Hawthorn Hill

Hawthorn Hill is Orville Wright’s success mansion. Join the ranks of Charles Lindbergh, Henry Ford, and Thomas Edison as visitors to the world’s first pilot’s last home.

With its white pillars and twin porches, Hawthorn Hill has long been synonymous with Orville Wright and the Wright family. After purchasing land at Salem Avenue and Harvard Boulevard in Dayton, the Wrights’ sister, Katharine, persuaded her famous brothers to build instead in Oakwood’s rolling, scenic hills. Both Orville and Wilbur helped design the home, but Wilbur died of typhoid fever on May 30, 1912, at age 45.

Upon completion in 1914, Hawthorn Hill became the residence of Orville, Katharine, and their elderly father, Bishop Milton Wright. Over the next 34 years, the mansion welcomed Charles Lindbergh, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and other luminaries.

After Orville Wright’s death on Jan. 30, 1948, Hawthorn Hill was purchased by National Cash Register (NCR) for use as a corporate guest house. For the next 58 years, the historic home was carefully preserved but only occasionally open to the public, leaving many Daytonians curious about the mysteries inside Orville’s hilltop mansion.

But in August 2006, at the suggestion of Congressman Mike Turner, NCR gifted Hawthorn Hill to the Wright Family Foundation. Managed by the Wright brothers’ great-grandniece, Amanda Wright Lane, and great-grandnephew, Stephen Wright, the Wright Family Foundation asked Dayton History to manage and interpret the home.

In March 2009, Hawthorn Hill became part of Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. In June 2013, ownership was officially transferred to Dayton History. It is now open to the public, and though NCR remodeled the Colonial Revival home, they meticulously photographed Orville’s original décor. Dayton History is busy bringing the property back to its original appearance.

Hawthorn Hill is available for exclusive events. Please contact 937-293-2841 or events@daytonhistory.org.