National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Media Services

Harpers Ferry Center

Historic Furnishings Report

Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park 

Dayton, Ohio

The Wright Cycle 

Company Building
APPROVED:

Lawrence Blake

Superintendent, Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park

February 18, 2006
The Wright Cycle Company Building

Dayton Aviation Heritage National 

Historical Park

Dayton, Ohio

by Mary Grassick

Staff Curator

Media Services

Harpers Ferry Center

National Park Service, 2007

Historic Furnishings Report 
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORIC FURNISHINGS REPORT

Cover: Exterior of 22 South Williams Street, c. 1895, Wright State University, 

and Orville Wright at lathe, probably 22 South Williams Street, 1895–1897, 

Library of Congress.
THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

Administrative Information 1

Management Background 3

Interpretive Objectives 5

Operating Plan 5

Prior Planning Documents 5

Historical Information 7

History of the Structure 9

Analysis of Historic Occupancy 11

 Wilbur and Orville Wright 11

Employees and Family 12

Evidence of Room Use and Furnishings 13

The Move to 22 South Williams Street 13

Wright Brand Bicycles 14

 Machinery 14 

Tools 15

Shop Arrangement 16

Show Windows 16

Offi ce 17

Printing 18

Furnishings Plan 19

Lists of Recommended Furnishings 21 

 Bicycle Repair Section 21

 Bicycle Shop Display Windows 23

Illustrations 25 

Appendixes 47

Appendix 1: Report on the Lathe, Drill Press and Other Tools in 

the Wright Brothers’ Workshop at 22 S. Williams St. from 1895 

to 1897, by William R. Robertson 49

Appendix 2: Orville Wright to Mr. Fred L. Black, The Edison 

Institute, November 4, 1937, The Henry Ford Research Center 84

Contents

CONTENTS
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORIC FURNISHINGS REPORT

Appendix 3: 1909 Inventory, Wright Cycle Co., 1127 W. Third 

Street, Wright Papers, Library of Congress 87

Bibliography 97
THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

Administrative Information 1

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
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THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

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Administrative Information

Management Background

Wilbur and Orville Wright opened their 

bicycle shop at 22 South Williams Street in 

Dayton, Ohio, in the spring of 1895. The 

building, down the street from their home 

at 7 Hawthorne Street, housed the brothers’ 

bicycle sales and repair business as well as a 

limited printing operation until late spring of 

1897. It was in this location that they began 

manufacturing their own brands of bicycles, 

the Van Cleve, the St. Clair, and the Wright 

Special. 

The two-story brick building at 22 South Williams Street was constructed in 1886 and was 

used commercially before it was leased to the 

Wright brothers for their bicycle business in 

1895. After the Wrights moved on to their 

fi nal cycle shop location at 1127 West Third 

Street in 1897, the building continued to be 

rented by small businesses until it was converted into a two-family residence around 

1911.1

 After many years of residential use the 

building fell into disrepair and was scheduled 

for demolition by the city of Dayton.

In 1980 Fred Fisk and Marlin Todd published 

a journal article on the Wright brothers’ bicycle business, noting the location of the 22 

South Williams Street building and including 

a previously unknown historic photograph 

of the site.2 Around the same time, Mary 

Ann Johnson, co-founder of the non-profi t 

Aviation Trail, Inc., identifi ed the structure 

as a former Wright bicycle shop. The building was acquired on behalf of Aviation Trail 

in 1980, and sold to Aviation Trail in 1982. In 

1985 Aviation Trail began restoration of the 

building to its 1895 appearance, and in June 

1988 the restored building was opened to the 

public. 

The Wright Cycle Company building at 

22 South Williams Street was designated a 

National Historic Landmark in 1990. The 

building is a contributing structure to the 

West Third Street Historic District, which 

was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. The 2003 Committee, 

a group of Dayton community leaders and 

activists spearheading the city’s celebration 

of the centennial of fl ight and instrumental in 

creating Dayton Aviation Heritage National 

Historical Park (NHP), purchased the building at 22 South Williams Street and donated 

it to the National Park Service in November 

1995.3

Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park was established by PL 102-419 as 

1 “The Wright Brothers at 22 South Williams Street, 

1895–1897: A Report to the Aviation Trail,” Margaret (Lanny) Weaver, September 1983, Henry Ford 

Museum and The Henry Ford Research Center, EI 

186, Wright Cycle Shop fi le.

2 Fred C. Fisk and Marlin Todd, “The Wright Brothers’ Bicycles,” in The Wheelmen, November 1980, 

cited in Historic Structure Report: The Wright Cycle 

Company Building (HS-01), Dayton Aviation Heritage 

National Historical Park, Dayton, Ohio (United States 

Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 

May 1999) (hereafter “HSR”), 9.

3 The 2003 Committee later changed its name to 

Inventing Flight.

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
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amended in 1992. The park is comprised of 

four noncontiguous sites: The Wright Cycle 

Company complex; Huff man Prairie Flying 

Field on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base; 

Wright Brothers Aviation Center at Carillon Historical Park, and the Paul Laurence 

Dunbar State Memorial in West Dayton. The 

National Park Service, Wright-Patterson 

Air Force Base, Carillon Historical Park, the 

Ohio Historical Society and Aviation Trail, 

Inc. are federally mandated partners of Dayton Aviation Heritage NHP.

During the time Aviation Trail, Inc., was steward of the property, the organization installed 

exhibits and furnished settings on the fi rst 

fl oor of the building to interpret the Wright 

brothers’ bicycle sales, repair, and manufacturing activities at 22 South Williams Street. 

The National Park Service retained those exhibits on loan until 2005 and certain objects 

remain on loan. This report, in addition to 

addressing the historic use, occupancy and 

furnishing of 22 South Williams Street, includes recommendations for historic furnishings in selected sections of the ground fl oor 

of the building. Based on these recommendations, historic furnishings were installed in 

March 2005. Areas not interpreted with furnishings house exhibits designed by Christopher Chadbourne Associates, the fi rm 

selected to provide exhibit planning, design 

and production for Dayton Aviation Heritage 

NHP as a whole. Other exhibits are located 

in the nearby Hoover Block which, along 

with the adjacent building owned by Aviation Trail, Inc., makes up the Wright-Dunbar 

Interpretive Center for the park. Exhibits are 

also installed at the Huff man Prairie Flying 

Field Interpretive Center, located at Wright 

Brothers Hill at Wright-Patterson Air Force 

Base, overlooking Huff man Prairie Flying 

Field.

Documentation of the years the Wright 

brothers spent working at the 22 South Williams Street bicycle shop is limited; one of 

the best sources of information is the Library 

of Congress photograph of Orville Wright 

working at a lathe. This photograph provides 

important evidence as to the arrangement 

and modifi cation of the machinery the brothers used in making and repairing bicycles. A 

second image of Orville working with friend 

and employee Ed Sines, probably taken at the 

1127 West Third Street shop, contains important visual clues about the Wright brothers’ 

work environment. Both photographs will 

be used to provide comparative evidence for 

furnishings recommendations. 

The Wright brothers’ business ledgers, held 

at the Library of Congress and available on 

microfi lm through Dayton Aviation Heritage 

NHP, provide documentation specifi c to 

the brothers’ activities at 22 South Williams 

Street. The earliest ledger, which covers the 

period from November 1890 through May 

1898, documents sales by Wright and Wright, 

Printers. A second ledger begins just before 

the brothers moved their bicycle operation 

to 1127 West Third Street and so documents 

only a few months of sales and repair transactions at 22 South Williams Street.

Manuscripts held at the Library of Congress 

include Wright family correspondence which 

refers briefl y to the brothers’ business and 

provides some evidence about activities in 

the building. Period bicycle repair manuals, 

trade catalogs, and trade periodicals provide 

comparative evidence for furnishings recommendations.

Along with other media, historic furnishings 

are used at 22 South Williams Street to interpret the Wright brothers’ combined eff orts 

in bicycle making, sales and repair, as well 

as the continued operation of their printing 

business. The front window is furnished 

with bicycle displays in order to pique visitor 

interest and to accurately represent one type 

of advertising the Wright brothers would 

have employed to promote their bicycle busi-
THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

5

ness. A furnishings vignette in the rear of the 

building illustrates how Orville and Wilbur 

Wright set up and used tools in their bicycle 

manufacture and repair business.

Interpretive Objectives

The 1997 Interpretive Plan for Dayton Aviation Heritage NHP identifi es three interpretive themes for the site that can be addressed 

through historic furnishings at the 22 South 

Williams Street cycle shop building. These 

themes are:

• [The invention of the airplane] facilitated 

trade and communication and led to the 

creation of new industries.

• [The Wright brothers’] mastery of engineering, mechanics, mathematics, and 

writing qualifi ed them to deal with every 

facet of aircraft development, design, and 

construction.

• The brothers’ synergy created a whole 

that was greater than the sum of the 

parts.

In particular, historic furnishings vignettes 

in The Wright Cycle Company building illustrate the signifi cance of the bicycle business to the Wright brothers’ lives and careers, 

especially in providing them with both time 

and money to pursue their interest in aeronautics. 

The furnished areas also emphasize the 

Wrights’ method of solving technical problems, and their habit of modifying and adapting common tools to suit their own purposes. 

The lathe with its homemade attachment for 

bending tubing illustrates this point especially well, as does the overall emphasis on 

Orville and Wilbur’s design and manufacture 

of their own brand of bicycle. Furnishing 

sections of the building in which the brothers combined both their printing and bicycle 

interests highlights the signifi cance of the 

brothers’ joint business operations, for it was 

ultimately their ongoing cooperative eff orts 

– the synergy developed in solving technical 

problems – that “created a whole that was 

greater than the sum of its parts.”4

Operating Plan

The park is open from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 

p.m. daily except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Visitors to 22 South 

Williams Street are greeted by a ranger who 

gives an orientation talk, and are then free 

to view traditional exhibits and historic furnishings vignettes at their leisure. Additional 

interpretation is provided by interpretive 

panels mounted on the barrier surrounding 

the work benches.

Prior Planning Documents

The following planning documents aff ect the 

use and management of 22 South Williams 

Street, Dayton Aviation Heritage NHS, Dayton, Ohio:

Draft Historic Resource Study, Dayton 

Aviation Heritage National Historical Park 

(2001)5

Historic Structure Report, The Wright Cycle 

Company Building (HS-01), Dayton Aviation 

Heritage National Historical Park, Dayton, 

Ohio (1999)

General Management Plan/Interpretive Plan, 

Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical 

Park, Ohio (1997)

4 General Management Plan/Interpretive Plan, Dayton 

Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, Ohio, 

(United States Department of the Interior, National 

Park Service, 1997), 53–54 and 63–64.

5 Note that the draft Historic Resource Study was 

published as What Dreams We Have: The Wright 

Brothers and Their Hometown of Dayton, Ohio (Fort 

Washington, Pennsylvania: Eastern National, 2003).

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
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THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

Historical Information 7

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
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THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

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History of the Structure

The Wright Cycle Company building at 22 South Williams Street was constructed in late 1886 

or early 1887. The structural history of the building is detailed in Margaret Weaver’s 1983 

report “The Wright Brothers at 22 South Williams Street, 1895–1897” and in the 1999 Historic 

Structure Report: The Wright Cycle Company Building (HS-01), Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, Dayton, Ohio. The information in these two sources is summarized 

here.

The property was originally owned by brothers Abraham and Joseph Nicholas, who built the 

two-story brick building on the lot and operated a grocery there until they sold it to Joseph H. 

Hohler in October 1888. Hohler continued in the grocery business until around 1890 when 

he switched to feed sales, moving his business and residence a year later. 

Hohler then rented the property to N. Thomas and Company, which operated a saloon and 

boarding house in the building. The saloon at 22 South Williams was run by a variety of proprietors who lived in the building with their spouses. The Wright brothers rented the building 

in the spring of 1895 and moved out in the spring of 1897. After the Wright company moved, 

the building was used commercially until around 1911, when it was converted to a residence. 

The Hohler family retained the property until 1947.6

The 1897 Sanborn map shows two additions to the rear of the building, as well as a small 

building labeled “Japanning Rm” at the rear of the lot. A one-story addition is visible in an 

1896 photograph of 22 South Williams Street, which is the earliest known image of the building. (See fi gures 2 and 4.) The Japanning Room could have been constructed by the brothers 

or under their direction, or may have been an existing building converted to use for “japanning” or enameling bicycles. Enamel is very fl ammable, and so it was important that the operation be carried out away from the main building, if possible.7

According to the 1999 Historic Structures Report, most of the original interior fabric has been 

“replaced or repaired and refi nished.”8 Finishes analysis included in the historic structures 

report indicates that period wallpaper is an appropriate fi nish for both the ceiling and the 

walls.9 Late in the 2003–2004 renovation of the building, segments of plaster with wallpaper 

attached were uncovered on a segment of the south wall next to the stairwell. The wallpaper 

sample uncovered was too small to provide much information, but showed an indistinct white 

6 “The Wright Brothers at 22 South Williams Street” (not paginated), and HSR, 59. 

7 HSR, 10–12 and 15–16, and “The Wright Brothers at 22 South Williams Street.”

8 HSR, 43.

9 HSR, Appendix C: Historic Paint Analysis, 81.

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORIC FURNISHINGS REPORT

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fl oral pattern on a dark blue-green ground. No research or analysis was performed on the 

samples. Historic fi nish layers were photographed by park staff and the photo documentation and wallpaper samples are in the park collection.

Original gas piping was also located in the ceiling during the renovation. Park staff documented the piping with a drawing which is located in park fi les.

The building continued to be used as a residence until late in the 20th century, when it was 

slated to be torn down by the city. Aviation Trail, Inc. acquired 22 South Williams Street in 

1982 and began restoration of the building in mid-1985. The group rehabilitated the exterior 

of the building to its 1895 appearance and in June 1988 opened The Wright Cycle Company 

building to the public. In 1992 Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park was created, and in 1995 the 2003 Committee purchased the cycle shop building and donated it to the 

National Park Service.10 The National Park Service uses the fi rst-fl oor shop area for exhibits, 

site orientation, and fi rst-person interpretation, and maintains park offi ce areas in the rear. 

Offi ces and meeting areas are located on the second fl oor.

10 HSR, 9–10.
THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

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HISTORICAL INFORMATION

Analysis of Historical Occupancy

Wilbur and Orville Wright

The Wright brothers’ early career is described in many sources, most notably in Tom Crouch’s 

The Bishop’s Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright and in Fred C. Kelly’s The Wright Brothers. This section will provide only a brief overview of their lives before they moved their business to 22 South Williams Street.

The Wright family lived in Dayton, Ohio, during most of the 1870s, and after moving to Iowa 

in 1878, returned to the city permanently in 1884. Orville Wright was born in the family home 

at 7 Hawthorne Street in 1871, the fourth son in a family that included older brothers Reuchlin, Lorin, and Wilbur, born in Indiana in 1867. A younger sister, Katharine, was born at Hawthorne Street in 1874. Their father, Milton Wright, was a leader in the Church of the United 

Brethren in Christ, serving as bishop and as editor of infl uential church publications.

Infl uenced in part by early exposure to the printing trade aff orded by their father’s position, 

both brothers — and Orville especially — became interested in printing. They began publishing a newspaper together in 1889 and opened a printing business in the Hoover Block at West 

Third and Williams Street in the autumn of 1890. 

In the spring of 1893 Orville and Wilbur also opened a bicycle sales, repair and rental business on West Third Street, within blocks of their home and print shop in West Dayton. With 

business thriving, the brothers moved to a second and then a third West Third Street address, 

renaming their operation The Wright Cycle Company. They closed the West Third Street 

shop at the end of the cycling season in autumn 1894 and reopened two stores in the spring of 

1895—a cycle business in downtown Dayton and a combination cycle shop and printing business at 22 South Williams Street.

The 22 South Williams Street shop, which the Wright brothers retained until the spring of 

1897, was not only the fi rst location to combine their printing and cycle businesses, but also 

the shop in which they fi rst manufactured and sold their own brands of bicycles. The printing 

operation was probably located on the second fl oor, while bicycle sales, repair, and manufacture took place on the ground fl oor.
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORIC FURNISHINGS REPORT

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By 1897, Orville and Wilbur moved their cycle and printing businesses to 1127 West Third 

Street. In 1899 they discontinued their printing concern, selling their equipment, and in 1901 

they added a room onto the rear of the building to house a basic machine shop. This shop 

was used to build and repair bicycles and eventually to build a fl ying machine. 

After their successful fl ight at Kitty Hawk in December 1903, the Wright brothers returned to 

work on their fl ying machine at the shop in Dayton, though they assembled later airplanes in 

a hangar at Huff man Prairie, several miles outside of the city. In November 1909 Orville and 

Wilbur Wright incorporated their airplane manufacturing company and in 1910 constructed 

an airplane factory west of the 1127 West Third Street shop.

Wilbur Wright died of typhoid fever on May 30, 1912, and Orville carried on the business, 

retaining an offi ce at 1127 West Third Street until November 1916 when he moved his offi ce to 

the new laboratory he had built for himself nearby. Orville Wright died in Dayton on January 

30, 1948 at age 77.

Employees and Family

Edwin Sines was a long-time friend and employee of Orville and Wilbur Wright. He worked 

for the brothers at Wright and Wright, Printers, in the Hoover Block and moved with them 

around the corner to the 22 South Williams Street location. According to the Williams Dayton City Directories for the years 1893 through 1898, he was employed as a bookkeeper and a 

printer.11

Orville and Wilbur’s father, Bishop Milton Wright, also visited the store at 22 South Williams 

Street. He fi rst mentions stopping at the store in his diary in April 1895 and in one instance 

calls it their “store and offi ce.” During the summer cycling season of 1895 the brothers 

opened two shops, the second at 23 West Second Street in downtown Dayton. Interestingly, 

on the late spring day in 1895 that Bishop Wright notes a visit to this shop in his diary, he refers to it as “Wilbur’s bicycle store.”12

Wilbur and Orville’s brother, Lorin, and their sister, Katharine, are known to have been employed in various ways with the cycle business at 1127 West Third Street, and although it is not 

known whether they ever worked at 22 South Williams Street, it is likely that they visited the 

shop with some regularity.

11 Charlotte K. and August E. Brunsman, Wright and Wright, Printers: The Other Career of Wilbur and Orville, 15.

12 Bishop Milton Wright, Diaries 1857–1917 (Dayton, Ohio: The Wright State University Libraries, 1999), 432–34 

(entries for April 19, April 23 , May 11, and May 13, 1895) .
THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

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HISTORICAL INFORMATION

Evidence of Room Use and 

Furnishings

The Move to 22 South Williams Street

As mentioned above, the ground fl oor of the shop at 22 South Williams Street was used for 

bicycle sales, repair, rental, and manufacturing. Orville and Wilbur rented the property some 

time before mid-April 1895 and during the 1895 cycling season determined to manufacture 

their own brand of bicycles. In October, Orville wrote to their father that business was dropping off , “though we sell a wheel now and then” and they were still doing repairs. He continued: “We expect to build our wheels for next year. I think it will pay us, and give us employment during the winter.”13

By the autumn of 1895, the Wright brothers had already been in the bicycle business for nearly 

three years and were conducting business at their fourth location. They rented their fi rst 

store at 1005 West Third Street in December 1892, and prepared to open the Wright Cycle Exchange for business in the spring of 1893. In addition to repairing and renting bicycles, they 

intended to sell brands such as Coventry, Cross, and Envoy. Business was good, and later in 

the year they moved the operation to 1034 West Third Street, renaming it The Wright Cycle 

Company.

Near the end of the 1894 season, Orville and Wilbur continued to make a profi t on their three 

rental bicycles – one of which brought in $8.00 a month, another $6.50, and the third rented 

hourly or daily – and on repairs. They gave up the shop at 1034 West Third Street in the middle of October, though, because as Wilbur pointed out: “There is hardly enough business to 

justify us in keeping so expensive a room any longer.”14 Operating out of their print shop in 

the Hoover Block at the corner of West Third and Williams Streets, the brothers planned to 

do repairs over the winter, in addition to running their printing business.15

In the spring of 1895, they determined to open two cycle shop locations, one at 23 West Second Street in downtown Dayton, and a second at 22 South Williams Street, around the corner 

from the print shop. They gave up their suite of rooms in the Hoover Block and moved the 

printing business to 22 South Williams Street. At the end of the 1895 season they closed their 

downtown store, probably due to competition in the form of several other cycle showrooms 

within blocks of their shop. They also decided to build their own brand of bicycle, preparing 

to market and sell the new cycle in the spring of 1896.16

13 Orville Wright to Milton Wright, October 8, 1895, Wright Papers, Library of Congress, Box 6. 

14 Wilbur Wright to Milton Wright, September 12, 1894, and October 2, 1894, Wright Papers, Library of Congress, 

Box 6.

15 Wilbur Wright to Milton Wright, October 2, 1894, Wright Papers, Library of Congress, Box 6.

16 See Tom Crouch, The Bishop’s Boys, 107–114, and Fred C. Fisk and Marlin W. Todd, The Wright Brothers from 

Bicycle to Biplane: An Illustrated History of the Wright Brothers (West Milton, OH: Privately printed, 1990).
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The Wright brothers used their printing business to heavily promote their bicycle business 

and in April 1896 they announced in Snap Shots, their own publication, that: “After more delay than we expected, we are at last ready to announce that we will have several samples out in 

a week or ten days and will be ready to fi ll orders before the middle of the month.”17 

Wright Brand Bicycles

In a promotional pamphlet the brothers put out in early 1896 the Wrights noted that they 

were preparing to make two brands of bicycle, the Van Cleve, “a wheel of the highest grade” 

that would “embrace several novel features of our own invention” and a Wright Special, 

which was “a cheaper bicycle.”18 The new bicycle introduced at the end of April had “large 

tubing, high frame, tool steel bearings, needle wire spokes, narrow tread and every feature 

of an up-to-date bicycle. Its weight will be about 22 pounds.” The “novel features” included 

a new coaster brake and a wheel hub with a reserve set of bearings.19 This high-end model 

was called the “Wright Special” in the April 17, 1896, issue of Snap-Shots.

20 On May 16, 1896 

Bishop Milton Wright noted in his diary that: “The boys got the fi rst “Wright Special” bicycle 

ready for sale & a ladies’ wheel about so – both their own manufacture.”21 Although there 

is some confusion as to the original name of the bicycle, the brothers eventually targeted the 

Van Cleve in their marketing. The name was a tribute to the Wright’s Van Cleve ancestors 

who were early Dayton settlers, and one of their advertising slogans was: “Van Cleves get 

there First.”22

The brothers also made a model called the St. Clair, which was less expensive than the Van 

Cleve. In early 1897 the Van Cleve sold for $65 and the St. Clair from $40 to $42.50.23 According to a 1946 biography vetted by Orville Wright, Wilbur and Orville began making their own 

cycles in 1895: “The Wrights began assembling their own bicycles out of purchased parts, with 

a few improvements of their own ...” They manufactured three models, “one unusually low 

priced,” probably the St. Clair.24

Machinery

Before the brothers began manufacturing, however, they needed additional tools and machinery. The pamphlet advertising the introduction of the Van Cleve bicycle boasted that as The 

Wright Cycle Company moved into 1896: “Our salesroom at 22 South Williams Street is being 

nicely refi tted ...[and] We are adding new machinery to our shop... .” The brothers also wanted 

customers to know that their repair shop was being “greatly improved” and that returning customers would be “carefully attended by competent mechanics” and in general “well cared for.”25

In refi tting their shop the brothers installed line shafting which was powered by a singlecylinder engine they designed and built together. This operated a lathe and a drill press. They 

17 Snap-Shots, April 17, 1896, in Crouch, Bishop’s Boys, 113.

18 Fisk and Todd, “Wright Cycle Co. Van Cleve Pamphlet,” in The Wright Brothers, 28.

19 Anna Rothe, editor, Current Biography to Orville Wright, October 3, 1946; [Mabel Beck, secretary to Orville 

Wright] to Anna Rothe, December 21, 1946, and attachments, Wright Papers, Library of Congress, Box 60. 

20 Snap-Shots, April 17, 1896, in Crouch, Bishop’s Boys, 113.

21 Wright, Diaries, 453 (entry for May 16, 1896).

22 Fisk and Todd, “Wright Cycle Co. Van Cleve Pamphlet,” in The Wright Brothers, 28.

23 Wright Brothers ledger, Book 2, Wright Papers, Library of Congress, microfi lm edition, reel 1.

24 Anna Rothe, editor, Current Biography to Orville Wright, October 3, 1946; [Mabel Beck, secretary to Orville 

Wright] to Anna Rothe, December 21, 1946, and attachments, Wright Papers, Library of Congress, Box 60. 

25 Van Cleve pamphlet, reprinted in Fisk and Todd, The Wright Brothers, 49.
THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

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HISTORICAL INFORMATION

also brought in tube cutting and bending equipment.26 The lathe the Wrights used in the 22 

South Williams Street shop was probably a Prentice Brothers model manufactured between 

1880 and 1890. The drill press does not appear to be a commercially produced machine, and 

was probably of their own design and construction.27 It is not known whether these were the 

fi rst lathe and drill press the brothers owned – technically, they could have repaired, rented 

and sold bicycles without owning these relatively expensive machines. It would follow, however, that all three of their earlier shops would have been hand and foot powered, and as the 

1896 manual Bicycle Repairing termed it, the lathe and drill press were “important tools of 

undoubted value.”28 

An article in a November 1896 edition of the periodical Cycling Life lists the lathe and the 

drill press as “required” tools, along with the forge, engine, brazing stand, and enameling 

outfi t also encouraged by the author of Bicycle Repairing. The article, titled “Starting a Repair 

Shop,” also warns against using “cheap, second-hand machinery” and admonishes readers to 

“get the very best.”29 It is doubtful that the Wright brothers, who built their own gas engine to 

use in this shop, followed this advice. 

Tools

A biography authorized by Orville Wright points out that when the brothers began building 

bicycles, they made their own tools “to save expense and to make sure the tools would be perfectly dependable.”30 Figure 1 shows a shop-made jig probably used for fi tting frames together 

or for brazing frames. The vertical rod in the foreground of the photograph may have been 

used for aligning frames. Other small hand tools such as a hack saw, a bit brace, and fi les are 

shown in fi gure 3, while fi gure 1 shows 6” outside calipers, a lathe dog, and a lathe wrench. 31 

The 1896 publication Bicycle Repairing cautioned: “It is not good policy to lock up the money 

[buying tools] when it can be employed to far better advantage.” The article goes on to suggest that a competent repairer, as both brothers surely were, could construct many tools “during his leisure moments.”32 Essential tools such as hammers, clamps, vises, wrenches, taps 

and dies, pliers, and drills appear on the list of basic recommended tools in Bicycle Repairing

and on the 1909 inventory of the Wright brothers’ last bicycle shop.33

The Wright brothers surely had some sort of brazing apparatus in the shop, although it is not 

known what kind they used. Brazing was “one of the most important operations connected 

with the making of a Bicycle” and if improperly done “the wheel is doomed to speedy destruction.”34 The Wrights’ spring 1897 shop ledger shows payments for brazing frames.35

26 Tom Crouch, The Bishop’s Boys, 112–13. The lathe and the drill press were replaced by 1901 with the Putnam 

lathe and Barnes drill press that were used to produce the fi rst fl ying machine.

27 Appendix C by Bill Robertson in Historic Furnishings Report: Wright Cycle Company Building at Carillon Historical 

Park (Harpers Ferry, WV: National Park Service, 2001).

28 S. D. V. Burr, Bicycle Repairing (New York: David Williams, 1896), 10.

29 Cycling Life, November 19, 1896.

30 Anna Rothe, editor, Current Biography to Orville Wright, October 3, 1946; [Mabel Beck, secretary to Orville 

Wright] to Anna Rothe, December 21, 1946 and attachments, Wright Papers, Library of Congress, Box 60.

31 See Appendix 1, Bill Robertson’s report.

32 Burr, Bicycle Repairing, 9.

33 Burr, Bicycle Repairing, 10–11 and 1909 inventory of 1127 W. Third Street Wright Cycle Co., Wright Brothers 

ledger, Book 4, Wright Papers, Library of Congress, microfi lm edition, reel 2 (hereafter 1909 inventory).

34 Burr, Bicycle Repairing, 32.

35 Wright Brothers ledger, Book 2, Wright Papers, Library of Congress, microfi lm edition, reel 1. 
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORIC FURNISHINGS REPORT

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The essential elements of a brazier are two pipes with regulating valves, although these can be 

arranged in any number of confi gurations. One pipe contains air and one contains gas; the 

air and gas are combined and emitted through a single pipe. The fl ame resulting from their 

combustion is regulated by the valves. The fl ame is used to heat two pieces of metal which are 

joined by applying a fl ux and a solder.36 As mentioned above, the jig illustrated in fi gure 1 may 

have been used for brazing frames. 

Shop Arrangement 

In several respects, the Wright brothers’ shop at 22 South Williams Street was set up to conform with recommended cycle shop practice. A show window beckoned customers from the 

street and once inside the shop, visitors could view new wheels and other cycling merchandise in the front sales area. An offi ce was partitioned off from the main room, and repairs and 

cycle construction took place in the rear of the shop. The manual Bicycle Repairing acknowledged that: “in the vast majority of cases the tools must be made to fi t in a room which is, 

perhaps, not adapted to the work and in which the best arrangement cannot be obtained.”37 

It illustrated two examples of fl oor plans which are similar to the arrangement of work space 

in both the 1127 West Third Street and the 22 South Williams Street shops. Partitioned offi ces 

are in the front of the building near the show windows, while displays of new bicycles and 

rentals fi ll the center of the room. The repair area is in the rear, arranged to take the best advantage of windows or skylights in the room. See fi gures 5 and 6. 

Contemporary cycling publications recommended that bicycle repair shops be located on 

the ground fl oor, be “cleaned up and in good shape” and be well-lighted, with the bench and 

lathe positioned to take advantage of the most light. Walls should be whitewashed – the fi nish 

that appears in two images of the Wrights at work (see fi gures 1 and 3) – and the room should 

be “capable of being well heated.”38 An article in Cycling Life asserts: “bicycles will not do 

so well in the cold; the parts get stiff and gummy.”39 The 22 South Williams street shop was 

heated with a coal furnace, and while it is not known how warm the brothers kept the shop, 

the Wright’s niece later recalled that their store at 1127 West Third Street was “always warm 

enough” and that even in winter her uncles did not wear sweaters.40

Show Windows

In May 1899, The Cycle Age and Trade Review began publishing a series of articles on “How 

to Display Goods.” These articles off ered suggestions such as keeping show windows clean, 

using the advertising potential of windows to the full, and off ering interesting and varied displays, although admitting: “It’s a mighty hard thing when you have only bicycles and sundries 

to create schemes of showing them which shall be novel and attractive.”41 The articles suggest 

that cycle salesrooms display advertisements for installment sales and place pricing information prominently “on a neat card.”42 

36 Burr, Bicycle Repairing, 32–35. 

37 Ibid., 16.

38 Cycling Life, November 19, 1896.

39 Cycling Life, December 17, 1896.

40 Interview with Ivonette Wright Miller and Harold Miller, September 17, 1989, in The Henry Ford Research Center, 

EI 186, Wright Cycle Shop fi le.

41 The Cycle Age and Trade Review, May 11, 1899.

42 The Cycle Age and Trade Review, December 16, 1897.
THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

17

HISTORICAL INFORMATION

According to one article, “[t]he prime requisites of a good show window are good glass, a 

commodious platform, and a tasty display of goods.”43 The platform covering was emphasized and fi nishes such as polished wood, carpeting, and linoleum were all suggested, with 

owners encouraged to let the style of the shop furnishings dictate the selection of the platform cover. Shop owners were also warned that the customer “must have changes, or he becomes disgusted with your lack of eff ort and soon forgets you.”44 

The Wright brothers gave a certain amount of consideration to their store window at 1127 

West Third Street, for in the 1937 reinstallation of the West Third Street building at The Henry 

Ford (formerly the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfi eld Village), Orville Wright remembered 

clearly the iron and brass frame of their show window curtain, as well as the appearance of 

the yellow silk curtain which hung on the frame. (See Appendix 2.) The Wright Cycle Company building at 22 South Williams Street had two small show windows fl anking the double 

wooden entrance doors which face northwest. Figure 4, the 1896 photograph of the exterior 

of The Wright Cycle Company, shows the outline of a small bicycle in the lower left corner of 

the west show window. This is probably a promotional placard or other advertising device.

Repair shop owners were also advised to advertise in show windows, in addition to placing 

newspaper ads and personally soliciting business. In general, shop owners were encouraged 

to “[use] your show window and newspaper in conjunction. They are good friends and will 

always pull well together.”45 Orville and Wilbur were certainly savvy to this piece of marketing advice, and went as far as to develop a periodical focused on cycling in general and on 

The Wright Cycle Company in particular. Snap-Shots at Current Events was introduced on 

October 20, 1894 and included light humor, essays and advertisements for the brothers’ cycle 

shop, as well as for other local merchants. The fi nal issue of Snap-Shots, dated April 17, 1896, 

announced the introduction of the Wright brothers’ own brand of bicycle, samples of which 

were to be available within the next week.46

Office

Little is known about the offi ce area in the 22 South Williams Street cycle shop. In the spring 

of 1895, Bishop Milton Wright writes that he visited “my boys at their store and offi ce.”47 This 

could be a reference to their printing offi ce, which the Wright brothers had just moved from 

the Hoover Block to the 22 South Williams Street building, or it could refer to the offi ce area 

within the store.

The offi ce furnishings the brothers used in their 1127 West Third Street building are well documented, and it is possible that they moved some of their furnishings from 22 South Williams 

Street to their new location on West Third Street. On the other hand, since the known furnishings are documented to the building in a 1909 inventory, it is possible they were acquired in the 

ensuing 12 years they spent at West Third Street. At West Third Street the brothers used a roll 

top desk, a swivel chair, a safe, and a typewriter on a small table. These objects were donated in 

1938 to The Henry Ford, for use in the reconstructed Wright Cycle Company building.

43 Ibid.

44 The Cycle Age and Trade Review, May 11, 1899. The Cycle Age and Trade Review also covered “Effective Window Dressing” in the May 25, 1899 number.

45 The Cycle Age and Trade Review, May 11, 1899.

46 Brunsman and Brunsman, Wright and Wright, Printers, 13–14, and Crouch, The Bishop’s Boys, 111–13.

47 Wright, Diaries, 433, entry for May 11, 1895. 
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORIC FURNISHINGS REPORT

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Other offi ce furnishings in the 1127 West Third Street building in 1909 included a jardinière 

stand, fi le cases, two rocking chairs and three other chairs. Matting covered the fl oors in one 

of the rooms. 48 The offi ce area itself was separated from the sales area by a painted wood 

partition topped with glass panels. This partition had an interior shelf with a drawer that 

opened outwards; customers left money in the drawer and jotted down their payments in a 

notebook in the drawer.49

Printing

In the spring of 1895 Orville and Wilbur moved the printing business to their new quarters at 

22 S. Williams Street. They continued to do job printing and to publish Snap-Shots at Current 

Events, but by this time their eff orts were increasingly focused on bicycle work rather than 

printing. Profi ts from job printing eventually dwindled.50

The February 29, 1896 issue of Snap-Shots was printed in a smaller size than earlier issues and 

the quality of printing was improved. According to Charlotte and August Brunsmans’ analysis 

of the Wright brothers as printers, this change may indicate that the brothers had acquired a 

new printing press.51 The fi nal number of Snap-Shots came out on April 17, 1896, announcing 

that the Wrights’ own brand of bicycle was nearly ready for purchase.

Ed Sines continued to work for the brothers as a printer,52 although he probably did bicycle 

repair as well. (See fi gure 3.) He was typically paid $7 per week.53 The business consisted of 

such small printing jobs as letter heads, bills, statements, cards, tickets and folders. When the 

Wrights moved to 22 S. Williams Street in April 1895, they printed 5000 bills and 500 folders 

for The Wright Cycle Company. At the same time, Ed Sines purchased 100 invitations, in addition to new letter head and envelopes,54 perhaps indicating that he was getting married.

In May or June of 1897 the Wrights moved the printing business and cycle shop for the fi nal 

time to the 1127 West Third Street building. They operated the print shop and offi ce on the 

second fl oor, with Ed Sines assuming much of the responsibility for the print business as the 

brothers’ interest in fl ying grew. When Sines accepted another job in 1899, Orville and Wilbur sold their printing outfi t to Stevens and Stevens, another Dayton printing company.55

48 Greenfi eld Village Guides Study Folder, 1938, in The Henry Ford Research Center, EI 186, Wright Cycle Shop fi le. 

See also 1909 inventory . 

49 Report on Wright Cycle Shop, July 20, 1953, by Laura Merwin, in The Henry Ford Research Center, EI 186, Wright 

Cycle Shop fi le.

50 Crouch, The Bishop’s Boys, 114. Crouch notes that from February through August 1897 profi ts from the print 

shop were $127.29 as compared to $2,000 or more from the bicycle shop.

51 Brunsman and Brunsman, Wright and Wright, Printers, 14.

52 Ibid.,15.

53 Wright Brothers ledger, Book 2, Wright Papers, Library of Congress, microfi lm edition, reel 1.

54 Wright Brothers ledger, Book 1, Wright Papers, Library of Congress, microfi lm edition, reel 1.

55 Brunsman and Brunsman, Wright and Wright, Printers, 15–16.
THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

Furnishings Plan 19

FURNISHINGS PLAN
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORIC FURNISHINGS REPORT

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THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

21

List of Recommended Furnishings

Bicycle Repair Section

The furnishings vignette in the rear of the 22 South Williams building illustrates how Orville and Wilbur 

Wright set up and used tools in their bicycle manufacture and repair business. Furnishings are based on two 

photographs that document the interior of one of the Wright cycle shops, and on other photographs of period bicycle shop interiors. Additional furnishings evidence is provided by period bicycle repair manuals, trade 

periodicals, and trade catalogs.

OBJECT AND LOCATION EVIDENCE RECOMMENDATION

Drill press, shop-made (near Figure 1 Reproduce. See Appendix 1 (Bill

doorway in north wall) Robertson report) for full 

 recommendation.

Engine (between drill press and To power drill press and lathe Use engine in place. Acquire 

north wall); exhaust pipe reproduction exhaust pipe.

(venting exhaust to exterior) See Appendix 1 for full

 recommendation.

Lathe, Prentice Bros. (on east Figures 1 and 9 Use W. F. and John Barnes,

wall) Co.-brand lathe in place.

 See Appendix 1 for full

 recommendation.

Lathe accessories: Figure 1 Acquire.

tail stock barrel locking lever,

set screw wrench,

lathe wrench, 

lathe dog

tool holder,

steady rest (near or on lathe) 

Pipe bending fi xture, shop- Figure 1 Fabricate.

made (attached to lathe)

Oil can (on lathe) Common practice Acquire.

Line-shafting, Figures 1 and 9 Replace ceiling blocks.

machine belting, leather, Replace fi ber belting with leather.

pulleys (line-shafting on ceiling; Retain shafting and pulleys.

belting and pulleys on line-shafting) Reconfi gure line shafting.

Vise, for holding cycle frames, Figure 3 Reproduce. See Appendix 1 for

 See also fi gure 7. full recommendation.

Screw assembly, painted black Figure 3 Reproduce. See Appendix 1 for

(attached as part of vise, above) full recommendation.

FURNISHINGS PLAN
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORIC FURNISHINGS REPORT

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OBJECT AND LOCATION EVIDENCE RECOMMENDATION

Frame, bicycle, black (in vise) Figure 3 Fabricate.

 See also fi gure 7. 

Frame jig and false faces, for vise Figure 1 Reproduce. See Appendix 1 for

(leaning against east wall) full recommendation.

Bicycle pump (leaning against Common practice Acquire.

east wall)

Work benches, 2 (across east Figures 3, 5, 7, and 9 Fabricate new benches using old 

end of room and against south wood.

wall) South bench measures 

 24” x 84” x 34” h, and 

 east bench measures 

 24” x 72” x 37” h.

Tools: Figures 1, 3, 7, and 9 Acquire.

bench vise See also Bicycle Repairing, by S. D. V. Burr (New See Appendix 1 for full 

bit brace (hanging on wall) York: David Williams, 1896) and 1903 E. H. Hall recommendation.

ratchet brace Co. catalog.

taps, dies and screw plates of 

bicycle sizes

assorted drills and reamers

under 3⁄4”

drill and thread gauges, 

various sizes

boxing hammer

ballpeen hammers, 3

tack hammer

riveting hammer

brass hammer

lead hammer

pin or hand vise

assorted wrenches, adjustable

assorted wrenches, fi xed

bicycle or pocket wrenches, 10

assorted pliers and nippers

oil cans, 2

belt punch

hack saws, 2 (one hanging on wall)

fi les, assorted, with and without handles, 5

hand drills, 2

breast drill

hide-faced hammer

mallets, wood, 2

wire cutters

calipers, 4, inside and outside

dividers

C-clamps, large and small, 7

screwdrivers, assorted, 12

punches

cold chisels, 5

oil stones, 3

drill bits 

tubing cutters, or pipe cutters, 2 

knife

pocket level

combination square

steel rule

gimlet

scraper

spreader

glue brushes, 2
THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

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OBJECT AND LOCATION EVIDENCE RECOMMENDATION

tool holders, 2

spoke and nipple grips, 2

(on or under work benches) 

Tape measure (on work bench) See 1909 Wright inventory (Appendix 3). Acquire.

Wheel Talk magazines, 10 (on Common practice Acquire.

work bench)

Boxes, rags, other shop clutter Figures 3 and 9 Acquire.

(on and below work bench)

Bicycle parts (hanging on wall Figures 1, 3, and 9 Acquire or reproduce as 

and on work bench) necessary.

Calendar (east wall, over work Figures 3 and 9 Acquire or fabricate.

bench)

Window shade, green (on door Figure 4 Acquire.

on north wall)

Lighting fi xture, gas, single-arm Figures 3 and 9 Acquire period fi xture and wire 

(on wall above lathe) for electricity.

Bicycle Shop Display Windows

OBJECT AND LOCATION EVIDENCE RECOMMENDATION

Bicycle, Wright brand (in north The Wright brothers manufactured their own brand Acquire reproduction.

window) of bicycles while in this shop.

 See fi gure 8. 

Bicycle stands, 2, cast metal See fi gure 8 for one style of bicycle stand. Acquire reproduction.

 (in window)

Platforms, 2 (in windows) Figure 8 Fabricate free-standing platforms 

 to height of window woodwork.

Curtains and hardware (in Orville Wright to Fred Black, November 4, 1937: “I Reproduce.

north window) am sending a sketch showing the general plan of 

 construction of the frame for the screen. ...” 

 “ ... silk was of a deep yellow color ...” Letter 

 includes sketch and description of hardware for 

 screen and description of installation. The Henry Ford.

Bicycle advertisement (in south Figure 4 Reproduce.

window)

Boxes and tins for parts and Figure 8 Acquire reproduction packaging

accessories: These specifi c brands appear in the1903 Hall catalog. and period parts and accessories.

Search Light gas lanterns The Wrights ordered from the Hall catalog, see 

Solar Cycle oil lamps Orville Wright to Katharine Wright, October 14, 

Dress Guard Lacing 1900.

Torrington bicycle spokes

Standard cyclometer for bicycles

Wald gun bicycle repair tools

Diamond roller repair link

Diamond bicycle chain

bicycle lights, 2

front hub with box (in display case) 

FURNISHINGS PLAN
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORIC FURNISHINGS REPORT

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OBJECT AND LOCATION EVIDENCE RECOMMENDATION

Bicycle parts and accessories: Hall catalog Acquire reproductions.

tool kits 

grips, cork, with box

chains

saddles

pedals, with boxes

handle bars

(some or all displayed in windows) 

Bicycle cup, collapsible Hall catalog Acquire. 

(displayed in north window) Secure in north window. 

Lighting fi xtures, gas, 2 Period retail show window treatment. Acquire.

(ceiling-mounted in windows) See Dan Mattausch lighting proposal in park fi le

 for further documentation. 

Window shades, 4, green (in Figure 4 Acquire.

windows, door, and transom) 
THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

Illustrations 25

ILLUSTRATIONS
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORIC FURNISHINGS REPORT

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THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

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List of Illustrations

Figure 1. Orville Wright at lathe, probably 22 S. 

Williams Street, 1895–97, Library of Congress, LCUSZ62-56241.

Figure 2. Sanborn Insurance Map, 1897, The Sanborn Perris Map Co., in Historic Structure Report: The 

Wright Cycle Company Building, 16.

Figure 3. Orville Wright and unidentifi ed man at 

work bench, 1127 West Third Street, September 1897, 

Library of Congress, 917574, W851-82.

Figure 4. Exterior of 22 South Williams Street, 

c. 1895, Wright State University.

Figure 5. “Repair Shop in Special Building” and “Repair Shop in Store,” in Bicycle Repairing, p. 17 and 19.

Figure 6. Bicycle shop, possibly Detroit, Michigan, 

c. 1900–1920, Library of Congress, LC-D417.

Figure 7. Mrs. Jorgenson at Work in the Shop, 1895, 

from Wheel Talk, vol. #16, August 8, 1895, Dayton 

Aviation Heritage NHP collection. 

Figure 8. G. W. Shroyer window display, Dayton, 

Ohio, c. 1910–20, Montgomery County Historical 

Society.

Figure 9. Interior, Dayton bicycle repair shop, 

c. 1900–1910, Dayton Aviation Heritage NHP, 

DAAV068A.

ILLUSTRATIONS
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORIC FURNISHINGS REPORT

28 Figure 1. Orville Wright at lathe, probably 22 S. Williams Street, 1895–97, Library of 

 Congress, LC-USZ62-56241.
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ILLUSTRATIONS
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORIC FURNISHINGS REPORT

30 Figure 2. Sanborn Insurance Map, 1897, The Sanborn Perris Map Co., in Historic 

 Structure Report: The Wright Cycle Company Building, 16.
THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

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ILLUSTRATIONS
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORIC FURNISHINGS REPORT

32 Figure 3. Orville Wright and unidentifi ed man at work bench, 1127 West Third Street, 

 September 1897, Library of Congress, 917574, W851-82.
THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

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ILLUSTRATIONS
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORIC FURNISHINGS REPORT

34 Figure 4. Exterior of 22 South Williams Street, c. 1895, Wright State University.
THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

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ILLUSTRATIONS
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORIC FURNISHINGS REPORT

36 Figure 5. “Repair Shop in Special Building” and “Repair Shop in Store,” in Bicycle 

 Repairing, p. 17 and 19.
THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

37

ILLUSTRATIONS
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORIC FURNISHINGS REPORT

38 Figure 6. Bicycle shop, possibly Detroit, Michigan, c. 1900–1920, Library of Congress, 

 LC-D417.
THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

39

ILLUSTRATIONS
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORIC FURNISHINGS REPORT

40 Figure 7. Mrs. Jorgenson at Work in the Shop, 1895, from Wheel Talk, vol. #16, August 8, 

 1895, Dayton Aviation Heritage NHP collection. 
THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

41

ILLUSTRATIONS
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORIC FURNISHINGS REPORT

42 Figure 8. G. W. Shroyer window display, Dayton, Ohio, c. 1910–20, Montgomery 

 County Historical Society.
THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

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ILLUSTRATIONS
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORIC FURNISHINGS REPORT

44 Figure 9. Interior, Dayton bicycle repair shop, c. 1900–1910, Dayton Aviation Heritage 

 NHP, DAAV068A.
THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

45

ILLUSTRATIONS
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORIC FURNISHINGS REPORT

46
THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

Appendixes 47

APPENDIXES
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THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

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APPENDIXES

Appendix 1: Report on the Lathe, Drill Press and Other Tools in the Wright Brothers’ Workshop at 

22 S. Williams St. from 1895 to 1897 by William R. Robertson

Note that the “Report on the Lathe, Drill Press and Other Tools” includes the following appendixes:

Appendix A: “Report of the Lathe and Drill Press in the Wright Brothers Workshop from 1897–1902” by William R. Robertson, 200l

Appendix B: W. F. & John Barnes Co. Foot Power Lathes catalog, August 1, 1903

Appendix C: Drawing of bending fi xture for Wright Brothers’ workshop, by William R. Robertson, 2001

Appendix D: W. F. & John Barnes Co. Metal Working Machinery catalog, March 1, 1896

Appendix E: Drawing of drill press from Wright Brothers’ workshop, by William R. Robertson, 2001

Appendix F: Hammacher Schlemmer Co. trade catalog, bicycle screw-plates illustration

Appendix G: Drawing of planned Wright Cycle Company room arrangement, by William R. Robertson, 2001
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APPENDIXES
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APPENDIXES
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APPENDIXES
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Appendix A
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APPENDIXES

Appendix A
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Appendix A
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APPENDIXES

Appendix A
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Appendix A
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APPENDIXES

Appendix A 
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Appendix A 
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APPENDIXES

Appendix A
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Appendix A
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APPENDIXES

Appendix A 
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Appendix A
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APPENDIXES

Appendix A 
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Appendix A
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APPENDIXES

Appendix A 
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Appendix A
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APPENDIXES

Appendix B
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Appendix B
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APPENDIXES

Appendix B
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Appendix B
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APPENDIXES

Appendix B
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Appendix B
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APPENDIXES

Appendix C
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Appendix D
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APPENDIXES

Appendix D
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Appendix D
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APPENDIXES

Appendix E
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Appendix F
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APPENDIXES

Appendix G
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84

Appendix 2: Orville Wright to Mr. Fred L. Black, The Edison Institute, November 4, 1937, The Henry Ford 

Research Center
THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

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APPENDIXES
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APPENDIXES

Appendix 3: 1909 Inventory, Wright Cycle Co., 1127 W. Third Street, Wright Papers, Library of Congress
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APPENDIXES
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APPENDIXES
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APPENDIXES
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APPENDIXES
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THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

Bibliography 97

BIBLIOGRAPHY
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THE WRIGHT CYCLE COMPANY BUILDING

Publications and Reports 99

U. S. Department of the Interior. National Park Service. General Management Plan, Interpretive Plan, 

Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. 

Denver Service Center, 1997.

———. Historic Structure Report: The Wright Cycle 

Company Building (HS-01), Dayton Aviation Heritage 

National Historical Park, Dayton, Ohio, prepared by 

Quinn Evans/Architects for the National Park 

Service. Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1999.

———. “Draft Historic Resource Study, Dayton 

Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, Dayton, 

Ohio,” by Ann D. Honious, 2000. 

———. Historic Furnishings Report: The Wright Cycle 

Company Building, Carillon Historical Park, Dayton, 

Ohio, by Mary Grassick, Harpers Ferry Center, 2001.

Weaver, Margaret. “The Wright Brothers at 22 South 

Williams Street, 1895–1897: A Report to the Aviation 

Trail,” September 1983.

Books

Brunsman, Charlotte K. and August E. Wright and 

Wright, Printers: The Other Career of Wilbur and Orville. Kettering, Ohio: The Trailside Press, 1989.

Burr, S. D. V. Bicycle Repairing. New York: David 

Williams, 1896.

Crouch, Tom. The Bishop’s Boys: A Life of Wilbur and 

Orville Wright. New York and London: W. W. Norton 

and Company, 1989.

Fisk, Fred C. and Marlin W. Todd. The Wright Brothers from Bicycle to Biplane: An Illustrated History of 

the Wright Brothers. West Milton, Ohio: Privately 

printed, 1990.

Kelly, Fred C. The Wright Brothers. New York: 

Ballantine Books, 1943; reprint, 1966.

McFarland, Marvin W. The Papers of Wilbur and 

Orville Wright, volume II. New York: McGraw-Hill 

Book Company, Inc., 1953; reprint edition by Arno 

Press, Inc., 1972.

Shuey, William A. Manual of the United Brethren 

Publishing House; Historical and Descriptive. Dayton, 

Ohio: United Brethren Publishing House, 1893.

Wright, Milton. Diaries, 1857–1917. Dayton, Ohio: 

Wright State University Press, 1999.

Manuscript Collections and Periodicals

Cycling Life, 1896–97.

E. H. Hall Co. catalog, 1903.

Harpers Ferry Center Library, Trade Catalog Collection.

The Henry Ford Research Center, Wright Cycle Shop 

File.

Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Wright 

Papers.

———. Prints and Photographs Division.

The Cycle Age and Trade Review, 1897–99.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
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100

EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA

Media Services

Harpers Ferry Center

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior