Using the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park (16 South Williams Street, 937-225-7705) as a point of orientation, it is possible to visit five important sites commemorating the legacy of local bicycle makers and flight pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright.

These include the Wright Cycle Company complex and the adjacent museum (at the Williams Street location); the home of Paul Laurence Dunbar, (the Wrights’ friend and famous African American poet, in the neighborhood nearby); the Wright Brothers Aviation Center (at Carillon Park, also mentioned above; and the Huffman Prairie Flying Field and Interpretive Center on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

At the Interpretive Center and Wright Memorial there is a rare cluster of Adena era burial mounds. Finally, don’t miss the huge National Museum of the United States Air Force.

For a detailed guide and driving directions to all of this, follow the Dayton, Ohio “Aviation Trail” at http://www.aviationtrailinc.org/ as well as consulting the National Park Service’s materials.

Six mounds of various sizes line the edge of a peaceful park adjacent to the Wright Brothers Memorial and Huffman Prairie Interpretive Center.

Dayton Area

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