1936, 184 The Locations of the residence and comfort station were
planned to provide minimum disruption of the "natural and historic”
environment while still providing the best possible protection for
the monument. This placed the buildings on the side of Kill Devil
Hill opposite the site of the first flights. Dough had received
the first designs for the buildings at the end of 1934 from the

architect, J.R. Thrower, 185

and construction on the brick struc-
tures began in October of the next year, 186 In Dough's case, the
residence did enable better protection for the monument, but also
served to isolate him from friends and family relations in Manteo.
This situation necessitated commuting almost every evening to and
from Manteo, 187
By January 1936 Greenbriar Farms of Norfolk, Virginia, had
completed the planting projects--lining the circular drive with
trees, planting flat, sandy areas with grass, and installing
numerous shrubs, /88 In July 1936 the roads and paths project was

completed, 189 but another $7,500 was still required to make such

18. Dough to The Director, April 10, 1936, (la-2)

185. J.R. Thrower to Dough, October 4, 1934.

186. "Monthly Report," October, 1935. (4a)

187. Interview with Horace Dough, Manteo, N.C., Nov. 5, 1967.

188. John S. Cross, Engineer, to the Director, "Final Construction,
Report on Furnishing and Planting," F.P. 450, July 2, 1936. (la=1)

189. Cross to The Director, "Final Report on Construction, Recon-
struction, and Improvement of Park Roads, Paths, and Trails,"
F.P. 389, Sept. 17, 1936. (la-1)

59


position was that the memorial tower and the Coast Guard station
were to be separated in competition. ©* Furthermore, General
Cheatham expected no problems in view of the fact that an appro-
priation was being requested in advance of an approved design.
No mention was made of an appropriation for the Coast Guard
station, but the aicuation appeared more promising for a memorial
tower only than it actually was.

On December 17, 1928, the 25th anniversary of the "first
flight," the cornerstone of the memorial tower was laid, even
though it was to be replaced and relocated at a later date. A
Congressional committee was in attendance as the result of a reso-
lution introduced by Warren, and the National Advisory Committee
for Aeronautics dedicated a boulder of Mount Airy (N.C.) granite
to mark the site of the launchings of the December 17, 1903,
flights,

If the memorial were to be built on Kill Devil Hill, it was
necessary to "anchor" it before construction could begin. Captain
John A. Gilman, who had headed the committee investigating the
site in October, mentioned the importance of beginning this work
to Warren, who in turn relayed this to Assistant Secretary of War

Davison on the boat returning from the ceremonies of the 17th. ©

64. The Quarter Master General to Construction Service, Nov. 10,
1928, (2-5)

65. BF. Cheatham to Warren, December 5, 1928, (2-5)
66. Warren to F, Trubee Davison, Dec. 22, 1928. (3a)

25


FOREWARD

This report has been prepared to provide an historical back-
ground to Wright Brothers National Memorial as cited by RSP WRBR-
Hel.

From the insular Outer Banks of 1903 and 1926 to the Hatteras
National Seashore today, the development of this region has been
greatly influenced by the National Park Service and the "changing
times,"

Those persons interested in or involved with Wright Brothers
will find in this report an explanation of how the Memorial has
grown and come to exist in its present state, Hopefully, the
reader will gain a deeper appreciation for the directions in
which the Memorial has developed and how these reflect its chang-
ing services to the people of the Outer Banks and to the nation,

I would like to express my gratitude to the great number of
people who assisted me in the preparation of this report, Warm
thanks are especially due to Mr. Edwin C. Bearss and Mrs. Lucy
Wheeler, who guided me through the research; and also to Miss
Mary Shipman, who typed the manuscript,

Andrew M. Hewes
Student Assistant Historian

Washington, D.C.
January 8, 1968



TS _NORFOL
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thereby made custodian of his own birthplace, In this same year,
Mr. Robert H. Atkinson, who had been the Superintendent of Schools
in Dare County tor the preceding six years, began work as a guard
ac Kill Dovil itiit and, one year later, was transferred to Fort

Raleigh as Superintendent, 222

One of the original policies of some of the Park Service
officials, including Stephan Macher, had been to keep the National
Parks finencially self-sufficient. This had been, of course, im-
possible and especially so in an era of construction and improve-
ments, In 1939, however, Congreas and the Bureau of the Budget
stressed the importance of lessening the Parks' deficit, and en-
trance fees were raised or, in areas where there had been none,
such feea were established for the firat time, 223 At Kill Devil
Hill, previously without an entrance fee, the charge was now ten
cents. The fee was deferred, at the end of February 1940, 224
but reinstated almost immediately--this time eliminating motorcy-
cles from payment. “27> Dough, not wanting to be again criticized
for improper handling of affairs, applied the entrance fee rigor-

ously. In November 1941 he wrote to the Associate Director that

222. "Monthly Report," July 1941, (la-2)

223. Ise, Qur National Park Policy, p. 622.

224, Telegram, Cammerer to Dough, Feb, 29, 1940. (la-3)

225. Marlow Glenn (Sr. Auditor) to the Director, April 9, 1940,
(la-3)

68



also served as the State route to Colington, would be donated to
North Carolina, Furthermore, the State was expected to re-route
its Colington road so as to not use the circular drive around
Rill Devil Hill. It would still cross federal lands in the south-
west corner, but would not have access to the Memorial's roads, “00
Inasmuch as Kill Devil Hill was within the boundaries of the pro-
posed National Seashore area, it should have been possible to
obtain funds for the Memorial's land acquisitions. However, the
Seashore area was itself embroiled in problems--problems which
centered around its very existence--and little assistance could be
expected from this source. Nor could the Park Service, in its
difficult financial situation, afford to provide funds for the

261

estimated $108,000 cost. Private sources, the last possibility,

could not be utilized except after lengthly soliciting. Land pur-
chase and related developments would have to be indefinitely poste
poned, and were not, in fact, recommenced until the late "50s.
Due to necessary measures of economy and security, the monu-
ment had not been lighted during the war years. Shortly there-
after, however, complaints were received to the effect that the

262

beauty of the lighting could no longer be foregone, and in

3

December 1947 lighting began once again. 2° Perhaps indicative

260. T.C. Vint to The Director, Dec. 23, 1947. (la-3)

261. Director Wirth to Hon. William B. Umstead (Governor of North
Carolina), Nov. 20, 1953. (4a)

262. "Monthly Report," August 1947, (la-2)
263. “Monthly Report," December 1947. (la-2)

79


at this Station were an essential service, By September the
beacon proposal was still as tentative as it had been in late
March, 2> for Bingham had been in the Orient from June until
that month, and the Commission had not wanted to proceed with-
out his personal views.

In the meantime, there had been a contest held by W. 0.
Saunders’ Elizabeth City weekly, The Independent, and such
names at the "Wright Memorial Beacon" had been suggested. Warren
had selected the thirteen most satisfactory to him, but added,
“I like none of them, "36 He also pointed out that a name could
not be chosen as "we don't know whether it will be a light or a
shaft or something else,"37

The long wait for Bingham's return may have been an important
stimilus to the Kill Devil Hills Memorial Association. This
association--the name had been selected, according to Saunders,
“because of a lack of a better one, and because it is an unusual

type and would attract attention"?®,

owas organized to insure a
proper memorialization of the Wrights and of their first flight.

According to The Daily Advance of August 5, 1927, the slogan of

35. Letter, Bingham to Warren, September 27, 1927. (3a)
36. Letter, Warren to Saunders, June 22, 1927. (3a)
37, Ibid.

38. The Daily Advance, Nov. 18, 1932.

15



observance" of the event, “43

The observances that year were,
however, not held because of snow and it soon became obvious
that no shipment of the plane would be made until war's end.
Interest was bridled until August 1945, at which time enthusiasm
again broke forth.

The few visitors who did come to the Monument were primarily
relatives of those stationed at nearby Coast Guard stations and an

Air Station, 244

although there were also a good number of foreign

visitors from the Norfolk naval area, especially British and Russian

naval officers, The small maintenance crew was kept fully occupied

preventing brush and trees from spreading into areas where such

growth was undesirable, Dough wrote, "For the past twelve years

we have been compelled to spend considerable time and money in

planting, fertilizing and nursing the vegetation and now... we

are going to have to spend more money to keep certain areas from |
reforesting than we spent to make it grow in the past."245 The |
condition of the grounds was such that in September 1944 "one of

the worst, if not the worst," hurricanes did little more than

destroy the sheet copper roof of Dough's residence and knock down

the weaker trees, The sheet copper was replaced with a slag and
243. "Monthly Report," October 1943, (la~2)
244, "Monthly Report," January 1945, (la~2)

245. "Monthly Report," May 1945. (la-2)

74



Stick saw it, “From a real estate standpoint, the structure would
be the real thing."85 colonel Bash again wrote the competitors,
advising of continued difficulties. The difficulty was that the
Joint Committee on the Library was to be reorganized in 1930.

Until such time, the Wright Memorial question was tabled, 8° Warren
asked Herbert Hoover, now President of the United States, to assist
in any way possible to end the deadlock "without further delay, "87
President Hoover could do little at that time, however, about the
organization of the Joint Committee, and Saunders suggested to
Warren that they dramatize their impatience with Congress by re-
leasing in North Carolina a flock of carrier pigeons trained to
roost on the capitol 88 It was felt that even this could gain no
ground, It was necessary to wait until the new Joint Committee
met in January of 1930, with Lindsay Warren as a new member. Warren
remarked to the Chairman at that time that "we are placed in the
rather ridiculous attitude of having held the cornerstone exercises

e «© e and yet have never approved the plans,"°?

85. Frank Stick to Warren, September 6, 1929. (3a)

86. Bash to Capt. Gilman, October 12, 1929, (2-6)

87. Warren to President Hoover, November 22, 1929, (3a)
88. W. O. Saunders to Warren, December 1, 1929. (3a)

89, Warren to Senator Fess (Chairman, Senate Committee on the
Library), Jan. 23, 1930. (3a)

32



Working files
4. National Park Service

a. Office of Archeology and Historic
Preservation, Division of History
(Washington, D.C.)

b. Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Manteo,
N.C.) (bound Monthly Narratives, 1957 to
1964)

c. Wright Brothers National Memorial (Kill
Devil Hills, N.C.)

d. Rogers, Edmund, MS, Legislative History of

the National Park Service, volumes ten &
fifty, (Department of the Interior Library)

Published materials
52 Books
a. Ise, John, Our National Park Policy: A

Critical History, John Hopkins Press,
Baltimore, for Resources for the Future,

Inco, 1961, 701 pps.

be. Stick, David, The Outer Banks of North
Carolina, University of North Carolina
Press, Chapel Hill, 1958, 352 pps.

ce. “Hiram Bingham (1875-1956) ," The Columbia
Encyclopedia, Columbia University Press,
New York City, 1963.
6. Newspapers
a. The Daily Advance, Elizabeth City, N.C.

(microfilm records on file at newspaper
office)

b. The Independent, Elizabeth City, N.C.,
(on file in Raleigh and Chapel Hill, N.C.)

Interviews

7. Mr. Roy E. Appleman,
Washington, D.C., November 14, 1967

103


The final solution to the problem is unclear, but a loophole was
apparently found which circumvented the need for legislative re-
course.

Wills and Mafera, upon receiving the contract to construct
the memorial, received bids for granite work from numerous granite
companies in New England and North Carolina. The contract was
awarded to the Sargent Granite Company of Mount Airy, North
Carolina. This same company had also supplied the white granite
for the Arlington Memorial Bridge in Washington, D.C., and the
Gettysburg Memorial in Pennsylvania, and had a reputation for

excellent craftsmanship as well as excellent stone. 107

Transpor-
tation of the stone was by railroad to Norfolk or Elizabeth City,
and then by truck or barge to Kill Devil Hill. The bridge at
Kitty Hawk had been opened the previous September, allowing
smaller pieces to be transported over the bridge route by truck.
In the case of barge transport--essential for the larger cuts--
the granite was unloaded at concrete piers, the first of these
having been constructed in October 1931, 108 and then on rails

109

to the site. Granite began arriving in October, and continued

throughout the time until the monument was completed the following

year, 110

107. The Independent, Section 3, page 1, November 18, 1932.

108. ‘Daily Report," Kindervater to Gilman, October 24, 1931. (2-3)
109. ‘The Baltimore Sun, page 10, August 28, 1932. (2-3)

110. "Daily Report," December 14, 1931. (2-3)

39



and finances were debated among innumerable persons during this
time, The official justifications for the airport, as reported
in May 1939, were that it would have a definite memorial basis,
would serve in emergencies, could be used as a Coast Guard air
operations center, and would provide air access to a recreational
area, 205 The location was to be South of the monument due to
excessive costs to the North and East--and an alleged lack of
space to the West. In any event, a minimum of 523 acres of air-

strip grounds was established, “0%

Alfred E. Poor, of the firm
which had designed the Memorial, offered to serve as architect
for any airport that might be built, explaining:
At the time that we were selected for the Memorial
by open competition, there was to be a landing field
at the base of Kill Devil Hill. The location of this
proposed field had an important bearing on our design
of the Memorial and its orientation, 2°
An airport location ta the South of the Monument had been
surveyed and laid out by July 1939. Roy Knabenshue, working with
the proposal, found that even though land prices were lower to
the South, the cost would become prohibitive because a sand dune

208

covering some 400 acres would have to be removed. Knabenshue

had spoken with Orville Wright about sites for an airport, and

205. "Descriptive Report on the Proposal for an Airport" (pre-
pared by N.P.S., Region I, Branch of Plans and Design), May 1939,
(la-3)

206. Ibid,

207. Alfred E, Poor to The Director, NPS, July 3, 1939. (la-3)
208. Roy Knabenshue to Sager (NPS), July 31, 1939. (la-3)

64


much the influence of Bingham as it was the Quartermaster Corps.

The decision had been made.

35


the Wright's tirst flight were now held each December 17. These
were usually banquet affairs with one or several speeches on the
actual site by various invitees of the Kill Devil Hills Memorial
Association, Orville Wright did not, for various reasons, attend
these observances. He had visited in 1928 and 1932 for ceremonies,
and in April 1939 he drove down in his Hudson for personal senti-
mental reasons, He was shown about, and appeared to enjoy his visit

217

iomensely. "Except for the prolific scrub growth," he commented,

“I don't see that it has changed much since we were first here. In

18

earlier years there was just sand." This was Orville Wright's

last visit to the site which is so strongly linked with his legend.
Until the early 19508, Horace Dough was the only Park Service
administrator in the entire Banks area. In addition to being Super-
intendent--since June 1941--of the Kill Devil Hill National Monu-
ment 229 he was also the Acting Custodian of the Currituck Beach
and Hatteras lighthouses, and of Fort Raleigh as well. The light-
houses had been transferred to the Park Service in May 1938 in

220

connection with the proposed national seashore. Fort Raleigh

was transferred to the Park Service and Dough's care in 1941,

221

after several years of unofficial transition, and Dough was

217. "Monthly Report," April 1939, (la~2)

218. Bee-Hive (magazine), Dec. 1953, p. 30. (1a-2)

219. General Memorandum, Tolson, June 18, 1941, (la-2)

220. AE. Demaray (Acting Director) to Dough, Feb. 14, 1939. (4a)

221. The Director to Secretary of the Interior, April 5, 1941. (4c)
67



Interviews

8. Mr. Aycock Brown, Secretary, First Flight
Society, Manteo, N.C., November 6, 1967

9. Mr. Horace A. Dough, Superintendent, Wright

Brothers National Memorial (1933 to 1962),
Manteo, N.C., November 5, 1967

104



HORACE DOUGH, CARETAKER
Chapter 5

To £111 the vacancy of caretaker, the Office of the Quarter-
master General began taking steps to once again appoint a care-
taker. Partridge, ill at the time of his appointment, had died
of cancer before assuming duties or receiving any salary, 136

A local boatbuilder and fishing guide, Horace A. Dough, of
Manteo, applied for the position along with five others, 137 In
the consideration of his application, his comparatively young
age--thirty-nine--was to his advantage. A memorandum from General
Beard reported that he had not finished high school, and had been
“a boat builder by profession until four or five years ago, and
a presentable type of man who could handle visitors to the monu-
ment satisfactorily and could maintain order. He did not appear
to be particularly anxious to accept offer of a job for a month
or two spreading fertilizer and planting Bermuda grass on Kill
Devil Hi21,""138

Horace Dough had indeed been a boat~-builder in Manteo, just

as all the sons in his father's family were. In the immediate

136. "EHO" to Major Calvert, Quartermaster Corps, June 8, 1933. (2-1)

137. Gen. Beard to Chief of Construction Division, Feb. 6, 1933.
(2-6)

138. Ibid,

45



expected to remain only until the first storm, they actually
survived almost ten years of storms. When they were removed in
1962 it was because of termite damage, and new and sturdier recon-
structions soon took their place.

The staff of Wright Brothers had grown over the years. In
1956 the staff had risen to seven persons: Superintendent Horace
Dough; Historian Omega G, East; Tour Leader (temporary) James De
Groce; a clerk-typist (temporary); one permanent laborer; and two

temporary laborers. 277

These staff positions would change in the
next ten years to reflect the new policies of MISSION 66 and the
greater numbers of tourists.

After many years of indecision and debate, the Cape Hatteras
National Seashore was finally established in January 1953. Its
early influence on Wright Brothers was, however, slight. It was
understood that the Memorial would eventually come under the
supervision of Hatteras, but until Dough's retirement in the early
‘60s, Hatteras had too many problems of its own to place a high
priority on such chores as administering an established area such
as Wright Brothers. Horace Dough was, as always, the Superintendent,
and his competence in this position did not call for control by
Cape Hatteras. Wright Brothers continued, then, as an independently

administered area until Dough's retirement in 1962, after twenty-

nine years of service, twenty nine years at the Memorial. Under

277. Payroll records of Wright Brothers, October 1938 (1-a2)
and December 1956. (4c)

87


Hearing of this, Warren wrote:

I see that you today introduced in the Senate a bill

for a memorial to the first successful air-plane

flight made at Kitty Hawk, Dare County, North Carolina

by Orville and Wilbur Wright on December 17th, 1903.

It so happens that I introduced practically the same

bill also today.

I am very glad to know of your interest, and I have

quite a large file on the subject which I will be

glad to place at your disposal.13
Senator Bingham was known as an “archeologist, historian, and
statesman," and had been Governor of Connecticut and co-discoverer
of Macchu Piccu, the "lost city" of the Incas in Peru. 14 Bingham's
bill provided for a commission composed of the Secretaries of War,
of the Navy, and of Commerce to carry out the purposes of the Act. 15
Secondly, the duty of the Commission was "to select a suitable loca-
tion . . . which shall be as near as possible to the actual site of
said flight; to acquire the land therefor; to superintend the erec-
tion of said monument; and to make all necessary and appropriate
arrangements for the unveiling and dedication of the same when it
shall have been completed." Third and last, appropriations were

authorized for "such sum or sums as Congress may hereafter appro-

priate."

13, Letter, Warren to Sen. Hiram Bingham, December 17, 1926. (3a)

14. The Columbia Encyclopedia (New York and London, 1963), p. 218.

15. 69 Cong., 2 Sess., S.4876, 68-630 (Dec. 17, 1926).



BACKDROP

Chapter 1

The contribution of the Wright Brothers to the development
and present level of modern society can be put in terms of "the
glory of air power" and "the shrinking of the globe." It can
hardly be overstated. The original speed of one hundred twenty
feet in twelve seconds has developed directly to the current pros-
pect of "lunch in Paris, lunch in New York, lunch in San Francisco.”
For this is the air age as much as the age of any other field, and
the laudatory compliments owed to the Wright's pioneering accom-
plishments are endless and as much realistic as sentimental.

"If it wasn't for the Wrights we wouldn't be flying today,"
Be this as it may, the Wright Brothers contributed to "the inventive
genius of man! not only the first powered, heavier-than-air flight
carrying a man on a horizontal plane, but they also gave to the
world "scientific" facts and theories essential to heavier-than-
air flying machines.

The opportunity to memorialize the "first flight" came in the

middle 1920's, By this time the airplane had proven itself in the

1. "Speech of Honorable Lindsay C. Warren of North Carolina in
the House of Representatives,"’ Gov't Printing Office, House
Document No. 32589-3433, p. 3, Feb. 8, 1927.

2. Ibid., ps 8.



the area. Had it not been for Tate's generosity in offering the
Wright's his house and information about the area, they might

not have come to Kitty Hawk, Tate, although as qualified as
Partridge as caretaker of the Wright Memorial, received priority,
then, because of his past association with the Wrights. However,
the appointment was made by The Quartermaster General, who ignored
the opinions of "about 25 outstanding citizens" in deference to
those under his command, who had recommended Partridge. He was
thus appointed caretaker on October 13, at a time when he was
seriously ill with what had not yet been diagnosed as cancer. !22
He died the following January, and Kindervater was to be retained
at the site until July 1, 1933, with only the help of an “unskilled

laborer, uiQ3

Tate's name was not proposed again.

Plans for the dedication of the completed monument began in
August 1932, The Weather Bureau assured those concerned that
"November is one of the best months of the year," and, as The
Independent pointed out in August, "The Wright Memorial will be
completed by October 1, 1932, but . .. to have the dedication
this fall would bring it in conflict with the national political
campaign."124 It wouldn't do to have such people as the President

absent. Bash, as Acting Quartermaster General, decided, however,

that November would be the best, and he suggested the 19th, the

122, Personnel Vacancy form, by Gen. DeWitt, June 12, 1933. (2-1)
123. Ibid.
124, The Independent, August 26, 1932.

42



of the whale were attached to the "Monthly Narrative,” one "head
to tail," the other "tail cto head." The accompanying text read,
in part, "One bomber certainly made one whale of a good shot."237
And in February 1943 permission was given for a widow to throw
the ashes of her deceased husband from the top of the Monument.
One of the happiest moments of their lives had been a three-week
vacation several years before camping just outside the gates, 228
Shortly before the entrance of the United States into the war,
Orville Wright announced that the 1903 plane would be returned
from England to this country. The Kill Devil Hills Memorial Asso-
clation sprang into action with a reorganization and incorporation, 229
with Horace Dough as vice-president. 24° ‘The goal of the Associa-
tion was to obtain the 1903 plane--"should this plane be housed
anywhere else it would be like separating a man and his witer241._
and install it in "an appropriate ultra-modern aviation museum, 242
In October 1943 Governor J, Melville Broughton of North Carolina
assisted the effort by designating December 17 as "Kitty Hawk Day,"

and named a Kitty Hawk Day Committee to plan "an appropriate

237. "Monthly Report," March 1942. (la-5)

238. Newton B. Drury (Director, NPS) to Dough, Feb. 8, 1943. (la-5)
239. “Monthly Report," October 1942, (la-2)

240. “Monthly Report," February 1943. (la-2)

241, Melvin R. Daniels (Secretary, Kill Devil Hills Memorial Asso-
ciation) to North Carolina Governor Broughton, December 19, 1942.
(la-5)

242. “Monthly Report," October 1942. (la-2)

73


these activities, the Society turned to Mr. Ralph Whitener of the
Air Force Association in Washington, D.C. Tiis Association main-
tained national contacts with the Air Force and alicraft industries,
and it was from these sources that financing for the memorial pro~-
grams was expected, By the Spring of 1952, however, it could be
seen that it was going to be impossible to ra/se snough money to
cover all of the projects originally proposed, and Yhitener pro-
pcesed that pricrities be established immediately anong the proposals,
and that some of the responsibilities be given to others--for exam-
ple that the State of North Carolina provide the fands to purchase

the site of the fourth landing. 267

Postponing the acceptance of
these suggestions, an investigation into the possibility of hiring
a national fund-raising organization was made, It was soon dis-
covered that the cost of such an agency would require an initial
outlay of over twenty-five thousand dollars and a total amount of
more than double this figure. As a result it was felt that a
nationwide campaign could not be carried out and, furthermore, that
certain of the projects, such as the $1,250,000 museum, would have

to be postponed. 268

As the Regional Director commented at the ann.
versary ceremonies in 1953, "Many of us still feel very strongly

that the project [to construct a museum] should not be abandoned and

267. General memorandum from Ralph Whitener, Spring 1953. (4a)

268. "Statement Regarding the Financial Program jor tue Wright
Memorial," (filed) December 1952. (4a)

82



Wright Brothers

National Memorial

An Administrative History

By
Andrew M. Hewes

DIVISION OF HISTORY
Office Of Archeology And Historic Preservation

December 22, 1967

National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior




LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

Following page 105

I. Kill Devil Hill, December 17, 1928.
Il. Two views of the winning design for the Wright Memorial
Tower,

III. The Wright Memorial just prior to its dedication,
December 17, 1932.

Iv. The Memorial in the late 1930s.
ve The central area of Wright Brothers National Memorial.
VI. Historical Base Map: Acquisition, Construction and

Development, through December 1967.

iii



PLATE II

Two views of the winning design for the Wright Memorial Tower
so bitterly opposed by Senator Hiram Bingham on the grounds
that it "endeavors to combine memory with utility." Bingham's
criticism was taken into account only after this design had
been approved,



the outcome of the competition--that "approval of one of the
agencies . . . has not yet been obtained. 77 Warren summed

up the situation at the end of the month by writing, "Senator
Bingham termed it as grotesque . . . General Cheatham does not
know what to do. You can see that until some plan is accepted,
nothing can be done. u78

Meanwhile, Captain Kindervater was occupying himself at the
site of the proposed memorial, The formula for fertilizer had
been worked out at least as early as January 1929 and remained
essentially unchanged when put into practice. Confident of
success, he wrote a Senior Agronomist in the Department of
Agriculture, Roland McKee, "Due to the number of tourists that
pass here I am anxious to beautify as well as stabilize, so if
you have any seed that has a pretty flower I would like to spell
out the words 'Kill Devil Hill' in flowers."”?

The main problem, however, was protection from "the moles-
tation of tourists and souvenir collectors, and the ravages of
wild hogs, "89 and a fence around the area to guard against
animal ravaging was completed in March. An invitation in the

fall to the Prince of Wales to visit Kitty Hawk was discouraged

77. Bash to [the competitors], April 11, 1929. (2-6)

78 Warren to Sen. P.M. Simmons (N.C.), April 24, 1929. (3a)

79, Kindervater to McKee (Washington, D.C.), April 10, 1929. (2-3)
80. New York Times, July 21, 1929. (2-6)

30



of all the problems facing the National Park Service," and follow-
ing this study would be action to correct the primary problems. 278
These problems were expected to include the questions of building
visitor centers and acquisition of land, and the overall problems
centered around interpretive services, At the 1957 "first flight”
ceremonies, Director Wirth outlined what MISSION 66 was to mean
for Wright Brothers in particular:

The major developments of the MISSION 66 program

here will be accomplished, we hope, in two years.

Our plan is to construct during this fiscal year

a new entrance road to, and a parking area at,

the site of a new Visitor Center, This work should

be finished by next summer. During the next fiscal

year, we expect to proceed with the construction

of the Visitor Center. It will accomodate visitors

in large numbers; it will provide for their physi-

cal comforts; and it will present the story of the

Wright Brothers at Kill Devil Hill in the most

effective way graphic arts and modern museum prac-

tice can do it,27

What Wirth outlined was, however, only part of the story, for

construction of one sort often breeds yet other construction, and
the men to stimulate continued growth were there. Wright Brothers
is lucky in this respect, for unlike many Park Service areas, this
Memorial monument is an object of community pride that lends itself
to development and public support, Ralph Whitener had stated in
August 1957 that he was enthusiastic about the possibility of rais-

ing privately more than a million dollars for a new visitor center

278. Ise, Our National Park Policy, p. 547.

279, Director Wirth, address at Wright Brothers, December 17, 1957.
(4a)

89


with the reconstructions and the erection of information markers,
and the Park Service did not wish to proceed until financing was
actually available.?/* As Chief Historian Kahler wrote the Direc-
tor in early November, the small funds available (at the time they
totaled only $2,300) "is greatly affecting the speed with which the
Park Service can reconstruct the sheds," and it can be easily imag-
ined that such items as original, square cans of asparagus tips

273

could not be easily located. In order that the work could begin

the Air Force Association loaned the Park Service $500. 274

The rush
to reconstruct the buildings did not, however, seemingly affect the
quality of the reconstructed buildings, and they were accepted very
well by the public in December.

In November, the Avalon and Old Dominion Foundations of New
York gave $82,000 to the Park Service for land acquisition at
Wright Brothers, and by previous agreement with North Carolina to
match funds for this purpose up to a maximum of $25,000, these
commitments equaled the required amount for all proposed land pur-

chase.?/° Although these lands were not legislatively transferred

272, Assistant Director Lee to Regional Director, Region One,
September 2, 1953. (4c)

273, Chief Historian Herbert F. Kahler to the Director, November 9,
1953, (4a)

274, "Flight's Biggest Birthday Party," Air Force (magazine),
February 1954, page 19. (4a)

275. Director Wirth to the Governor of North Carolina William B.
Umstead, November 20, 1953. (4a)

84



This amendment, instigated by the Library Committee, was not
objectionable to Bingham or Warren, and Warren was able to write
to Bingham on the 8th of February that he had given a speech in
the House regarding the bii1,?5 and that the bill had been placed
on the House Unanimous Consent Calendar for February 21.76

The House vote on the 21st carried, and the Senate concurred
the following day with the two amendments.

It was only at this point that the Secretary of War, Dwight F.
Davis, wrote that he had no objection to serving on the Memorial
Committee to carry out the responsibilities of the Act. On
March 2 President Calvin Coolidge signed the Act "For the erection
of a memorial in commemoration of the first sucessful attempt in

all history at power-driven airplane flight."2/

25. "Speech cf Hon, Lindsay C, Warren of North Carolina in the
House of Representatives," Gov't. Printing Office, House Document
No. 32589-3433, Feb. 8, 1927.

26. Letter, Warren to Bingham, Feb. 8, 1927. (3a)

27. Warren, "Speech . « » ," Feb. 8, 1927, p. 3.

12



Frank Stick, enclosing the above, wrote to Verne Chatelain:

These men mean business, They are bringing down
their first bus loads of prospects next week.

The situation is so damned rotten that Congressional
action should be invoked if our hands are tied.
Uniess you halt them the entire program of develop-
ment you contemplate will be a failure, Personally
I should not hesitate to close off the road leading
into the memorial, temporarily, Their sales office
is located on this highway.

I have been preaching the need for haste for the last
six months, Perhaps it is now too late.

In response to a letter from Warren concerning the immediacy
of the situation, Cammerer wrote, "Public Works funds are only
available for land purchase when it can be shown that such pur-
chases will inaugurate important Public Works activities, "267

The position of the Kitty Hawk Development Corporation is
made very clear by a letter to Demaray:

We can take ($)500,000.00 profit out of it in
the next two years under a broad plan NOW being
worked out with Capitalists in New York and
Phila, These plans will be completed within the
next thirty days. However we well know now that
there is TREMENDOUS sentiment in favor of the
Government acquiring this Historic Shrine and we
will NOT STAND IN THE WAY of the National Park
Service getting it IF you WANT it and can ACT,
before we ourselves are all tied up with commit-
ments . . . contracts and sales contracts. 168

166. Stock to Chatelain, June 8, 1934. (la-3)
167. Canmerer to Warren, June 25, 1934. (la-3)

168. J.B. Fogel (Secretary, Kitty Hawk Development Corp.), to
Demaray, August 24, 1934, (la-3)

54



Also on the 16th, the Soaring Society of America presented
a plaque to the Memorial, sculptured by Captain Ralph Barnaby
(USN, Ret.), and commemorating the part that gliders played in
the Wright's development of techniques for flying. To this date,
however, no location has been specified for the plaque, and it is
in storage. The following day--the 60th anniversary of the first
flight--the long-awaited "First Flight" airstrip was officially
opened, 293 Definite plans for the three-thousand-foot airstrip
had been announced at the 1961 anniversary ceremonies, and the
financing of the necessary $133,000 was shared by the State of
North Carolina, the Federal Aviation Agency, and the National Park
Service, 294

With the construction and dedication of the airstrip, Wright
Brothers reached a level of sophistication which would require
only minor modifications and additions in the future. The newly
reconstructed camp buildings would still be attacked by termites
and the yellow-shafted flicker, and the only defense against this
would be applications of new methods to counteract old problems.
One change which might affect the camp buildings is the installa-
tion of the 1902 glider in the hangar. In 1966 the granite Marker
at the original take-off site was turned ninety degrees so as to

face visitors approaching the boulder from the camp buildings,

293. Ibid.

294, “Monthly Narrative," January 1963. (4b)

96


pitch roof which would be better able to resist high winds. The
Menorial Shaft suffered slight flooding from rains, but no damage.26
As the war ended in August 1945, the Park Service was ready
to proceed with master plans compiled in 1942. Congress, however,
saw differently. The Regional Director informed the field offices,
including Kill Devil Hill, that a 1939 investigation instigated by
Congress and the Bureau of the Budget had not yet been fully carried
out, and that the "strong pressure on the National Park Service to
raise itself to a fully self-sustaining status" was stronger than
ever, It was recommended to Dough that he provide a self-~sustain-
ing rate of twenty per cent of the total costs by charging an en-

trance fee of twenty-five cents per person, 247

“The post-war
financial embarassment," as John Ise termed it, maintained the Park
Service close to minimal levels until 1947, and even then there was
only one year of Congressional grace, for in 1948 the appropriation
was only ten million dollars--not quite double that of the war years,
and well below the 1941 level. in 1949 when Director Drury felt

the Park Service needed 496 million doilars for physical improve-
ments and completion of existing construction, the Park Service
appropriation was for just over fourteen nillion, and sustaining

what Drury called "the dilemma of the Parks. "248

246. “Monthly Report," September 1944, (la-5)

247, Thomas J, Allen (Regional Director, Region One) to field
offices, August 6, 1946. (4c)

248. John Ise, Our National Park Policy, p. 455.

75



A_GRANITE SHAFT

Chapter 4

When appropriations for the memorial were confirmed in
December 1930, the Ofrice of the Quartermaster General gave Marine
Capt, John A, Gilman orders to report to Kill Devil Hill as Con-

96 and the Wills & Mafera

structing Quartermaster of the site,
Corporation of New York City was named general contractor in
December for its low bid of $213,000 for the memorial and a sub-

station at the foot of Kill Devil i197

Construction specifi-
cations, dated November 11, 1930, had called for a granite tower
61 feet in height and a base of 36 by 43 feet, with stainless

steel as the standard metal, except for the weather-proofing and
(bronze) thresholds, The tower was to include a light beacon,

but only the mounting was part of the contract. Stainless steel,
as well as the nickel which forms the core of the entrance doors,
were both 'modern' construction materials, and indicate the special
attention this building was to be given. Mandatory spittoons for
workers were to be kept filled with clean sand--a necessity of the

era. All granite was to be "faultless," as determined by the Con-

structing Quartermaster, and the building was to be guaranteed

96, Office of the Quartermaster General to Gilman, December 17,
1930. (2-6)

97. Bash to Wills & Mafera Corporation (N.¥.C.), December 27,
1930. (2-6)

36



by the Civil Service Commission. 1a Kindervater had left, having
completed his reports, The final construction--the entrance
gates--had been completed June 24 by the L.R. Broyhill Company of
Hampton, Virginia, 245
Much of the hesitancy about a permenent appointment for
Dough was a result of the transfer of the "Kill Devil Hill Monu-
ment (Wright Memorial)" from the War Department to the National
Park Service, This was the result of two Executive Orders which
directed that a total of forty-eight areas under the War Depart-

ment be so transferred, !46

In 1928 the Secretary of the Interior
had secured an agreement with the Secretary of War for such a
transfer of areas, and a bill was introduced in the Senate to

this end but did not pass. In 1932 President Hoover had suggested
that Congress effect the change, but when this was ignored, the
President asked the Director of the Budget to draw up a plan. It
was this plan which met the approval of the two Secretaries, and
which was promulgated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. 147
In accordance with this Order, the transfer was to take place
August 10, 1933--two days after Dough had become Caretaker of the

Memorial.

144. Office of the Quartermaster General to Quartermaster, 4th
Corps Area, Aug. 8, 1933. (2-6)

145. Robert S, Beard (Constructing Quartermaster) to The Quarter-
master General, July 25, 1933.

146, Executive Order No. 6166 (June 10, 1933); Executive Order
No. 6228 (July 28, 1933)

147, John Ise, Our National Park Policy, p. 352.

48





The high acreage costs of lands surrounding the Memorial
notwithstanding, the Park Service directed that options be taken
on these same lands for future protection. In a letter to W.0.
Saunders, Cammerer informed him that Warren had suggested him as
@ person to secure these options. It was to be understood that
all options should be undertaken with "the greatest secrecy" in

164 values which

order to prevent a further escalation of values,
had also risen because of the now-free bridges onto the Outer Banks,
One real estate firm, Kitty Hawk Shores, of Norfolk, Virginia, print-
ed a pamphiet extolling the wondrous opportunities of the area.

Their brochure included the following undated editortal from The
Independent:

The lifting of the tolls from the Wright Memorial
Bridge and the Roanoke Sound Bridge is going to

mean an inpouring of thousands of new visitors...
It will be only a matter of a few years now before
the entire ocean front from Kitty Hawk Beach to

Nags Head will be lined with hotels, boarding houses
and private cottages. Front property will be at a
premium,

This reprint was supplemented with the incentive to "double
your capital here if you buy before prices begin to rise," and
“Happy Days Are Here Again." The Wright Memorial's beacon light
was described as "pointing the way to airmen... seamen and to

YOU as a SAFE and SANE place to live and invest,"!65

164, Cammerer to W.0. Saunders, Nov. 7, 1933. (la-3)
165. Brochure of Kitty Hawk Shores, Kitty Hawk Development Corpor-
ation (Norfolk, Va.), May 25, 1934.

53



Thus, on August 12, the Acting Director of the National Park
Service instructed Dough that he was to "assume charge of the
following: Kill Devil Hill National Monument, Kitty Hawk, North
Carolina, "148 Dough was given a temporary appointment, probably
due to the extensive new "possessions" of the Park Service creating
a heavy work load, Meanwhile, Representative Warren wrote General
Bash explaining that Dough was planning to move into the house
vacated by Captain Kindervater, and that Kindervater "has thoroughly
gone over with Mr. Dough the necessary instructions about the up-
keep of the grasses, and Mr. Dough is also fully conversant with
the history of the Wright Brothers,"!49 Like Warren, W.0. Saunders
felt that Dough should be given the permanent position as soon as
possible, asserting to Associate Director Cammerer that Dough "is
as clean, sober, upstanding, and responsible . . . a chap as you
will find in that coast country . .. there isn't a lazy bone in
him... . I am hoping you will retain him, "250 Endorsements
notwithstanding, Dough's position as Acting Caretaker was renewed
in November only for an additional three months, 154 After this

time, Dough's appointment became permanent.

148, A. E. Demaray (Acting Director, NPS) to Dough, Aug. 12, 1933.
(la-1)

149, Warren to Gen Bash, Aug. 25, 1933. (la-1)

150. W.O. Saunders to Associate Director Cammerer, Sept. 7,
1933. (la-1)

151. Dough to The Director, Nov. 6, 1933. (la-1)

49



Of all the possible developments for the Memorial, that of
“rounding out the boundaries" was the most immediate. Even before
the defeat of Japan in 1945, a land boom in the Kill Devil Hills
area had begun with an intensity theretofore unmatched, and tourism
was at least the equal of most speculation, New hotels, motels,
restaurants, stores, cottages, and other service developments had
already caused a tremendous increase in assessed values in the Kitty
Hawk-Kill Devit Hills area, and by 1957, the real and construction
values had increased to $6,250,000 from the 1927 level of $100,000,7°6
Eventual boundaries changes would be needed to provide for a new en-

trance east of the Memorial 257

and acquisition of the site of the
fourth landing of December 17, 1903, which could not be further ig-
nored, 298 There was also the constant fear that private interests
would eventually impair continued Park Service control over the qual-
ities of the monument,

In May 1947 the Master Plan was revised to include the acquisi-
tion of an 800 by 2,000 foot strip of land between the monument and
the state highway to the east. An East-West approach road was to

259

be constructed through the center of this land. With the con-

struction of a new entrance road, the previous right-of-way, which

256. David Stick, The Outer Banks . . ., ppe 251, 252.

257. T.V. Vint (Chief of Development) to the Director, December 23,
1947, (1a~3)

258. Herbert E. Kahler (Chief Historian) to the Director, Nov. 9,
1953. (4a)

259, "Monthly Report," May 1947, (la-2)

78



the "satellite system" of management, the Superintendent of Cape
Hatteras National Seashore would now be the Superintendent of
Wright Brothers as well. The disadvantage of this system is that
the smaller area can tend to be ignored or viewed as less impor-
tant than it might otherwise be, especially when the larger area
is of a different type. In this case, one Superintendent adminis-
ters three different types of areas--Cape Hatteras, a seashore and
recreational area with lighthouses, and adjoining game preserves;
Fort Raleigh, an archeological and historic site with theatrical
performances in the summer; and Wright Brothers, a memorial monu-
ment. Many of the problems related to these three areas are
identical; many are different. In any case, the dominant position
necessarily held by the Seashore might in certain circumstances
work to the disadvantage of maintenance and possible development
of the other areas.

Furthermore, the personnel at Wright Brothers, as in the
remainder of the National Park Service, is now expected to trans-
fer to other Park Service areas every several years, Wright
Brothers will have no more Horace Doughs with twenty-nine years
service. This policy has many advantages, but it can change cer-
tain aspects of Wright Brothers nonetheless, Exactly how is a
question that only time can tell.

The years of MISSION 66--1956 through 1966--saw the remaining
pieces in the development of Wright Brothers fall into place. On
a national scale, the program was to provide an "intensive study

88


Saturday after the elections. !?° Excitement mounted as the dedica-
tion date approached. Soldiers from Fort Monroe, Virginia, volun-
teered to participate, and the mayor of Elizabeth City--fifty miles
from Kill Devil Hill~-declared a city holiday, stating that he
hoped “residents of our City will pay respect to the great aviation

pioneers, Orville and the late Wilbur Wright. w126

The U.S. Navy
was to send a dirigible capable of carrying five airplanes within
it "like a Great Air Circus," and the Army was to send bomber and
pursuit squadrons over the ceremonies. 12” Various members of the
Congress, area dignitaries, numerous military personnel, aviation
heroes and manufacturers, and the President of the United States
were all respectfully invited to attend. Orville Wright was, of
course, the guest of honor. Special boats were chartered to make
the trip from Washington--with tickets costing $7.50 per person for

128

the round trip, including meals, The Office of the Quartermaster

General had been put in charge of the dedication by the three Cabinet
Secretaries of the Memorial Commission--the last of its duties. 12?
It therefore constructed bleachers for 2,000 persons, parking space

for 1,000 cars, and general arrangements for 20,000 persons, /30

125. Acting Quartermaster General Bash to The Adjutant General,
Oct. 10, 1932. (1b)

126. The Independent, November 18, 1932.
127. Ibid.

128, Shannon (Office of the Quartermaster General) to Gen. Bash,
October 14, 1932. (2-3)

129. Gen. Bash to Chief Signal Officer, Nov. 3, 1932. (1b)

130. The Washington Post, (Washington, D.C.), Nov. 20, 1932.
43


*uoIBUTIOD 02 speeT YdexZo0yd ayI Jo AzaT ay} Je pHOI

aul *BuyuuT8eq ysnf sem yowaq ay3 BuoTe 3uaudoTeaep puey pue
“9€61 UT peyeTdwoo useEeq pEYy UOTIBIS ZIOJWOO |aYQ puUB ‘aoUap
<}8a1 9y2 SBATAP ABTNIATO OYL “SOEGT 23¥T 942 UT [eTIOUB_ sUuL

AI dLvid


Chapters
I.
Il.
Ill.
Iv.
Ve
VI.

VII.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Backdrop «2 2 eee ee ee

A Dream Becomes Law. « » « «

The Decision-making Process.

A Granite Shaft. . . ee oe
Horace Dough, Caretaker. . .
The Doldrums . 2.2 see

Two Golden Anniversaries . .

Bibliography, with key to footnotes, and
Photograph Sources. « « « ee se ee

aii

page 1
page 5
page 13
page 36
page 45
page 71

page 81

page 102



ILLUSTRATIONS


early yeara he was in charge and there were many procedures with

which he was simply not familiar.212

In any case, the improper
handling of the office records was accepted without question to
be a result of error, not intentions. The Auditor called the

situation "improper, but not scandalous, "213 and promises were

made to correct the situation, @!4

Nonetheless, the lack of these
records, then as now, limits knowledge of the circumstances con-
cerning the Monument. Much of the information may have been writ-
ten up in longhand and then put--not filed--in Dough's desk drawers.
These records were then eventually disposed of 215

The staff at this time-~1938--numbered seven, of whom three
were laborers. Otherwise there was a clerk-typist and two guards
who also served as guides, plus, of course, Horace Dough, now
"Custodian, "216

The year 1938 was the 20th anniversary of air mail, and special
ceremonies were accordingly held at the Monument. The climax of
this affair was the postmarking and air transport of 56,000 pieces

of mail from the foot of Kill Devil Hill. Annual observances of

212. Interview with Horace Dough, November 5, 1967.

213, Earl H. Brown (Senior Auditor) to The Director, NPS,
May 21, 1938. (la-1)

214, Dough to The Director, July 1, 1938. (4a)
215. Interview with Horace Dough, November 5, 1967.

216. “Monthly Report," October 1938. (la-2)

66


Mr. Stick could have apparently obtained P.W.A. funding of a

landing strip from a public works fund, 160 Furthermore,

money for land purchase was not, in itself, a tremendous prob-

lem--the Park Service had received cash donations in 1930 total-

ing over one million dollars for this purpose, 161 llowever, the

costs per acre were considered outrageous, and Stick could do

little about this. At all timea, however, the Park Service

agreed that the Monument boundaries "should be extended,"

162

The final budget for the $90,500 Public Works allocation

was as follows:

160.
161.
162.

163.

1, Construction, reconstruction, and $38,000
improvement of roads and trails

2. Superintendent's residence and 13,500
office

3, Shelter and comfort station 10,000
4 Fencing 5,000
5. Electric service and electric 4,000
pump

6. Planting (along roads, trails, and 10,000

around memorial)
7. Planting of 290 acres 10,000

Total $90,500 163

Stick to Chatelain, Nov. 20, 1933. (la-3)
John Ise, Our National Park Policy, p. 326.
Demaray (Acting Director) to Warren, Oct. 21, 1933. (la-3)
Ibid.
52



in the guest register in 1961, "At last it's like it should be:

Thank you."

101



An appropriation--to be outside of the proposed $100,000 for the
construction of the memorial--was needed. Requests for this
appropriation were quickly made, and authorization to hire a civil
engineer and a superintendent of construction was given.®”

The year 1928 ended, then, without a final solution in sight.
Road and bridge construction in Dare County were coming along as
well as could be expected--the contract for the bridge near Kitty
Hawk had been let and the paperwork for the Kitty Hawk-Nags Head
road was nearly completed. Financial troubles were present, however,
in February of 1929 an unallocated surplus was reported and des-
tined to be put to use in Dare.

With General Cheatham's assurance that the southerly march of
Kill Devil Hill could be brought to a halt by planting, and with
the interested backing of the Secretary and Assistant Secretary of
War, a $25,000 appropriation was requested to accomplish this end.
Captain William H. Kindervater of the Quartermaster Corps was
assigned to Kitty Hawk as “inspector of construction" on January 16.
In place of a $25,000 appropriation for the anchoring of Kill Devil
Hill, which was to have been in addition to approximately $100,000
for the memorial itself, the budget for the memorial area--including

both of the above items--was a tremendous $277 ,688.°8 Furthermore,

this figure was in addition to the $25,000 appropriated in 1928

67. Lt. Col. Holliday (Quartermaster Corps) to Constructing
Quartermaster (Washington, D.C.), December 26, 1928. (2-1)

68. Budget of War Dept., February 12, 1929. (2-1)

26



This, in spite of the legal binding of approval of two other
bodies, let alone the Kill Devil Bille Memorial Association, which
could conceivably force the government to condemn the Kill Devil
Hill tract at high cost if the plans for the memorial were con-
trary to the Association's judgement,

The question of the importance of the lighthouse/airways bea-
con was made almost pointless--except for sentimental value--by
the opinions of the Lighthouse Bureau and the Airways Division of
the Department of Commerce. The former said that they “would not
oppose" such a lighthouse at that location, but that they could
“not consider [it] would be of any particular advantage." The
Airways Division felt that auch a beacon "is worthy of consideration,
but the cost . . . must enter into the proposition" in view of the
fact that there were no air routes nearby, and because it was then
standard practice for planes to stay away from the coastline. >” By
early October, Quartermaster General B.F. Cheatham suggested that
"a granite base be constructed at once upon which can be erected
later a small monument."98 This sounds desperate indeed, and
would certainly have served to narrow all subsequent discussion,
and Senator Bingham, upon his return from the Orient in September,
wrote various letters indicating that it was his understanding

that the entire idea was being "mi sdirected.">?

57. Lieutenant Nurse to Engineering Dept., War Dept., May 21, 1928,
(2-5)

58. Horton to Cheatham, Oct. 17, 1928. (2-5)

59. Ibid.

22



PROTOGRAPH SOURCES

Cover -= from a photograph by Hugh Morton,
Elizabeth City News Company, Elizabeth City,
N.C., No. P81365. (Sold as postcard at
Wright Brothers National Memorial.)

Photograph file at Wright Brothers National
Memorial

ae

be

Ce

de

ee

Plate I -- (not listed)

Plate II, top -- Negative No, 465
(National Archives Neg. Noo SC-94311)

Plate II, bottom -- Neg. No. 466
(National Archives Neg. No. SC-98309)

Plate ILI -- Neg. No. 132

Plate IV -= Neg. No. 313 (photograph by
Aycock Borwn, 1953)

Plate V -- Neg. No. 356 (photograph by
Harris, 1964)

105



very difficult to do so later in the session. 92 The meeting
was held the 6th of February, and Warren wrote Saunders of
the Committee's approval of the plans:
After the hearing had been concluded, Senator Fess
announced that Senator Bingham had withdrawn his
opposition, Bingham did not appear, Not seeing
Bingham and wishing te do the proper thing and
hoping to avoid opposition on the appropriation, I
sat down and wrote him a nice note . . . of apprecia-
tion etc. Now keep off him until we find out if he
has completely surrendered, for he can give me much
trouble on the appropriation if he still persists.93
The "hard mean fight" with Bingham was over, but the appropriation
was to come out of the War Department budget, and this could still
be changed if Congress so desired. Warren was afraid that Bingham,
plus the possibly harmful fact that work on the Kitty Hawk-Nags
Head road had not yet begun, could destroy this appropriation.
However, it soon became clear that Bingham was not to rise again.
On February 14 the architectural firm of Rogers & Poor, of
New York City, was notified of their winning--and approved~-design.
This selection carried with it a $10,000 award and employment as

memorial architects for the construction. °*

The design by Alfred
E. Poor?5 would be modified to make it look less like a glorified

beacon and more like a memorial-with-beacon, but this was not so

92. Warren to Sen. F.M. Simmons, January 28, 1930. (3a)
93. Warren to W.0, Saunders, February 6, 1930. (3a)

94. Bash to Edmund Rogers and Alfred E. Poor (N.Y.C.), February 14,
1930. (2-6)

95. Robert P. Rogers to Gen. Bash, March 8, 1934. (2-6)

34



PLATE V

The nucleus of Wright Brothers National Memorial is the area
including the take-off and landing sites, the reconstructed
wood buildings used by the Wrights as hangar and living quar-
ters, and the Visitor Center and administrative offices, The
Atlantic Ocean is in the background.


four, making a total allotment of $5,400 and a $3,500 supplement
to replant areas damaged by the construction. !89 work began

in November 1934 with seventeen laborers and six plowing teams,
and was completed the following April after several delays due
to cold and wind. The surfacing of the trails was finished in
July 1936.

Work began on the circular road in February 1935, and grading
was completed in May, 181 The difficulties presented by grading
sand on a hill were minimized on level ground. Talk of coopera-
tion with the State of North Carolina developed over plans for
the State to build a road to the village of Colington, west of the
Memorial, using the monument's roads for access ot its own, 182
This was agreed upon by Cammerer and the Chairman of the State
Highway and Public Works Commission in August, although the State

83 Work on the circular

did not begin construction immediately. !
road continued sporadically, slowed by the winter and lack of
manpower.

Meanwhile, construction on the superintendent's residence

and comfort station had begun, and these were completed by April

180, Ibid.
181. "Monthly Report," Caretaker to The Director, May, 1935. (la-2)

182. Office Memorandum, Charles E, Peterson to Branch of Plans &
Designs, July 23, 1935. (la-4)

183. Capus C, Waynick (Chairman, N.C. State Highway & Public Works
Commission) to Cammerer, August 5, 1935. (la-4) .

58


PLATE IEL



In planning for the future--for the above circumstances would
eventually change--Dough wrote the Director of the ways in which
Kill Devil Hill could be improved.

These areas could provide better service to the

nation by adding exhibits and increasing their

guide service in order that the visiting public

might be better informed, made more comfortable,

rested and perhaps inspired by the feeling that

they were visiting historic sites . .. and these
should be expanded and improved to the extent 249

that this nation can feel justly proud of them.

A summary of the status of Kill Devil Hill at the end of the
war revealed that the Monument Shaft was showing “rapid signs of

deterioration" as a result of water accumulations. ?>9

The result-
ing discoloration of the granite and possible damage to mortar
had been the result of both rain and a peculiar problem to the
Monument--condensation. The Monument had been designed to be
water and air-tight, and ventilation was almost nil. When sealed
shut, the differences in exterior and interior air temperature and
humidity resulted in an accumulation of moisture anywhere from
dampness of the walls to several inches on the main floor. In
addition, rain water entered the Monument in several places.

Dough had raised a point that the name "Kill Devil Hill" is
of totally local significance, for the Wright Brothers are asso-

ciated with the name Kitty Hawk, however "incorrect" this might

actually be. Dough suggested that the name of the Monument be

249. Dough to Director, May 14, 1946. (4c)

250. Roy E. Appleman (Regional Historian) to Regional Director,
Region One, Dec. 20, 1946. (la-1)

76



the American Institute of Architects. The Memorial Commission,
having thus made its recommendation, submitted the design to

the Fine Arts Commission, which likewise approved the design on
February 18 over the objections of Senator Bingham. According
to Colonel Bask of the Quartermaster Corps, Bingham had stated
that "the design was an abortion” and that "it was never his
intention . . . that anything in the nature of a lighthouse, or
a Coast Guard station, should be built."72 Having approved the
design, the Commission agreed nonetheless to rediscuss their
decision. Orville Wright was invited to attend this meeting,
but he neither came nor offered advice, and the design approved
on the 18th was reconfirmed on the 21st, Final approval was now
required by the Joint Committee on the Library, of which Bingham--
though not Warren--was a member. Bingham, continuing his deep-set
opposition, wrote to Warren that he would refuse to allow a monu-
ment which "endeavors to combine memory with utility,"73 and
also expressed his decision to resign from the Kill Devil Hills
Memorial Association--the result of an article by Saunders, the
President of the Association, which attacked Bingham's position.
Warren answered that Saunders, whose newspaper's motto was "A
Newspaper for Human Beings With Heads," wasn't attacking Bingham,

he just "says anything that might at the time be on his mind.""74

72. Colonel Bash (Quartermaster Corps) to the Quartermaster General,
February 21, 1929. (2-6)

73, Bingham to Warren, February 28, 1929. (3a)
74, Warren to Bingham, February 28, 1929, (3a)
28



With the general upswing in the late '50s at Wright Brothers,
attention turned to attempting once again to obtain the original
1903 Wright powered plane. A decision had been reached in the late
1940's to accept the fact that the National Air Museum of the Smith-
sonian Institution had due possession of the plane as stipulated in
Orville Wright's will. The only course of action was the relocation
of the Air Museum, encouraged by the fact that facilities in Wash-
ington were overcrowded, whereas the Kill Devil Hills area was dis-
tinctly the opposite. Furthermore, the Kill Devil Hills area would
be a more symbolic location for a National Air Museum than Washing-
ton. 788 For obvious reasons, however, this proposal was never
brought to the attention of the Smithsonian and the idea was for-
gotten. Then, in the fall of 1959, an offer to build a full-scale
replica of the 1903 plane was received from the Washington Section
of the Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences. The original offer
was made simply to know if the Park Service would be interested, and
Ralph Whitener of the Air Force Association, for his part, "jumped
the gun" on what he took to be a commitment on their part, "consid-
erably irking" some of the Institute's members. 289 Nonetheless,
the Institute promised that it would try to complete such a plane

within three years' time, after completing previous engagements and

288. Actg. Chief Historian Applemen to Schnettler, May 15, 1956.
(4a)

289. Staff Historian Appleman to the Director, February 2, 1960.
(4a)

94


Warren was apparently very willing to go along with Bingham's
bill rather than his own. The Senate had more prestige and, as it
turned out, the Senate Bill was passed unanimously on January 10,
1927, long before the scheduled February 8 debate in the House on
Warren's bill. In any case, the bills were not opposed to one
another, and Warren's position with his constituents was not compro-
mised. Warren's intention to not have his bill considered was made
clear several days before a January 18 meeting of the House Committee
on the Library. +6 Warren suggested an amendment to include the name
of Wilbur Wright--Bingham had not because Orville actually made the
first flight. Warren also preferred Bingham's wording regarding
appropriations as this would allow more leeway in deciding the cost
and plans for a memorial.

The publicity that the proposed legislation received brought
many responses. These included a suggestion from the Methodist
parson of Kitty Hawk, the Reverend W. A. Betts, that a junior
college dedicated to the memory of the Wrights be built instead of
"a mere upstanding monument of stone upon the ground. "27 A North
Carolina Senator wrote Warren that he thought the suggestion "very

impractical at this time, "18 and the question was never seriously

16. Letter, Warren to Hon. A. L. Bulwinkle, Jan. 16, 1927. (3a)

17. The Daily Advance (Elizabeth City, N. C.), Jan. 7, 1927.

18. Letter, Sen. Lee S. Overman to Warren, Feb. 7, 1927. (3a)



changed through legislation along the lines of "Wright Brothers
First Flight Memorial," and Regional Historian Roy E. Appleman
agreed, 29! The designations used for what is today "Wright Bro-
thers National Memorial" were always rather arbitrary. The ori-
ginal bill of enactment referred to “a memorial" and "the monument,"
and the 1933 Executive Order listed "Kill Devil Hill Monument" under
"Miscellaneous Memorials." In 1942 the area was designated the

"Kill Devil Hill Monument National Memorial."2°? In 1948, two years
after the above-mentioned suggestion by Dough and Appleman to make
the name more relevant, Tolson suggested to the Director that, "In
the absence of specific designation by law of the name for the Kill
Devil Hill monument, it is recommended that you designate it admin-
istratively as the ‘Kill Devil Hill National Memorial.'"793) at
various times the memorial monument has also been unofficially called
“Kill Devil Hill National Monument National Memorial." A clarifica-
tion was clearly needed, but it was not until 1953--upon pressure
from chambers of coum2rce and individuals in the areae-that Park
Service Director Conrad L. Wirth personally effected the change. 2>4
Legislation had not been necessary as none had ever established an
original name, and the present name became effective December 1,

1953,255

251. Ibid.

252. Watson to Tolson, July 10, 1942, (la-5)

253. Tolson to The Director, June 22, 1948, (la-4)

254. Wirth (Director, NPS) to Assistant Secretary of the Interior
Lewis, Nov. 20, 1953. (4a)

255. Department (of the Interior) Order, 18 FR 7877 (Federal
Register) Dec. 1, 1953.

77



that renewed efforts in the years ahead sould be made, "769

In-
stead of a museum, priority was given to the reconstruction of the
two buildings in which the Wright Brothers had lived and worked
during their experiments, Since these structures had been sim-

ple and temporary, the reconstructions would likewise be inexpen-
sive and temporary. By May 1953 the Society's plans were: first,
to reconstruct these two buildings and the monorail from which their
1903 plane had taken off; second, to erect cast aluminum information
markers at the four landing points of the December 17 flights; and
third, to construct a series of walkways to connect the various
historic sites. The total budget for this revised set of plans was
$15,000,270 Even with this tremendous reduction in goals, difficul-
ties in raising the needed financing continued to stand in the way
of carrying out any activities. Most notable among these difficul-
ties was a pending application for non-profit status. This would
allow tax deductible donations for the anniversary activities, and

271 Upon

the Society did not want to begin fund-raising without it.
the receipt of this status in September, Ralph Whitener began ac-

tively soliciting donations, but by this time little had been done

269. Regional Director (Region One) Elbert Cox, address at Wright
Brothers National Memorial, December 17, 1953. (4a)

270. Ronald F. Lee, Assistant Director of the National Park Service,
to Admiral DeWitt C. Ramsey (U.S.N., Ret.), Aircraft Industries
Association of America, Inc. (Washington, D.C.), May 12, 1953. (4c)
271. Whitener to N. Elton Aydlett (Elizabeth City), June 30, 1953.
(4c)

83



A DREAM BECOMES LAW

Chapter 2

In April 1926 Representative Warren drew up a bill for "the
aviation memorial,"* It was not, however, until the month of
August that Warren was ready to have publicity on the matter, He
had decided earlier to postpone action on the memorial to the Wright
Brothers as he was engaged in "the Virginia Dare matter" and did not
want publicity about a second, somewhat similar bill to confuse the
first, Furthermore, he also wished to introduce the bill on the
symbolic December 17.°

Thus, in August, Warren wrote to Orville Wright in order to be
“privately assured of your interest in it, and secure from you all
information possible,"® He also wrote to the National Aeronautics
Association to request their support for the bill.

A letter to D. V. Meekins, a member of a group of Dare County
residents which was concerned with marking historic sites in Dare,
informed him that he could now way that it was Warren's intention to
introduce the Wright Memorial bill if he saw fit to do so. ‘“However,"

Warren continued, "I would let it rest with just that publicity and

4 Letter, Warren to Jonathan Daniels, (Elizabeth City, Ne. C.),
Sept. 2, 1926. (3a)

5. Ibid.
6. Letter, Warren to Orville Wright, Aug. 14, 1926. (3a)

5


PLATE III

The Wright Memorial just prior to its dedication, December 17,
1932. Note the incomplete system of roads and the concrete
path leading straight up the Hill. The beach front has not
yet been developed.



TWO GOLDEN ANNIVERSARIES

Chapter 7

The doldrums would linger on for several more years, but a
brief, intense respite was stimulated in the early Fifties by
the coming fiftieth anniversary of the 1903 "first flight." What
actually put an end to what Drury had called "the dilemma of the
Parks" was a ten-year program of national development to commemo-
rate the fiftieth anniversary of the National Park Service, estab-
lished in 1916. This program, named "MISSION 66," would establish
Wright Brothers National Memorial on a level of development possibly
equal to the 1926 "visions" of Lindsay Warren.

Preparations for the fiftieth anniversary of the first flight
began in 1951 with the reorganization of the Kill Devil Hills
Memorial Association as a national "Society." It was hoped that
support for the celebration would be as widespread as the Wright's
contribution itself had been, and truly grandiose plans were laid
for the greatest "first flight" observance to date. Not only did
the Society want support for the actual celebration actitivities,
but also for funding land acquisition, a museum, reconstruction of
buildings such as those used by the Wrights during their experiments,
and sculptured busts of each of the brothers. The Society also
wanted an airstrip, but realized that this would be impossible to

finance at that time. Because the Park Service had no funds for

81


‘PBT ST euoyszaut0D oUL “EZ6T ‘LT teqmedeq “TITH TTAed TITY

I aLvid



These projects were to be completed by December 1958, and the
following February the contract for the construction of the
Visitor Center itself was awarded to the Hunt Contracting Company
of Norfolk, Virginia, for a low bid of $257,203, 284
The impending construction of the Visitor Center was the final
stimulus needed for the formal acquisition of the lands for which
the Avalon and Old Dominion foundations and the State of North
Carolina had provided $107,000. The site of the center was limited
by three considerations: to provide for proximity to the site of
the reconstructed 1903 camp buildings and "first flight" area; to
enable easy access to the State highways; and to maintain an un-
obstructed area between Kill Devil Hill and the first flight area.
By building to the east of the first flight area, all of these
conditions would be met as well as practicable, but this would
place the Visitor Center very close to the east boundary line, and
the parking lot--a construction even more obtrusive than a well-
designed building--either off Memorial property or in the area
which was to be kept undeveloped. A Congressional bill was there-
fore introduced in June of 1959 by the Hon. Herbert C. Bonner, the
District's Representative, to authorize the enlargement of Wright
Brothers under the authority of the Historic Sites Act of 1935, 285

The Bill extended the east Memorial boundary some five hundred

feet, and the northern boundary by nearly one thousand feet. This

284, Press release, Dept. of the Interior, March 11, 1959. (3b)

285. 86 Cong., 1 Sess., Public Law 86-59, H.Re 5488, June 23,
1959.

92


further improvements as a tree and bush-lined mall between the
First Flight Marker and the Monument 190

Visitors had been arriving at the Monument in substantial
numbers since the beginning of construction, and their numbers
had gained each year. The Depression did not affect the rate as
much as might today be imagined. Under Park Service administra-
tion a greater concern for service to the public soon became
evident. The War Department was not institutionalized to this
end and, furthermore, the monument at the time of War Department
administration was not yet ready for an emphasis on the public.
In 1936, then, the concern for the public led to the floodlighting
of the monument in the evenings and concessionaires sold pamphlets.
The lighted monument was spectacular, and Horace Dough wrote in
his Monthly Report for July 1936 that it “incites hundreds of

visitors to expressions of admiration."?91

In September 1937
the monument was flood-lighted only during the tourist season.
Concession operations had begun in the summer of 1935 with the

sale of W.0. Saunders' book, Handbook of the Wright Memorial. /92

The decision to allow this book to be sold on the premises, and

to be sold by an agent of Saunders, was based on the reasoning

190, T.C. Vint (Chief Architect) te Asst. Dir., Branch of Opera-
tions, Nov. 20, 1935. (la-4)

191. "Monthly Report," July 1936. (la-2)
192. Cammerer to Dough, July 8, 1935. (la-5)

60


290 acres~-both financed with Public Works funds. The methods
used were identical to those of Kindervater, except that less
costly swamp rushes (collected on Colington Island) were sub-
stituted for wood's mould, The latter was more effective as a
fertilizer, but its purpose was not that so much as protection
for the seeds underneath, Furthermore, wood's mould contains a
variety of seeds, some of which might not be desirable. In
1934 it was reported that “only the Bermuda grass and Bitter
Tanic have flourished." Bermuda grass crowded out most others,
but allowed the characteristics of sand dunes to remain, The
Bitter Tanic, on the other hand, reminds one of "a field of shav-
ing brushes, "173

To further protect the planting, the fence around the monu-
ment was rebuilt with concrete posts to include all of the 314
acres. Previously, only Kill Devil Hill and the First Flight
Marker had been so protected from animals, The new fence was
completed in July under Hugh A. Campbell of the Engineering Depart-
ment, 274 Fire protection was also necessary. Several acres of
grass were burned on Kill Devil Hill the 13th of August, 1934--
a lighted cigarette had been thrown by a tourist from the monu~

ment. The fire was detected only after an hour of smoldering,

and was then "automatically" stopped by a non-planted path.

173. Edward S. Zimmer to Mr. Peterson, April 24, 1934. (la-5)
174 “Monthly Report,” (Dough), June 1934, (la-2) :

56


memorial--"I am convinced that the time has come when a distinguished
memorial should be erected to this most notable event." This was

to say--a distinguished Coast Guard Station. The time had passed
when a "suitable marker" would be deemed sufficient. Hoover con-
tinued, "As you [Warren} probably know, by virtue of an act of
Congress I am a member of the commission making a report on the
subject and have visited the locality. n45 Whether Hoover was simply
being formal in addressing this basic information concerning his
relation to the memorial to a man who had initiated it would be
difficult to determine, In any case, it could probably be said

that Hoover and Warren were not as close as one might imagine two
men working on the same project might have been,

On December 12, 1927, Saunders was able to write Warren that
the Association had acquired title to a tract of 200 acres, and
would be receiving more, which was to be eventually deeded to the
Federal government. By this time also, the Association had finally
prevailed upon the State Highway Commission to "put Kill Devil Hills
on the N.C. State Highway map , "46 and in October, the State had
taken over the land for the proposed road,

The Orville and Wilbur Wright Memorial Commission submitted its
recommendation for a memorial on January 31, 1928, to President
Coolidge. It was returned on February 10 as it lacked the necessary
approval of the Commission of Fine Arts and the Joint Committee on
45. Letter, Secretary Hoover to Warren, September 22, 1927. (3a)

46. Letter, Saunders to Warren, Dec. 12, 1927. (3a)

18



time of his application for caretaker of the Wright Memorial, the
situation had changed, and the situation was to get still worse.
The Depression had reduced the number of sport fishermen and in-
creased general prices. At the same time competition from others
had gained and reduced prices to a bare profit-margin. A job as
caretaker, at $1,200 per year, would provide a lower, but guaran-
teed, income to see Mr. Dough through the Depression, /40
Accordingly, when this position became vacant,
it was necessary to look around for a worthy
successor of the material that was available
and lived in the vicinity and knew the local
conditions. This office chose Mr. Dough as
being the most suitable, He was given a trial
by being appointed as a laborer for three months
at $3.00 per day, and his services have been

satisfactory and he had given promise of being a
reliable employee . » « «

Due to this fact, it is requested that steps be
taken to immediately appoint Mr. Dough as 141
permanent caretaker at the Kitty Hawk Memorial.

Dough had begun working as a "laborer" on March 16, 1933, 142
and was recommended for a permanent position as caretaker beginning
in early June. Kindervater was to leave July 1 and there was author-
ity to hire only a caretaker after this time, !43 By August 8 Dough

was "to assume charge" of the Memorial immediately, his position

being listed as “acting caretaker, unskilled labor," pending review

140. Interview with Horace A. Dough (Manteo, N.C.), November 5,
1967.

141. Laubach (Memorial Branch, War Dept.) to Personnel Branch,
June 9, 1933. (2-1)

142. Kindervater to Dough, Feb. 28, 1933. (2-2)
143. Vacancy form by Gen. DeWitt, June 12, 1933. (2-1)

47


The National Park Service has, in general, resisted airports
and airplane landing strips, feeling they are inconsistent with
the principles of maintaining "the scenery and the natural and
historic [resources] . . . for the enjoyment of future genera-
tions."45 Bue of all the Park Service's holdings, this one might
deserve an exception.

To construct a landing field, the size of the Monument would
have to be expanded. The land which in 1926 had been valued at
$10.00 an acre, and perhaps worth less than thet, was by this time
thought to be valued at $40.00 an acre, and by 1934 Stick reported
that Baker was holding out at $1,000 an acre and the Kitty Hawk
Development Corporation at $240 an acre, 157

Frank Stick attempted to be of help to the Park Service, and
had offered his services "without obligation" toward a coastal

park. 158

He felt that a seashore area "would have served the pub~
lic needs far better, and would have as fully perpetuated the names
of these great Americans, as does @ granite shaft... . At that

time, the entire territory north and south of Kittyhawk could have

been procured for less than the cost of the monument alone, '"159

156. Ise, Our National Park Policy, pp. 486, 291.

157. Frank Stick to Demaray, August 24, 1934,
158. Stick to Demaray, Oct. 21, 1933. (ia-3)

159. Stick to V.E. Chatelain, September 7, 1933. (4a)

51



of post-war needs for comfort, complaints were also received about
the lack of "settees" (benches) and soft drinks at the Hi11.264

In warm weather, the two-minute climb up Kill Devil Hill was tiring,
and without benches one could rest only on the grass, which would
in turn be a danger to the very grass roots of preserving the Monu-
ment's natural beauty. And then upon reaching the top of the hill,
the nearest cold liquid was one-half mile away, It was suggested
that the Eastern National Park and Monument Association, the con-

cessions agent for many of the Eastern Parks areas, install a Coca-

265

Cola. dispensing machine. "Impossible," was the reply--the Monu-
ment had no space for either a soft drink machine or the resulting

used bottles, and the Park Service had no funds for improvement in

the water supply. 766

264. Demaray to Regional Director, Region One, August 2, 1950.
(4c)

265. Ibid.

266. Regional Director, Region One to the Director, August 8, 1950.

(4c)
80



THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS

Chapter 3

The Secretaries of War, Navy, and Commerce were respectively,
Dwight F. Davis, Curtis D. Wilbur, and Herbert Hoover, the chair-
man, Almost immediately, Hoover's assistant wrote Warren that
Hoover had suggested the three secretaries appoint their assistants-
in- charge-of-aeronautics to assume charge of the Commission. 28
Nonetheless, Secretary Hoover made a personal inspection tour of
the Kill Devil Hills area immediately thereafter, accompanied by
the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics, William P.
MacCracken, Jr., and others, Upon their return, MacCracken wrote
Warren, "It occurs to me that a marine light, which could also be
used as an airways beacon, with a Coast Guard station as its base,
would be a very appropriate and useful memorial."29 This was
Hoover's idea, based upon the belief that the assistance to the
Wrights by members of the Kill Devil Hills Life-Saving Station--

now in very poor condition--should be rendered the government's

gratitude. Furthermore, Hoover stated that he would be opposed to

28. Letter. George Akerson (Assistant to Secretary Hoover) to
Warren, March 23, 1927. (3a)

29, Letter, Wm. P. MacCracken (Asst. Sec'y of Commerce for
Aeronautics) to Warren, March 30, 1927. (3a)

13



Cammerer wrote Warren about this letter, saying, "In fact
there apparently has been quite a boom in land prices recently. "469
Indeed, options of the previous winter had averaged between forty
and fifty dollars per acre, Now, nearly a year later, the Kitty
Hawk Development Corporation and others were asking $267 per acre.
Cammerer felt that the solution rested with Congressional legisla-
tion . . . in any case, "There is nothing to be done by the National
Park Service at this time."’7° the dream of an Atlantic beach park
would come true, but not as an extension of the Wright Memorial.
This land was lost even though it was not until after the Second
World War that the actual "boom" would come, 2/t In 1937 what was

to eventually become the Cape Hatteras National Seashore was
authorized to include the Monument within its boundaries, but this
could not be done because of the high land costs and the then-
existing land use, primarily private cottages.

& report to the Chief Forester of the Park Service in 1934
outlined the three main problems in maintaining the Kill Devil
Hills Monument. These were: to held the sand in place; to elimin-
ate animal disturbance of planting operations; and to prevent

172

“undesirable encroachment by private concerns." These recommen-

dations resulted in the fixation of West Hill and planting of

169, Cammerer to Warren, Sept. 11, 1934. (la-3)
170. Ibid.

171. David Stick, The Outer Banks of North Carolina, p. 251.

172. Robert Thompson (Asst. Forester), "Report to the Chief
Forester on Kill Devil Hill Monument," March 12, 1934. (1la-3)

55


First World War and as a means to bring the world closer together.
The 1925 Air Mail Act, the establishment of the Army Air Corps in
July 1926, and spectacular feats, such as the New York to Paris
solo flight of Charles Lindbergh in the spring of 1927 which received
the frenzied attention of the nation, helped establish the legacy of
the "first flight."

The Wright's first flight had taken place near Kili Devil Hill,
a large sand dune several miles south of Kitty Hawk, on the Outer
Banks of Northeastern North Carolina. The wrights had selected this
area because it was barren--clear of obstructions for a potentially
erratic glider or powered airplane; sandy--so that landings might
be the least damaging; and, most important of all, as consistently
windy as any other location available to the Wrights--an essential
advantage in flying gliders and, as it later developed, a low~
powered flying machine. The inhabitants of this barren, sandy, wind-
blown area were primarily oriented towards the sea--fishing, boat-
building, and, because of the off-shore barrier reef known as "the
graveyard of the Atlantic," Coast Guard service. The attachment
between the Banks and the Coast Guard has been a strong one, and
men from the Kill Devil Hill Station of the Life-Saving Service
(as the Coast Guard was called before 1915) helped the Wrights on
numerous occasions, including their flights on December 17, 1903.

In the 1920's this area was continuing its traditional ways of

fishing and Coast Guard service. Roads and bridges to the mainland


damage, 234 At Kill Devil Hill, an “ultra-high frequency monitoring
system" was installed in the top of the Monument, presumably to
monitor and locate enemy submarines which would again patrol the
shipping lanes off the Banks as they had done in World War 1,235
This station--installed in March 1942--was removed that same Spring
to what later became a radar site, north of Kitty Hawk. No damage
had been done. As early as April 1942, enemy submarines were active
off the Banks, and Dough reported that numerous birds in the area
were dying as a result of being soaked in the fuel-o1l of sunken
tankers, 236
The "Monthly Report" changed little from month to month. Often-

times, the only words which changed were those concerning the wea-
ther. For December 1942 the Report, in its entirety, was:

Principal activities at this area consisted of the

general routine business of contacting visitors,

administration, protection and maintenance.

The weather during the month continued unusually
cold.

In March of that year, though, a dead whale had washed ashore
eight miles north of Kill Devil Hill with a large hole in its back--

presumably mistaken for a submarine by an airplane. Two photographs

234. Ibid.

235. Capt. Joseph R. Redman (U.S.N.) to Secretary of the Interior,
March 11, 1942. (4c)

236. ‘Monthly Report,” April 1942, (la-2)

72


for preparatory surveys and plans. It is perhaps fortunate that
the memorial was not under the National Park Service at this time,
for Congress was not yet amenable to allocating large sums of
money to this administrative newcomer. As John Ise has written,
a 1924 Congressional appropriation of $50,000 for the purchase of
lands in the area which is now Sequoia was "the last generous

"69 Purther-

gesture [towards the Park Service] for ten years.
more, Congress was at that time fond of making matching grants
to the Park Service, and this practice might have slowed the
progress of the Wright memorial even more than it was. Ise also
felt that "Congress showed a more generous disposition toward
historical monuments than toward scenic parks and monuments. "7°
It was to the advantage of the Wright memorial, then, that it was
an historical site under the War Department.

The competition for the memorial closed on January 31, 1929,
and though there had been little time for public notice and prep-
aration, some thirty-six designs had been submitted--"all beauties"

7 The design that exists today was selected

according to Warren.
by a jury established by the Memorial Commission through The Quarter-
master General. ‘The selection of the jury members and the means by

which the selection of a design was made were in accordance with

69. John Ise, Our National Park Policy: A Critical History, p. 319.

70. ‘Ibid., p. 344.

71, Warren to Sen. Harry McMullan (Raleigh, N.C.), February 5, 1929.
(3a)

27



was that the visitor could very easily gain little or no educational
value from a "pilgrimage" to the Monument. There were few educa-
tional displays and the guide was often too occupied with group lec-
tures to handle individual questions at length. "Few areas," wrote
Mr. Ralston Lattimore in @ report on the Monument, "have a greater
opportunity . . . for interesting and significant museum develop-
ment... + I atrongly recommend that a museum plan be developed
for this area, and I believe that the aviation industry would assist
financially. "229 Little was done, however, with this proposal, even
though funding might have been possible. Museums were probably still
considered an unnecessary frill, and the War stopped any progress
that might have existed. Nonetheless, the idea was there--it would
simply have to wait. An example of the effect of the War on the
Proposed museum was the offer in 1941 by Mr. Paul Garber of the
Smithsonian Institution to donate to the Monument a scale-model of
the 1903 Wright plane. It was to be placed in the center niche

in the Memorial Shaft--a niche which had been originally designed

for such a replica, 732

Dough replied affirmatively, but the
correspondence ends at this point. Not until 1952 was the offer

of a replica made again,

230. Ibid.
231. Superintendent of Historic Sites to Dough, Dec. 1, 1941. (4a)

70



Chacelain to spend their vacations fishing for channel bass, As
could be expected, these fishing trips were enjoyed tremendously,
marred only by Demaray leaving such things as brief cases behind.
With the tremendous accomplishments of the Public Works pro-
jects completed, construction at the Monument understandably dropped
off, There were still plans for an airport and a mall between
Kill Devil Hill and the First Flight marker, but these received low-
er priority than such projects as water and sewage services and the
three approach roads to the circular drive. The proposed projects
in the 1936 program for the years 1938 through 1943, not including
plans for a proposed airport, were as follows:
1. Utility building ($5,000)
2. Employee's residence ($8,000)
3. Lightning protection for monument ($2,000)
4. Sewage disposal, water and sewage lines ($3,500)
5. Radial approach roads to circular drive ($55,000)
6. Paths along mall ($8,000)
7. Planting ($62,000) 204
With airport costs--not mentioned above--the total would be
approximately $1,219,400. Without the airport, costs were a much
lower $143,500--a tremendous savings which indicates the rather
extensive proposed airport,
The airport proposal maintained a rather high level of

interest until the immediate pre-War period. Location, size,

204. "Six-Year Program, 1938-1943," May 1936, (la-3)

63



to Orville Wright asking if he would “advise placing the 1903

plane at Kitty Hawk, "50 Obtaining this plane would serve, of

course, to secure a large appropriation for the memorial. Ina

letter to Mr. Wright the following day, Warren stated that "some

portion of the memorial should be for a utilitarian purpose, but

I do not subscribe to their full purpose" of having a Coast Guard

station as the base. He explained that Charles Moore "is up in

arms over [the report of the Memorial Commission] and is insisting

that the entire plan be changed. He is in favor of something out-

standing and notable, You no doubt understand that it has not been

the policy of the government to erect memorials."°! warren went

on to say that “a responsible gentleman from New York" had promised

to supplement a government appropriation, and Warren said he was

“seriously considering an amendment to allow such donations. Orville

Wright's only comment to Warren was that he would prefer to give the

plane to the city of Dayton, and that he would prefer most of all to

have the plane displayed in "a museum having exhibits portraying

the entire history of the art."
With the rejection by the Fine Arts Coumission of the Memorial

Commission's plans, what had been a simple proposal became confused

and tiresome. Warren's preliminary appropriation of $25,000 was

50. Telegram, Warren to Orville Wright, February 18, 1928. (3a)
51. Letter, Warren to Orville Wright, February 19, 1928. (3a)

52. Letter, Orville Wright to Warren, February 22, 1928. (3a)

20



98

against leakage for a period of twenty years. Construction

was expected to begin in February, 1931, with General DeWitt
turning over the first shovelful of dirt.??

The anchoring of the hill was by now sufficient to begin con-
struction work--the "southerly march" of Kill Devil Hill had been
halted. Kindervater's planting method had been to: (1) harrow
the site to loosen the sand and soil; (2) spread a two-inch layer
of pine straw, rotted leaves, and wood mold; (3) sow with bermuda
grass seed (provided by Government); (4) cover area with brush to
an average depth of eight inches. Fertilizer was to be spread at
a@ rate of two pounds per one hundred square feet, and the fertili-
zer mixture contained 5% ammonia, 5% potash, and 8% available

phosphoric acid. The base substance was cotton seed mead, 100

The
sand dune became a verdant hill, and weathered several storms in
1929 “without material damage."101 in July of 1931 The Christian
Science Monitor carried an article on sand dunes, and quoted Frank
Stick, "author, sportsman, real estate man of New Jersey and Roanoke
Island," as saying that the theory of shifting sand dunes is "one

of the greatest hoaxes ever perpetrated." The Monitor convincingly

responded that many people would disagree, and especially "the

98. "Specifications for Construction of Wright Memorial and Sub-
Station Building . . .,'"' November 1, 1930, (2-2)

99. Gilman to Kindervater, January 28, 1931. (22)

100. "Specifications for Fencing and Stabilizing . . .," January 4,
1929, (2-2)

101. "Annual Report," (year ending) Dec. 31, 1929. (2-2)

37



"It is essential," wrote a forester on the scene, "that all
smoking be prohibited within the area, "75 The system of
paths leading to the monument were to be considered effective
fire lanes as long as grass was the only vegetation. Dough
requested permission to post "Positively No Smoking" signs, and
this was approved by Tolson as an interpretation of the policy
of protection and maintenance, 176

Construction under the Public Works funds was to start in
the fall of 1934. Previously, there had been 11 miles of roads,
1,80 miles of trails, and 3,400 feet of underground electric
power cable.!77 these figures would become, respectively, 2.04
miles and 1.99 miles.!78 In July a survey was made for a circu-
lar road around Kill Devil Hill--there had been only an arc on
the east side of the Hill before, connecting the First Flight
Marker, the Monument, and the access road to the State Highway.
By October 1934 the grading plans for the paths on Kill Devil
Hill were completed, and the former War Department concrete-
slab path was to be obliterated, 179 The original allotment had

been for two curved paths, but this was altered to allow for

175. "Report to the Chief Forester . . . By G.A. Schulze, Asst.
Forester," Aug. 21, 1934. (la-1)

176. Tolson to Dough, August 30, 1934. (la-5)
177. Dough to Chatelain, July 24, 1934. (4a)

178, "Statistical Table of Areas Administered by the National
Park Service," June 27, 1936. (la-3)

179. “Report on Grading Paths Ascending the Slopes of Kill Devil
Hill--Public Works Project F.P 389," May 1936. (la-3)

37



The ice began to break in October, As Horton of the Construc-
tion Service wrote to Cheatham, there would be no harm in eliminating
entirely the plana for a Coast Guard station. ‘To allocate the entire
appropriation to @ memorial "in compliance with the intention of the
framers of the appropriation act" would please Senator Bingham, the
National Aeronautics Association, and the Fine Arts Commission, 6°

At this same time, the Memorial Commission decided that the
Quartermaster General should begin the public competition to secure
plans for a "memorial light tower... and a Coast Guard Station to
be built separately," at a total cost of not more than $100,000,

The "small marker" theretofore proposed for the top of Kill Devil
Hill was to be omitted, °! The Assistant Secretary of War, in a let-
ter to Warren, inferred that this change in plans represented unani-
mity among ali concerned. Yhe now-detached "memorial light tower”

and Coast Guard station were both to be considered memorials to the

Wright Brothers, but financed as one.

On October 29 the report of a committee appointed to investi-
gate the site for the memorial at Kill Devil Hills arrived at a
decision to recommend construction of the "Memorial Monument" at
the top of Kill Devil Hill. Previously, it had been generally
thought that such an attempt would be imprectical because of the

shifting of the sand dune. However, the Committee discovered that

60, Horton, Construction Service, to The Quartermaster General,
October 17, 1928, (2-5)

61. The Quartermaster General to Construction Service, Oct. 17,
1928 (25)

23



and other improvements, and thus provide Wright Brothers with much
more than the Park Service could otherwise make available, 280 And
with the imminent acquisition of land as provided for by the 1953
financial grants for that purpose came optimism that the long-
proposed landing strip might finally be built.

A major change in the character of the Memorial would come about
with the construction of the Visitor Center, for the Center and ad-
jacent first flight grounds necessarily became the area of compre-
hensive interpretation and emphasis, The previous focal point had
been the Memorial Shaft, and this area would now become of secondary
importance. The closing of the Shaft to visitation in 1960 recon-
firmed this secondary status, Indeed, the Shaft is now almost a
"white elephant." It serves only as something to look at from afar,
or perhaps as a partner on Kill Devil Hill, from which one has a
view of the surrounding lands. The Memorial gained a visitor center,
but lost the close relationship of an old friend. The rationale
for closing the Shaft was not only the diversion of interest to
the visitor center several hundred feet away. In a conference be-
tween Dough and the Acting Regional Director in 1960, the reasons
given for the closing of the Shaft were several: concern for visi-
tor safety, even though there was never a serious accident; the
inefficient use of staff if a person were kept at the Shaft as a

guard while all interpretation was centered around the Visitor

280. "Monthly Superintendent's Report," August 1957. (4b)

90


Unhappily, the eve of the dedication saw heavy rains and high
winds, and the raging storm continued throughout the morning, reduc~
ing attendance to "a bare thousand," and hundreds of these remained
in their automobiles, !31 The airplanes and the "Great Air Circus"
of a dirigibie could not leave their bases, and a lone Navy photogra-
phy plane was forced to land on the beach, breaking its propellor
in the process, 132

General Louis H. Bash, Acting Quartermaster General, master
of ceremonies, was reading a letter from President Hoover expressing
his regret at not being able to attend, when a gust of wind lifted
the canvas cover over the guests, and rain fell upon them. The
resulting pause lasted twenty minutes, and General Bash quickly
finished, Handing the letter to Orville Wright, he apologized,

"I am sorry it was drenched, and you will have to use blotting pap~
er. 33 Mr. Wright then expressed his "appreciation of the thought-
fulness of the Chief Executive." Though he did not make an address,
he Later expressed his opinion that the monument "is distinctive,
without being freakish, "134 The monument was complete, And so it
was--except for "the cable to the main road, the beacon grill, ven-

tilation, ornamental entrance gates, and other lists of work, "35

131. Ibid.

132. The New York Heraid-Tribune, p. 14, Nov. 20, 1932.

133. The Norfolk Ledger-Dispatch (Norfolk, Va.), Nov. 19, 1932. (2-3)

134, The Herald-Tribune, Nov. 20, 1932.
135. Beard to Kindervater, Nov. 27, 1932. (2-2)

44


to the Memorial until 1959, they did contribute to the spirit of
the anniversary ceremonies and did rest the worries of many who
were afraid the land would continue in jeopardy.

As the date of the fiftieth anniversary approached, prepara~
tions for the observances became hectic, As the February 1954
issue of Air Force magazine reported, Kill Devil Hills is a terrible
location for a ceremony involving many thousands of participants and
spectators, Communications, lodgings, general public services, coor-
dination, and safety were all lacking and had to be developed on the
site as best they could. The Air Force Association, represented by
Ralph Whitener, took responsibility for all national arrangements
and participation, as well as coordinating all air operations. The
Kill Devil Hills Memorial Society handled local arrangements; the
Park Service rebuilt and refurnished the 1903 camp and worried about
the safety of its property; and the North Carolina 50th Anniversary
Committee, appointed by the Governor earlier that year, coordinated
state participation. The three areas of supervision and management
were the Memorial, the communications and coordinating headquarters
in the Carolinian Hotel near the Memorial, and the Manteo Municipal
Airport. The ceremonies were to extend over a four-day period end-
ing the 17th, and presided over by representatives of the four coor-
dinating committees.

The "birthday party" can only be described as spectacular.
Events included fly-overs by representatives of each of the armed
forces, the dedication of the reconstructed buildings, the

85



in using an auto crank for the purpose of knocking a chunk of
granite from one of the sharp corners of the monument." Dough
had the services of one guard only, and insisted on funds to
hire a guard for night hours, for these "are exactly the hours
during which a great many people ride and ramble on the beaches
in this area,'200 Commenting on an earlier letter from Dough con=
cerning protection for the Monument, T.C. Vint suggested to Tolson
that the problem could be "materially reduced by the placing of
our standard metal sign: ‘It is unlawful to mar or deface any
structure or natural feature in any National park, '"201 A more
practical solution was the creation of a second permanent posi-
tion of guard in February 1937, 202

Not everyone wanted to deface government property, however.
The Junior Birdmen of America wanted, and got, permission to use
replicas of the Wright Memorial for winners' trophies in their

annual model plane contest.2?3

Furthermore, the Wright Memorial
under Dough's caretaking was the scene of many fishing trips for
the benefit of the Washington office. Dough, as a retired fishing

guide, was constantly inviting such people as Demaray, Tolson, and

200. Ibid.
201, T.C. Vint to Tolson, Feb. 18, 1936. (la~5)
202. "Monthly Report," February, 1937.

203, Cammerer to National Director, Junior Birdmen of America
(NeYeC., No¥s), July 24, 1935. (la-5)

62


presentation of a plaque describing the gliding exploits of the
Wrights, and the raising of flags which had just returned from
a six-day trip around the world. The U.S. Air Force provided
precision team-flying exhibitions by the "Thunderbirds" team;
the Navy demonstrated the abilities of a jet-powered helicopter.
A British Royal Air Force jet bomber flew over the Memorial the
same morning it had left England. On the fourth day of the anni-
versary observances, at the exact time of the Wright's original
flight, a 1912 bi-plane was flown over the original course by air
pioneer Billy Parker. At this time also, twelve thousand wallet-
sized cards were distributed to passengers on commercial airliners
“to certify" that the individual was airborne fifty years to the
minute after the first flight. Press coverage of the celebration
was extensive--some fourteen thousand people attended the activities,
but many millions were informed by radio, newspaper, television,
and newsreel. Western Union Telegraph sent out over seventy-five
thousand words from its office near the site, and so celebrated its
participation of fifty years before in sending to the world the news
of the first flight.

The 1903 camp buildings, left after the celebration for later
visitors, were not "a disappointment," as the Chief of the Museum

76

Branch had feared they would be,” and even though they had been

276. Ned J. Burns, Chief, Museum Branch, National Park Service,
to Chief Historian Kahler, October 23, 1952. (4a)



for fear of plant damage by the resulting crowds, 8! and an invasion
of army worms was turned back and eradicated in June by hand-spray-
ing with "Paris Green,” as well as by the assistance of birds, 82
Kindervater found that the "most serviceable" grasses and shrubs
for Kill Devil Hill were:

a. the common variety of wire (Bermuda) grass,
found locally;

b. Bitter Tanic, gathered at Virginia Beach,
Virginia, and "prolific over the whole hill"
in January 1933; and

Ce. “all of the local varieties" of shrubs: "“yopon, 83
water, myrtle, pine, live oak, sumac, and others."

In August, for his apparently excellent service and success in
planting Kill Devil Hill, Kindervater was promoted from "inspector"
to “superintendent of construction, "94 The work continued--without
pretty flowers,

Frank Stick, who had sent the telegram to Warren offering the
Kill Devil Hills cract to the government, now wrote Warren to ex-
press his concern over the lack of progress. His suggestion was
to “put through this big thing now" and call it the “Wright Memorial

Park." The granite memorial would then follow in due course. As

81. Captain Gilman to Kindervater, September 11, 1930. (2-3)
82. “Annual Report" {year ending) Dec. 31, 1929. (2-2)

83. Kindervater to Roland McKee, Senior Agronomist, Dept. of
Agriculture (Washington, D.C.), January 15, 1933. (2-2)

84. Office of the Quartermaster General to Assistant and Corps
Commander, War Dept., Aug. 5, 1929. (2-1)

31



other hand, to obtain a sizeable memorial, proper access should
either exist or be well beyond the planning stage.

On November 29 Lindsay Warren wrote a second letter to Orville
Wright--the first had never been answered--saying that "the proposal
has created a great deal of interest, and my idea has been to attempt

something on a large scale in the form of a memorial, "10

Warren was
still vague as to what form such a memorial should take.

On December 17, 1926, the anniversary of the "first flight,"
Warren introduced his bill in the House of Representatives. -! The
Bill was referred to the House Committee on the Library, and it
called for a memorial to Orville and Wilbur Wright to be located at
Kill Devil Hill, North Carolina, and for authorization of an appro-
priation of $50,000. This sum was "to be expended under the direc-
tion of the Secretary of War." Warren's bill provided for "a
commission composed of the Secretaries of War and Navy and three
citizens of the United States to be appointed by the President who
will determine the type and form of the memorial. "!2

Warren's Bill was never reported out of committee, however,

for Senator Hiram Bingham, of Connecticut, had coincidentally

introduced a bill, very similar to Warren's, on the same day.

10. Warren to Orville Wright (Dayton, Ohio}, Nov. 29, 1926. (3a)
11. 69 Cong., 2 Sess., HR. 15348, 68-68F (Dec. 17, 1926).

12, Letter, Warren to Jonathan Daniels (Washington, D. C.), Sept. 2,
1926. (3a)



post-war years, Dough had built an "air-boat" from a design by a
German boat builder, with an Hispano Suiza airplane engine and
single airplane propellor. Along with a larger, twin-propellor
boat in the early 20's, these boats could navigate not only in
shallow water, but even on wet reeds or wet sand--a tremendous
advantage in an area of shallow waters, marsh-lands, and sand
bars. In 1928, however, Dough realized that the boat-building
profession was financially limiting and began hiring out his boat
and fishing knowledge to sport fishermen, expecially Baltimoreans.
The financial incentive was tremendous, The minimum charge for
one day was $15, and competition was neglible. The fishing possi-
bilities of that area are today regarded as among the finest in
the country, and were perhaps even better in those near-wilderness
times. A 1932 advertisement for Mr. Dough's services ran:
OREGON INLET FISHING
Good striped Bass Fishing now & until
December 20th
Let Horace Dough serve you. He has the
boats and guides and is himself available
for special parties
HORACE DOUGH

Who Knows Dare County's Fishing Grounds
Manteo, N.C. 139

A man who was "himself available for special parties" could scarcely
be expected to want te spread fertilizer. As a sport-fishing guide

Horace Dough was able to earn up to $5,000 a year. However, by the

139. The Independent, Sect. 2, page 2, Nov. 18, 1932. (2-3)
46


no more at this time, as we will need it later on.” At this
time also, Warren wrote to the Commandant of the United States
Coast Guard to inquire about conditions at the Coast Guard station
at Kill Devil Hill--the station which had assisted the Wrights in
transporting their planes and equipment. It had been reported to
Warren that conditions there were rather unsatisfactory, and Warren
wanted this corrected.® As shall be seen, the poor conditions
existing at the Station later became an issue in the design of the
Wright memorial. Concerning the problem of a lack of roads to the
Banks, Warren wrote to North Carolina Assemblyman E. R. Johnson, of
Currituck, North Carolina:

If Eastern North Carolina is to develop, then there

must be additional communication afforded. If the

members from the First District [Warren's] will

consult . . . and stand as a unit for additional

mileage, it would certainly exert a powerful influ-

ence. The Highway Commission has no right now to

add one inch to the present map . . . but the State

Highway Commission should be given the right to put

them on.?
If pressure could not be brought upon the State Assembly, appropria-
tions for a road would not be forthcoming. It becomes clear at a

later date that a decision to build a road is largely dependent on

a decision to build a sizeable memorial to the Wrights. On the

7. Warren to D. V. Meekins (Elizabeth City), Aug. 24, 1926. (3a)

8. Warren to Admiral F. C, Billard, Commandant, U. S. Coast
Guard (Washington, D. C.)}, Aug. 27, 1926. (3a)

9, Warren to Hon. E. Re Johnson (Currituck, Ne C.), Sept. 22, 1926.
(3a)


On some days, up to three barges would arrive, til The granite
was of a consistently high quality, and the several blocks which
were flawed had been damaged in transit, and substitutions were
provided as rapidly as possible. In one case, a three-ton block
was found defective and a Mount Airy truck delivered a replacement

in three days--the result of around-the-clock operations. Gilman

112

was ecstatic. Relations with the Sargent Granite Company were

marred only by frequent late payments by Wills and Mafera, 13

Work on the granite base, in the outline of a five-pointed
star, began in December 1931, 114 Granite was lifted into place by
means of a Caterpiller crane, for which the contour of the hill was
made less steep, 215

The amount of materials involved is impressive, as the follow-

ing table shows, 116 A total of 1,200 tons of granite was used.

Material: Monument Platform Foundation
Granite: 640 Tons 557 Tons serene
Gravel: 399 685 975 Tons
Sand: 163 299 400
Cement: 74 136 181

111. Ibid.

112. The Independent, Sept. 23, 1932.

113. Bash to DeWitt, September 23, 1933. (2-6)

114, "Daily Report," December 14, 1931, (2-3)

115. Dough to (illegible), December 31, 1934. (1-a3)

116. Memorandum, Office of the Quartermaster General, (undated).

(2-4)
40



the Library. They were thus passed on to the former for approval.
This plan called for "a combined Coast Guard station and a marine
or aerial lighthouse . .. of native field stone." A recommendation

of a $100,000 appropriation was made, and a "modest but attractive"

proposed design was attached, 47

On March 10 the Commission of Fine Arts rejected the proposal.
Charles Moore, Chairman of the Commission, wrote the Memorial
Commission:

On examination of the Act of Congress providing for

@ memorial . . . the Commission of Fine Arts are of the
opinion that the proposed structure would not fulfill
the requirements of the Act; also that the utilitarian
features of the proposed building so far outweigh

the memorial feature that the result would not be a
memorial within the meaning of the Act. This opinion

o « o is reinforced by a statement made by Hon. Lindsay
C. Warren. . . and the members of the Kill Devil Hills
Memorial Association . . . « [The Association's] idea
is to erect a memorial tower which should carry a power=
ful light to aid flyers . . . [and] a landing place for
planes . . - - In the opinion of this Commission, these
latter proposals carry out the terms of the Act of
authorization and would result in an appropriate memorial.

The plans are herewith returned. “8

Meanwhile, in February, Warren had obtained promise of a
Congressional appropriation through the Cemeterial Division of
the War Department for $25,000 for "plans, surveys, investigations,

etc." of the prospective site.“9 Warren had also sent a telegram

47. Secretaries Davis, Wilbur, and Hoover, to the President, "Report
of the Orville Wright Memorial Commission," Jan. 31, 1928. (1b)

48. Charles Moore, Chairman, Commission of Fine Arts, to Edward P.
Warner, Assistant Secretary for Aeronautics, Navy Dept., March 10,
1928, (3a)

49. McClintock (Cemeterial Division) to Design Branch, War Dept.,
May 18, 1928; and Warren to Judge Thomas M. Pittman (Henderson, N.C.),
Feb. 10, 1928, (1-b)

19



“dumping a quarter of a million dollars of public money on a
sand dune where only a few neighborhood natives would see 1r."39
The issue of accessibility was a primary stimulus of opposition
to a sizeable memorial. It was necessary for Warren to lessen
anxiety about inaccessibility as strongly and as quickly as
possible, and by June 20 he was able to write the Committee that
he and North Carolina agencies "are reclaiming Kitty Hawk from its
inaccessibility, and that if anything is placed there as a memorial
which is worthwhile, it will be within easy access, "31 There was
at that time regular ferry service from Point Harbor (on the
mainland) to Kitty Hawk, plans to construct a road from Kitty Hawk
to Nags Head (ten miles to the South), and a bill pending for a
bridge to replace the above-mentioned ferry. 32

Warren was in favor of the suggestion to have a combined
Coast Guard Station, tower, and beacon, 22 as the Coast Guard
station then existing at Kill Devil Hills was “one of the most
dilapidated on the coast and... it will be several years

134

before a new one can be secured. Warren was anxious to serve

his constituents as best he could, and improved living conditions

30. The Independent (Elizabeth city, N.C.), Nov. 18, 1932.

31. Letter, Warren to Akerson (For the Commission), June 20,
1927. (3a)

32. Letter, Warren to Luce January 31, 1927. (3a)
33. Letter, Warren to William 0. Saunders, June 22, 1927. (3a)
34. Ibid.

14



were nonexistent and travel was essentially by water. In contrast to
the newly-arrived "air age'' and much of the now-distorted image of

the "roaring '20s," the Outer Banks were isolated and backward. Pros-
perity was for the big city folk.

One of the major "excitements" of the 1920's other than the air-
plane was real estate. The Florida land boom is now legendary, and
was duplicated less successfully in other states, including North
Carolina. Some land speculators, like Mr. Frank Stick of New Jersey,
were from out-of-state and saw the tremendous beauty and land oppor-
tunities of the Outer Banks. Land values were very low and could
only rise, but there were disadvantages--few roads, no bridges to the
mainland, no electricity, and no special “drawing force." People
wouldn't come to such a primitive area for scenic value alone.

Lindsay Carter Warren, born, raised, and still living in Washe
ington, North Carolina, was elected United States Representative to
Congress in the 1924 elections. A competent and apparently far-seeing
man, Lindsay Warren was concerned with drawing the Outer Banks into
the society and the economy of the nation. Congruent with this goal
were "visions," as Mr. Warren called them, of creating a memorial to
the Wrights at the site of their 1903 success and of eventually devel-
oping from this "a national park or a national monument,"

There were, then, several major reasons why a memorial to the

Wright Brothers could be, and was, considered. First, the United

3. Ibid., pe 7



2 IL

PLAT:


a local company had applied for exemption to the entrance fee for
its deliverymen. Dough wished to be advised, and Demaray did so,
saying, "This Service has approved such (exemptions) on the
ground that the duties of the deliveryman require them to enter the
area... and that their duties are in furtherance of the admin-
istration of the areas, It will also be unnecessary to collect
admissions [state] tax, "226 It is unclear when the admissions
charge was abolished, although it was probably in the early ‘50s.
With the completion of physical facilities, and with greater
numbers of visitors, more and more attention was given to interpre-
tation, Although there was a decline in numbers of visitors in
1939 over the preceding year--which Dough attributed to competition
from the New York World Fair--the 1941 tourist year (from September
1940 to September 1941) saw an all-time high, with 24,194 visi-
tors. 227 Scenic viewers (coin-operated binoculars) had been in-
stalled by a Connecticut firm in 1941 so that visitors might have a

better view of the surroundings, 228

and the suggestion was made
to obtain an automatic speaker for lectures as the one guard on

duty at any one time was not sufficient.22? The prevalent feeling

226. A.E. Demaray (Associate Director) to Dough, Nov. 29, 1941.
(la-3)

227. "Monthly Report," September 1941. (la-2)
228. "Monthly Report," February 1941. (la-2)

229. Ralston B. Lattimore (Assistant Historical Technician) to
Acting Regional Director, Region One, July 30, 1940. (4a)

69



"a few inches below the surface the sand... is moist and heavily
compacted,"' It is only the wind-blown surface which becomes dry
and blows over the top of the hill to settle on the lee side. ©?

The hill could thus be planted and secured. The advantage of
placing the memorial on high ground for reasons of visibility

had been generally accepted, but the previously apparent impossibil-
ity of this forced many to think that the beach would be the best
location. On the beach it was most practical to combine it with
the much-needed Coast Guard station.

The proposal of using funds for the Wright memorial for a
Coast Guard station, whether physically combined or not, continued
to be completely unacceptable to Senator Bingham. W.0. Saunders,
the editor of The Independent, joined with him to fight this. The
National Aeronautics Association was in sympathy with Bingham, the
Association's President, who made very clear to Colonel Bash of the
Construction Service its opposition to a Coast Guard station and to
any hesitation on the part of the War Department to build the
memorial on Kill Devil Hill. Bingham had threatened to block a
Coast Guard station by appealing personally to the Comptroller
General on the grounds that it was "positively not the intent of

Congress to have a Coast Guard station, "9 The result of this strong

62. "Report of Committee . . . to Investigate the Site for the
Wright Memorial . . .," (Gilman et al), pp. 4 & 5, Oct. 29, 1928.
(2-5)

63. Memorandum of conversation between Col. Bash and Mr. Victory
of the National Aeronautics Association, Oct. 31, 1928.

24



considered by anyone other than the Reverend Mr. Betts. Another

concerned citizen, Mr. Frank Stick, of Asbury Park, New Jersey,

sent a telegram to Warren in early January:
MY ASSOCIATES AND MYSELF GREATLY INTERESTED IN YOUR
BILL FOR MONUMENT COMMEMORATING FIRST AEROPLANE
FLIGHT. WE OWN KILL DEVIL HILLS TRACT AND WILL
GLADLY DEED THESE HILLS AND ADJACENT LAND REQUIRED
FOR MONUMENT AND RESERVATION TO GOVERNMENT WITHOUT
cost. 19

In general Warren's proposal was received favorably, and there
was no serious opposition.

Meanwhile, the House Library Committee had suggested that the
Fine Arts Commission--a commission established by Congress and
composed of various experts who were to decide on matters concerning
aesthetics and the fine arts-~be given supervisory authority over
the design selected by the Secretarial commission. In response to
this suggestion, Warren agreed and, in the same letter, answered
very simply the Committee's question of "the remoteness and isola-
tion" of Kitty Hawk . . . "I think that a historic occasion should

be commemorated at the place where it occurred, "20

He went on to
explain that the state of North Carolina, in an attempt to correct
the problem of access, was considering a bill to erect a bridge

from Kitty Hawk to the mainland, and re-emphasized the necessity

for the bill to pass at that session of Congress in order that

19. Telegram, Frank Stick (Asbury Park, N. J.) to Warren, January 5,
1927. (3a)

20. Letter, Warren to Hon. Robert Luce (Chairman, House Committee
on the Library), Jan. 31, 1927. (3a)

10



For fear of detrimental results of Bingham's withdrawal, Warren
expressed his regrets and cautioned Bingham to "say nothing and
do nothing about severing your relations with the Association."
Bingham agreed to this and, though still resigning, assured
Warren that he was "most anxious to help you in any way I can
toward getting a beautiful memorial . . . that will be the admire-
tion of the world.” He complained that it was "very disappointing
that the Commission was so set in their attitude of utilizing this
memorial to save the Department of Commerce from having to make an
appropriation for a Coast Guard station and a lighthouse and charge
it up to memorials, I do not think we shall lose anything by wait-
ing, however.'"7>
With a lessening and almost forgotten concern for providing
memorial funds for a Coast Guard station at Kill Devil Hills,
Warren wrote the Commandant of the Coast Guard, asking if their
own funds could be used to provide for a new station. F.C.
Billard, the Commandant, replied that he was in a position "to
inform you at this time that we can initiate steps looking to the
construction of the new building during the present year,"76 A
memorial Coast Guard station was then most assuredly dead.

By April no further action had been taken on the memorial

design. Bash notified the competitors--who still knew nothing of

75. Bingham to Warren, March 1, 1929. (3a)

76. Fe C. Billard, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard (Washington, D.C.)
to Warren, March 22, 1929. (3a)

29



promised date. It was not until 1959 that Hansen again began work
on the busts; at this time he was not able to finance the costs
himself and an outside benefactor had to be found. 298 The donor
volunteering to cover the necessary $10,000 financing cost was
the North Electric Company of Galion, Ohio, and plans went ahead
immediately after confirmation of this backing to place the busts
in the wall niches inside the Shaft which had been originally de-

signed for just such a purpose. 299

However, by the time the busts
were ready for placement in 1960, the Shaft had been closed to the
public. The busts were thus erected on either side of the steps
to the platform, and here they gaze out over the flat lands of the
Banks, looking exactly as if they had always known they would even-
tually find themselves in such a posture.

As the Memorial reached apparent maturity, the Kill Devil Hill
Memorial Society also seemed to be well along the same path. In
1966 the name was changed to "First Flight Society" in order to
‘make the purpose of the organization more apparent, and to assure
that only the organization located at the site of the first flight

1300

would bear a name of such significance. The Society continued

to organize annual observances of the "first flight," but on a

298. Hansen to Director Wirth, June 25, 1959. (4a)

299, Director Wirth to James, D. Williams, Jr., North Electric
Company, July 6, 1959. (4a)

300. Pamphlet of the First Flight Society (P.0. Box 1903, Manteo,
N.C., care of Mr. Aycock Brown), 1966.

98


Center; and visitor complaints of overcrowding inside the Shaft
itser£.281 The decision to close the Shaft disappointed many
people, but it was the wisest and most practical means of solving
the various problems presented by its being open. Kill Devil Hill
still affords an excellent view of the area without climbing to
the top of the Shaft.

At the time of the announcement that the Visitor Center would
be built, the State of North Carolina was proceeding with the relo~
cation of the main highway paralleling the eastern boundary of the
Memorial and several hundred feet away. The new highway would be
located directly on the proposed Eastern boundary, and it would be
from this highway that most visitors would enter the Memorial. 78?
Another change in highways was the relocation of the Colington road,
completed in July 1958, Public traffic no longer had access to the
Memorial roads even though the right of way, in the southwestern
corner of the Memorial, was still on government land,

As plans for the design of the Visitor Center became more
definite, bids were received and an award was made for the construc-
tion of an East entrance road and parking lot to Dickerson, Incor-

porated, of Monroe, North Carolina, for a cost of $73,930.79

281. Acting Regional Director E.M. Lisle to Acting Superintendent
Smith of Wright Brothers, December 5, 1960. (4b)

282. Director Wirth to Gen, Thomas D, White, USAF, November 8,
1957. (4c)

283. "Monthly Report," June 1958. (4b)

91



the memorial might be dedicated in December 1928, the 25th anniver-
sary of the 1903 flight.

On February 3 Warren was visited by "a member" of the Library
Committee to ascertain if Warren would be interested in amending
Bingham's bill "so as to provide for a small marker,"2! Warren
strongly rejected this, and immediately wrote Bingham that "I need
your help at this stage very much, "22 Warren felt that the cause
of this startling suggestion by the Committee was not so much
opposition to the bill per se as it was that "the House Committee
is very jealous of its functions" concerning Senate bills which are
similar to those originating in the House,

The following day, the 4th, the Bingham bill was reported--
without amendments--to the House, Before the vote on the 2ist,
however, the following had been added to the original bill: that
". © « and Wilbur Wright" be added, and that "the design and plans
oe « « shall be subject to the approval of the Commission of Fine

123

Arts and the Joint Committee on the Library. The Chairman of

the Committee reported:

The proposal of this [latter] amendment has in view
two things: First, that there may be assurance as to
the artistic quality of the monument, and secondly,
that the legislative branch may have some part in the
matter of contemplated expenditure before the plans
for the work have proceeded so far as to make modfica~
tion difficult. 24

21. Letter, Warren to Senator Bingham, Feb. 3, 1927. (3a)
22. Ibid.
23. 69 Cong., 2 Sess., So 4876, 68-3003, (December 17, 1926).

24, Ibid, House floor report, S. 4876, February 4, 1927,

11



and the mound of earth under the boulder was removed at the same
time so that the monorail track might lie flat on the ground so
that visitors would not be misled to think that the monorail had
originally been on a slope.2?5

The Memorial Shaft suffered as always from problems of water
condensation, although an air circulatory system installed in July

1963 partially alleviated the problem.?6

It is probable that
nothing further will be done to lessen the condensation because
there is no longer a need for public access to the interior. The
only substantial change to the Shaft was the addition of the two
busts of the Wright Brothers which stand on the front of the plat-
form. Attempts to secure such busts began as early as 1951, and
the Kill Devil Hills Memorial Society had originally planned to
provide for their cost. They were to be bronze, and electroplated
with grey cadmium to resist the salt air. The sculptor, Oskar
Hansen, stated in 1951 that the busts would be ready for golden
anniversary observances in 1953, even if he had to finance them

himself.297 However, for various reasons including a serious auto~

mobile accident, Hansen was not able to complete the busts by the

295. "Monthly Superintendent's Narrative," Cape Hatteras, May
1966. (4b)

296. "Monthly Narrative," July 1963. (4b)

297. Oskar J.W. Hansen (Charlottesville, Virginia), to Director
Demaray, July 17, 1951. (4a)

97


BIBLIOGRAPHY
As an aid to future research, the outline order
below is referred to by the figures in parentheses
following the footnotes in the text.
Collections (unbound sources)

1. National Archives (Washington, D.C.)

a. Record Group 79 == National Park Service -
Wright Brothers National Memorial

1. Box No. 2693

2" "2694
3. " "2695
4 " " 2696
5." "2697

b. Record Group 94, Box No. 583 -~- Adjutant
General Office - "Kitty Hawk, North
Carolina"

2. National Records Center (Suitland, Maryland) --
Record Group 92 = Office of the Quartermaster
General - General Correspondence - Geographic
File, 1922 to 1935 - "Kitty Hawk"

1. Box No. 1036

2." " 1037
3. 0 0" "1038
46 "  " 1039
5S. 1040
6 " " 1041

3. Southern Historical Collection, Library of
the University of North Carolina (Chapel
Hill)

a, Record Group 3172 -- papers of Lindsay C.
Warren

b. Record Group 3710 ~~ papers of Herbert C.
Bonner - National Seashore Park Series,
1955 to 1960

102





the latter's comments were equal to the occasion:
Mr. Orville Wright . . . expressed the view that the
north side of the monument would be more suitable for
a landing field than the south side. He was quite
positive concerning the value of the land. He claims
that the land all around the Monument is not worth
more than a dollar an acre and he would seriously ob-
ject to paying anybody in excess of ten dollars an
acre at the outside, He ia further of the opiniga
that the land should be donated for the purpose. 9
A new stalemate on further development had actually been reached
in 1938, when appropriations were cut from those previously pro-
posed, and thus not even all of the items in the "Six Year Pro-
gram” remained unscathed, 2!0 Congress had, for one explanation
of this, become somewhat wary of Park Service expansion and
improvements in general, Furthermore, it is probable that the
Park Service, with its traditional lack of desire to build and
operate airports, had not supported this particular proposal as
fully as certain persons might have wished,

Horace Dough's qualifications for caretaker had not included
office procedures, and it is not surprising that in 1938 an audi-
tor found the Kill Devil Hill National Monument files inadequate,
and generally out-of-date and incomplete. Furthermore, private

concessioners were selling post cards on the grounds, 211 According

to Dough, he had been swamped with paperwork during most of the

209, Knabenshue to Sager, December 19, 1939. (la-3)

210. Demaray to E.K. Burlew (Administrative Assistant & Budget
Officer), Jan. 12, 1938. (la-4)

211. Hillory A, Tolson (Acting Associate Director) to Dough,
June 16, 1938. (la-1)

65



THE DOLDRUMS

Chapter 6

World War II brought many problems to the Park Service which
were in turn felt at Kill Devil Hill. Most important was an appro-
priations cut from the 1940 level of $21 million to $5 million in

1943--a minimum level which was maintained until 1967, 732

Ration-
ing and unavailability of many items made the situation even more
severe--gasoline rationing, for example, helped reduce the number
of visitors to the Park Service areas from a 1941 level of twenty-
one million to a series of years at about sixmillion, and the 1941
figure was not surpassed until 1946. 233 Fertilizer, so important
to Kill Devil Hill, was limited to the non-nitrate, "victory" types,
and these were of inferior quality. Furthermore, military service
reduced staffs to a minimum and women were hired for many vacant
positions.

Not only were the National Parks restricted by national war-
time needs, but most of the seacoast sites were used in one way or
another for defense installations. Most areas suffered little

damage, but some, like Hawaii National Park, which surrendered

6,400 acres for use as an Army bombing range, received severe

232. Ise, Our National Park Policy, p. 452.

233. ‘Ibid.

71


the Association was to "Build the last link from Murphy to
Manteo"; the purpose was “to give the world a ready opportunity
to visit the Nation's twin Shrines thus to be made accessible
to motorists--Kill Devil Hills . . . and old Fort Raleigh."??
The formal organizational meeting took place August 16, and
The Independent reported that forty-six people joined the

Association at that meeting,“

The Independent's editor, William 0.
Saunders, who may have given the original idea of a marker to the
Wrights to Lindsay Warren, was the first President of the Associa-
tion. He looked upon the immediate function of the Association as
@ pressure group to provide for a road, and thus, an outstanding
memorial. ‘Make Kill Devil Hills accessible," he proclaimed,
“and it will mean the erection of one of the most impressive
memorials in America,"41

In August numerous letters were sent to men whose names were
“household words," asking them to serve on the honorary Advisory
Council of the Association, The backing of dozens of such men
would provide tremendous pressure on the State of North Carolina
to build the bridge to Kitty Hawk and a read South from there, and

would also independently affect the decision as to form and expense

of the Wright memorial. Publicity played a large part in these plans.

39. The Daily Advance, August 5, 1927.
40. The Independent, August 19, 1927.
41. The Daily Advance, August 5, 1927.

16



nationwide scale only for the numerically important anniversaries, 20!

A current development is the "First Flight Shrine," to be organized
by the Society on private land near the Memorial. The purpose is

to honor airmen and astronauts who have accomplished outstanding
"firsts," although it is unclear at this time whether this will in-
clude those of nationalities other than American. A second purpose
is to establish a location where objects and representations related

to the fame of these persons may be exhibited. 302

An example of
these mementos is a twelve-foot long scale-model of the United States
aircraft carrier, Kitty Hawk, named in honor ef the Wright Brothers.
This modei was originally unveiled and presented to Wright Brothers
in 1964, but is now in storage at Little Kinnakeet. It had been ine
tended for exhibition at the Visitor Center, but Director Wirth de-
clined such offers on the grounds that they bear "no relationship

to the historic events of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk. . .
[and this] will distract from the real purpose of the area and the
story we are trying to te11.1303 The model may now have a home,

Around 1960 a competitor to the First Flight Society originated

out of what Aycock Brown has called "newsmen and such." The Man

301, Interview with Mr, Aycock Brown, Secretary of the First
Flight Society, November 7, 1967.

302. Ibid.

303. Director Wirth to Representative Herbert C. Bonner, March 1,
1962. (3b)

99


finalized March 23, and the Memorial Commission again submitted
its plans to the Fine Arts Commission--this time with plans for a
“granite shaft with bronze tablet and inecription” at the actual
site, but at some distance from the memorial on the beach.”?
These plans were again rejected, on June 16, by the Fine Arts
Commission, along with a recommendation that Warren “take up the
matter with the Memorial Commission and have it settled." The
day before this rejection, the Assistant Secretary of War had
directed the Quartermaster General "to secure by competition plans

for a Coast Guard station and light beacon, ">

With this, the
Memorial Commission had shifted their responsibility to another
party, and removed direct responsibility for the design from any

of the three previously concerned bodies. This shifting of respon-
sibility for the design became especially detached from the original
three committees when, in June, the competition was determined by
the Office of the Quartermaster General to be open to all architects,
The Memorial Commission maintained that the memorial should be a
Coast Guard station, and as late as October 4, the Quartermaster
General was to write that the Commission had made its decision,

and that it was the duty of his office to carry out that decision, ©

53. Horton (War Dept.) to Gen. Cheatham, Oct. 17, 1928. (2-5)
54, Ibid.
55. Ibid,

56. BF. Cheatham, The Quartermaster General, to Warren, Oct. 4,
1928, (3a)

21



The Depression, which left the outlook for the Park Service
rather bleak at first, proved not completely unfavorable. Congress
voted to provide work forces for the parks, and though the appropria-
tion for the "operation" of the Monument for the period August 10,
1933, to June 30, 1934 was $2,200,'52 the appropriation for improve-
ments through the Public Works Administration was $90,500,153

The question of ends to which this amount would go was open
to public debate, and those backing a landing strip for airplanes
were the most vocal. One of the original goals of the Kill Devil
Hills Memorial Association was to obtain an airport, primarily for
sentimental reasons, but for certain practical reasons as well.
Saunders wrote in The Independent in August, "The Wright Memorial
e « ¢ without a landing field in proximity is much like a ship
stranded on a reef,"'!54 Furthermore, as The Independent later
brought out;

There would be a distinct utilitarian value to a
landing field at Kill Devil Hills, Happily, these
hills afford a midway stop for air liners plying
between New York and Florida . . .. And here should
be an important airplane base in event of war. It
was off this very North Carolina coast that German

U-boats did their most disastrous work in American
waters in the last great conflict.155

152. Hillory A. Tolson (Assistant Director, NPS) to Dough, Oct. 18,
1933. (4a)

153. Warren to NPS Director Cammerer, October 20, 1933, (la=3)
154, The Independent, p. 4, August 26, 1932.
155. The Independent, September 8, 1933.

50


organizing various manufacturers to contribute on a voluntary

basis.29°

The reconstruction began in 1962, and the volunteer-

ing builders included over fifty agencies, companies and individ-
uals,291 some of those volunteering materials and labor were Pratt
and Whitney, making the mock-up of the engine; Diamond Chain Com-
pany, supplying the propellor drive chains; M. Lowenstein and Son
of New York City, donating the muslin fabric; and the Cleveland
Pneumatics Industries, which constructed the landing skid assem~
bly. The Smithsonian's National Air Museum, and Mr. Walter Male
in particular, advised on techniques and supplied research materials.
The reconstruction was carried on in many parts of the nation, and
the parts shipped to Washington, D.C., in the fall of 1963 for
assembly and temporary exhibit. On December 10 the plane was
delivered to Wright Brothers, and was re-assembled early the next
week by three members of the "Project 60" committee. The 1902
glider, previously in the place now occupied by the 1903 plane, was
suspended from the ceiling near the east wall of the room. Ina
ceremony the 16th of December, Director Wirth officially accepted
the replica from the President of the Institute, now renamed the

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. 797

290. Director Wirth to Ernest N. Robinschon, Manager, Western
Region, Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences (Los Angeles),
February 4, 1960. (4a)

291. "Project 60: Wright 1903 Powered Plane Reproduction," (list
of donors), October 16, 1963. (4a)

292. “Monthly Narrative Report," Chief Park Naturalist to Superin-
tendent, Cape Hatteras, December 1963. (4b)

95


Warren met President Hoover on January 23, and was authorized
by him to state that Hoover was "strongly in favor of the plans
[being] considered by the Committee, "70 Upon leaving the Presi-
dent, Warren than engaged in a rather heated argument with Senator
Bingham. Warren asked Bingham to withdraw his opposition, and
told Bingham that he was opposed by both North Carolina Senators,
the North Carolina Governor, the Kill Devil Hills Memorial Associa-
tion, "and many others." Bingham continued to feel that the pro-
posed memorial was a terrible desecration.

Senator Bingham informed Mr. Warren that he would
not withdraw his opposition: that he was bitterly
opposed to the proposed plans; that he would again
cause their rejection by the Joint Committee, and
failing in that he would defeat the appropriation.
He further stated that the estimated expenditure of
$238,000 was entirely too high, and that Senator
Smoot [chairman, Senate Committee of Finances] would
see that it was not allowed. He said that regard-
leas of the President's opinion he would fight till
the end. Mr. Warren then informed Senator Bingham
that he likewise would fight to the end and would
insist that the plans desired by the President, the
Senators and others be adopted. I left him by tell-
ing him I would urge Senator Fess to call a meeting
at an early date. I have been assured that the War
Department will send several high officials to the
meeting favoring the plans.91

Warren wrote Senator F.M. Simmons of North Carolina again several
days later to impress him with the fact that at the next Committee

meeting the plans would have to be adopted; otherwise, it would be

90, Ibid.
91. Warren to Sen. F.M. Simmons (N.C.), January 24, 1930. (3a)

33



Saunders often wrote letters to Warren such as the following:
Copies of the Bingham, Dawes, Roosevelt letters (of
acceptance to the Advisory Council) received. Great
work, I shall play Senator Bingham in the headlines
of my paper next week and save Dawes and Roosevelt
for the next week. At an early date I shall go to the
Associated Press with a big story about the association
and its personnel, "42

Secretary Hoover was on the Advisory Council, as was the Chairman

of the North Carolina State Highway Commission. Col. Charles A.

Lindbergh, after his flight to Paris in April of that year, joined

only this organization in his moment of glory. Names such as

Commander Richard E. Byrd, General John J. Pershing, Edsel Ford,

Robert Luce, Alfred E, Smith, Joseph Pulitzer, William Randolph

Hearst, Cecil B. DeMille, and Harry Guggenheim stood on the Advi-

sory Counei1.43 The movement for access to Kill Devil Hills and

for a memorial monument was backed by powerful national support.

Representative Fiorello LaGuardia of New York stated, in accepting

a place on the Advisory Council, "The monument at Kitty Hawk should

compare favorably in artistic design and dimensions to that of the

Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, to the monument to Frederick

the Great at Berlin, the Victor Emanuel Memorial in Rome, or the

Waterloo Monument in Berlin, [sic] or even the pyramids in Egypt.''44

By the end of September, Hoover too felt the spirit of interest,

and expressed his sentiments to Warren about the future of the

42. Letter, Saunders to Warren, Sept. 18, 1927. (3a)

43, Letterhead, Kill Devil Hills Memorial Association (Elizabeth
City), Letter of December 12, 1927. (3a)

44, The Independent, Oct. 7, 1927.

17



that there was neither already-established literature on the Monu-
ment nor any other outlet in the vicinity of the Monument through
which the book could be so1d.193 It was not Park Service policy
to sell materials itsers, 194 This policy was kept closely con-
trolled and such materials as post cards were not allowed to be
sold.!95 in September 1935 a book by Miss Catherine Albertson
of Elizabeth City, Legends of the Dunes of Dare, was allowed to be
sold through the agent of Mr. Saunders, 196 In March of 1937, how-
ever, Saunders refused to allow his agent to continue selling her
book, and a directive from Director Cammerer was needed to enable
Miss Albertson to sell her books through her own agent, 197 Both
agents were required to maintain their own equipment and to re~
frain from soliciting, 198

Dough felt that the book agents were invaluable in their
coincidental duties as guards, for protection of the monument had
become a more serious problem since the Colington road had been
opened to the public. !99 Dough wrote Tolson that such items as
the beautiful, but poorly secured, door handles of the monument

had been removed, and that "this class of people would not hesitate

193. Ibid.
194 Ise, Our National Park Policy, p. 614.

195. G.A. Moskey (Asst. Director) to Wm L. Stephens, July 23,
1935. (la-5)

196. C. Albertson to Demaray, March 14, 1937. (la-5)
197. Director Cammerer to Miss C. Albertson, March 29, 1937. (la-5)
198. Ibid,

199. Dough to Tolson, Feb, 21, 1936. (la-5)

61



ab
oP
ba
fe
3



GPO 863-321


States had attained a position of relative confidence and “identity."
This could be seen in the American arts and sciences as well as in

the economy, and this feeling had been primarily strengthened by
United States performance in the First World War. The Wright Brothers
were symbols of America's contribution to the world, perhaps more
spectacularly so than any other Americans, A memorial to them would
be only just gratitude on the part of a prospering and airplane~
conscious nation. On a local level, a memorial to such pioneers,
located on the site of their singlemost dramatic achievement--the
first flight--would serve to stimulate bridge and road building to
bring together the Outer Banks and the mainland, and to open up the area

to the prosperity of the nation,



area included the site of the fourth landing of December 17,
1903, and allowed for more than enough room for a visitor park~
ing area. A second tract of land was also added to the Memorial,
between Lowell and Woodmere avenues and between the two State high-
ways east of the previous Memorial boundaries, This tract would
allow an entrance road from the older Highway 158 and would prevent
development that might not be in the best interests of preserving
some semblance of the original barren land. Together, these new
lands added 111 acres to the previous 314 acres of the Memorial.
The Visitor Center building is a modern one-story structure with
large glass windows, Space is divided into several types of areas:
a lobby, including a concessions stand; interpretive exhibits; a
display room for one Wright Brothers plane; and administrative
quarters, Preliminary plans had called for a mezzanine in order
to view a full-scale Wright plane from above as well as from the
ground floor level. Historian Appleman suggested, however, that
the plane be installed on a small platform thus enabling the visi-
tor to view the plane just as well, albeit differently, and thus
saving considerable construction costs, 786 This recommendation
was accepted and when the Center was dedicated in December 1960
a replica of the Wright's 1902 glider, donated by the Air Force

Museum in Fairborn, Ohio, was being exhibited in this way, 287

286. Actg. Chief Historian Appleman to Chief, Division of Inter-
pretation, May 5, 1958. (4a)

287. Director Wirth to Gen. White, Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force,
January 28, 1961. (4a)

93


government at Kill Devil nil1."102

Before construction could begin on the monument itself, it
was necessary to construct an access road from North Carolina
State Highway #158, part of the Kitty Hawk-Nags Head road, and
roads within the “reservation” as well. On January 13, 1931, the
Congress authorized the Secretary of War to allocate a total of
$25,000 for the construction of these roads, with the understanding

103 A title to the

that Dare County would provide maintenance.
strip of land connecting the reservation and the State highway was
obtained from Dare County on February 3 for one dollar and “other

valuable considerations. "14

Bidding for the sand-asphalt roads
was opened the middle of February and the winning contractor was
to begin Aprii 2,105

The roadwork was reported complete on May 4, but in May it was
realized that the War Department could accept deeds for approach
roads only in cases of national cemeteries and military parks, 206
The "Monument on Kill Devil Hill" was a “national monument," and,

as Congress had not intended it to commemorate a military achieve-

ment, this designation could not be changed to a military one.

102, The Christian Science Monitor, July 1931. (2-3)

103. 72 Cong., 1 Sess., HR. 16117 (January 13, 1931).

104, A.W. Brown (Col., Judge Advocate General Dept.) to Assistant
Secretary of War, May 23, 1931. (1b)

105, "Construction of a Sand-Asphalt Approach Road to Wright
Memorial . . . and to Marker," February 16, 1931. (la~-3)

106. Brown to Assistant Secretary of War, May 23, 1931. (1b)

38



Will Never Fly Society maintains the motto, "Birds fly; men drink,"
and the Society delights in telling those who cannot arrive for
December 17 observances by air transportation because of poor wea~
ther that "we told you so." The competition usually exhausts ite
self by early morning of each December 17, and the First Flight
Society is thus free to commemorate the fact that man can indeed
fly. The statement made by The Daily Advance in 1928 is as true
as ever: "The Wright Brothers gave Kitty Hawk a place in the sun,
but it is the (First Flight Society) which has given Kitty Hawk a

place on page one, "304

It is difficult to prophesy what direction Wright Brothers
might take in the future. The developments which were discussed
year after year have now been accomplished. Perhaps an entrance
fee will be collected some day, thus necessitating a contact sta-
tion. The old 1930s contact and comfort stations will certainly
be obliterated in the next few years. But these are minor changes
directed more toward "tidying up" the Memorial than beginning a new
tangent of development. The pressures of increased visitation
are probably the key to understanding future changes, and over-
flow parking areas, a new comfort station, and re-arrangements
of interpretive materials may all come about as a result of this.
In any case, more emphasis will probably be given to the conserva-

tion of the area than to new development. As a visitor wrote

304, The Daily Advance (Elizabeth City), December 15, 1928.
100


The average number of men employed at the site by the general
contractors ranged from forty-five to sixty, !17 including one
civilian, Joseph E, Partridge, as he was "the only man familiar

118 As the monument was to be

with the corners and land line."
completed in November 1932 and put under the jurisdiction of

the Commanding General of the Fourth Corps Area, it was essential
that a caretaker be appointed to maintain and protect the monu-
ment, 119 Partridge was interested in this position, and support
for him came from all those engaged in the actual construction,
Bash wrote Warren in August fully supporting Mr. Partridge's

candidacy, 12°

and Kindervater likewise gave full support, explain-
ing later that he had not been interested in the position himself
as the salary of $1,200 per year would not be sufficient to support
his family. Partridge was regarded as qualified, but, as Warren
wrote Bash, "Orville Wright and about 25 outstanding citizens in
the the nation," including President Hoover, wanted Capt. W.J.

Tate to be appointed caretaker. Warren wondered if two caretaker

121

positions might not be created. Tate was a native of Kitty

Hawk and had assisted the Wright Brothers during their trips to

117. "Deily Reports," August 1931 - August 1932. (2-3)

118. General memorandum, Gen. J.L. DeWitt, the Quartermaster
General, to the Office of the Quartermaster General, July 29,
1932. (2-1)

119, Ibid.

120, Bash to Warren, August 2, 1932, (2-6)

121. Warren to Bash, August 5, 1932, (2-6)

41