Hawthorn Hill
Encyclopedia
Hawthorn Hill in Oakwood, Ohio
, USA, was the post-1914 home of Orville, Milton, and Katharine Wright. Wilbur and Orville Wright intended for it to be their joint home, but Wilbur died in 1912, before the home's 1914 completion. The brothers hired the prominent Dayton architectural firm of Schenck and Williams to realize their plans. Orville and his father Milton and sister Katharine occupied the home in 1914.
Though the property now comprises three acres (1.2 ha), the mansion originally sat on 17 acres (68,796.6 m²). The Wrights named the property after the hawthorn trees found on the property. There are at least 150 hawthorn trees on the site.
Orville Wright designed some of the mechanical features of the house such as the water storage tank used to collect and recycle rainwater http://www.daytonfoundation.org/hh9.html, and the central vacuum system http://www.daytonfoundation.org/hh11.html; these features reflect his creative genius. For 34 years, this house was the gathering place for the greats and near-greats in the history of American aviation.
The home was owned by the NCR Corporation
after Orville's death until August 18, 2006, when the company donated the historic home to the Wright Family Foundation in honor of Orville's 135th birthday and National Aviation Day
. http://www.daytonfoundation.org/081806pr.html http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/localnews/daily/081806hawthornweb.html NCR used it as a guesthouse for corporate VIPs and for corporate functions. On occasion they opened the home to the general public.
In September 2007, Dayton History
, in cooperation with the Wright Family Foundation, began offering scheduled public tours of Hawthorn Hill.
NCR extensively redecorated the mansion's interior after Orville's death. Only Orville's study approximates its pre-1948 appearance. However, Edward A. Deeds
, then-chairman of the National Cash Register Company sent a photographer to the home immediately following Orville's death to visually record the interior of the house at that time.
The U.S. Secretary of the Interior designated Hawthorn Hill a National Historic Landmark
in 1991 and added it to the U.S. World Heritage Tentative List http://www.nps.gov/oia/topics/worldheritage/New_Tentative_List.htm in January 2008 as a part of the Dayton Aviation Sites listing.
Oakwood, Montgomery County, Ohio
Oakwood is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. The population was 9,202 at the 2010 census. Oakwood is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was incorporated in 1908...
, USA, was the post-1914 home of Orville, Milton, and Katharine Wright. Wilbur and Orville Wright intended for it to be their joint home, but Wilbur died in 1912, before the home's 1914 completion. The brothers hired the prominent Dayton architectural firm of Schenck and Williams to realize their plans. Orville and his father Milton and sister Katharine occupied the home in 1914.
Though the property now comprises three acres (1.2 ha), the mansion originally sat on 17 acres (68,796.6 m²). The Wrights named the property after the hawthorn trees found on the property. There are at least 150 hawthorn trees on the site.
Orville Wright designed some of the mechanical features of the house such as the water storage tank used to collect and recycle rainwater http://www.daytonfoundation.org/hh9.html, and the central vacuum system http://www.daytonfoundation.org/hh11.html; these features reflect his creative genius. For 34 years, this house was the gathering place for the greats and near-greats in the history of American aviation.
The home was owned by the NCR Corporation
NCR Corporation
NCR Corporation is an American technology company specializing in kiosk products for the retail, financial, travel, healthcare, food service, entertainment, gaming and public sector industries. Its main products are self-service kiosks, point-of-sale terminals, automated teller machines, check...
after Orville's death until August 18, 2006, when the company donated the historic home to the Wright Family Foundation in honor of Orville's 135th birthday and National Aviation Day
National Aviation Day
The National Aviation Day is a United States national observation that celebrates the development of aviation.The holiday was established in 1939 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who issued a presidential proclamation which designated the anniversary of Orville Wright's birthday to be National...
. http://www.daytonfoundation.org/081806pr.html http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/localnews/daily/081806hawthornweb.html NCR used it as a guesthouse for corporate VIPs and for corporate functions. On occasion they opened the home to the general public.
In September 2007, Dayton History
Dayton History
Dayton History is an organization located in Dayton, Ohio, USA, formed in 2005 by the merger of the Montgomery County Historical Society and Dayton's Carillon Historical Park....
, in cooperation with the Wright Family Foundation, began offering scheduled public tours of Hawthorn Hill.
NCR extensively redecorated the mansion's interior after Orville's death. Only Orville's study approximates its pre-1948 appearance. However, Edward A. Deeds
Edward A. Deeds
Edward Andrew Deeds was an American engineer, inventor and industrialist prominent in the Dayton, Ohio area.-Biography:...
, then-chairman of the National Cash Register Company sent a photographer to the home immediately following Orville's death to visually record the interior of the house at that time.
The U.S. Secretary of the Interior designated Hawthorn Hill a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1991 and added it to the U.S. World Heritage Tentative List http://www.nps.gov/oia/topics/worldheritage/New_Tentative_List.htm in January 2008 as a part of the Dayton Aviation Sites listing.