09/18/2026
Another of my favorite drive by locations, the Wright Brothers Other Monument has always been a great hidden spot for me, even before I wrote Did You See That? or Did You See That? On The Outer Banks www.joesledge.com/books-1/did-you-see-that%3F-on-the-outer-banks
This is the first monument constructed for the Wrights, but actually, it's the second, I recently found out. Wait, it's the, um, fourth? Okay, it gets weird. Before the big pylon was built in Kill Devil Hills, locals in Kitty Hawk Village raised funds for this monument to mark the beginnings of the Wrights' tests, done on the dunes nearby. So, this was built first. When I published Bill Harris' history of Kitty Hawk Village, Up-The-Road Down-The-Road, I found out that the first one was made of less than durable stone, and a new one was cast, which lasted much longer. So, second? Then the big one, the monument, right? But the little one in Kitty Hawk had been damaged over the years, with a big crack in the back of the base, so a replacement was made, placed here, and the original displayed in the Kitty Hawk town hall nearby. So, fourth one?
Anyway, I loved driving down Moore Shore Rd after church, because it was one of the few roads with curves and I knew there probably weren't people or police waiting for me so I could go fast.
If you have been following my recent posts, I'll add, no real issues with insects, though on occasion there were marsh flies, gnats, and mosquitoes, but only if I got out of the car. It was a great place to see a sunset.
