wilber's planes. It's actually pretty interesting and nicely air conditioned. You will also find very clean rest rooms. That is about the extent of it.... They do have a covered picnic area and a meeting hall, but they were unused when I was there.Finally return to the gift shop which offers a variety of inexpensive items...I can't say it's a good deal - But if you have some minutes as you drive to Summit Lake State Park and want a break and a little history of the Wrights AND have money to burn -- sure go... if nothing else you get to chat with a very nice hostess and gift shop lady.

I have to tell you. This place was a huge surprise to me and my family. I want to thank the private organization that keeps it going for keeping together all of this history. If you are in the area, it is definitely worth the stop.

We were disappointed after not being able to visit the Indianapolis Speedway museum. A quick search of attractions along I-70 revealed the Wright House. Being aviation fans, we decided to give it a try. Be prepared to drive several miles along farmland roads of varying state-of-repair. We encountered several flooded sections due to heavy rains but nothing impassable. We finally arrived and were greeted by a very friendly, pleasant, and enthusiastic woman! She was thrilled to see us and spent plenty of time helping us plan the best way to see everything in spite if the torrential rain. The house itself was okay... nothing spectacular. We found out that the original house had been torn down and that we were touring a replica. The museum, however was a neat and thorough representation of the Wrights and their life & work. Add in the full scale replica of the Wright Flyer and it was a lot of fun!Take the time to visit if you're an aviation buff. You'll enjoy!

I frequently drive the route back and forth from Pendleton to Losantville and Hagerstown when I am in the area, to visit cemeteries where I have ancestors and relatives buried. I had seen the sign to this farm more than once over the years and finally decided to stop by on my last trip. This is a farm that the Wright brothers lived on in their youth, not one that plays significantly in the invention of the airplane, but it gives an idea of their surroundings during their childhood. There was nothing exciting here, yet everything was interesting. It was probably past the busy tourist season when I stopped by so there wasn't a lot going on, but I still enjoyed seeing it and would recommend it to anyone who has the time to park and walk around and experience the place.

SUPER friendly staff, very informational and on a beautiful and well kept campus. This was a spur of the moment decision while we drove and passed by the highway signs, and it was the highlight of our day!

We are flying our own little airplane around the country and are seeing as many aviation museums as we can. This one took us by surprise! We expected a musty old farmhouse and a few interpretive signs, but there is a LOT more to see here. We particularly enjoyed the full-sized reproductions of the Wright Flyer, the shed at Kitty Hawk, and the adorable brick Main Street, complete with the types of shops Wilbur and Orville's mother and father would have shopped in. It reminded me of the awesome Main Street in the basement of the Detroit Historical Museum, it was that cute! The drive took about 45 minutes each way from Muncie, but the scenery was gorgeous! Rolling hills with white farmhouses, red barns, and acres of crops turning the harvest gold of late summer.... it was so beautiful that I even thought of moving here! Go and see this museum. It's wonderful!!!