Wilbur and Orville Wright initially went into the printing business: Wright & Wright Job Printers. However, the passion for cycling soon led them to open the Wright Cycle Exchange in 1892, a time when the bicycle craze was reaching new heights.
The Wrights began manufacturing bicycles in 1896. Their first model was the Van Cleve, named after their great-great-grandmother Catherine Benham Van Cleve Thompsons who had settled in Dayton in 1796. The Wrights build 95 Van Cleve bicycles which sold for $50 to $65.
Their second model was the St. Clair, named after Arthur St. Clair, a Revolutionary War Major General. The St. Clair cost less than the Van Cleve and the Wrights manufactured 77 of this model.
Their third model was the Wright Special and they sold only 8 of these bicycles.
The skills that the Wright brothers developed in building and repairing bicycles served them well in the construction of their airplanes. An exhibit featuring the Wright’s bicycle shop is in the Wright Brothers National Museum in the Carillon Historical Park in Dayton, Ohio. The museum is operated by the National Park Service.
More museum exhibits
Ohio Village: Bicycle shop (photo diary)
Carillon Historical Park: Dayton Cyclery (photo diary)
Museums 101: The Wright Cycle Co. (photo diary)
Ohio Village: School (photo diary)
Ohio History Center: The Lustron Home (photo diary)
Carillon Historical Park: A Shaker building (photo diary)
Museums 101: Neighborhood grocery store (museum tour)
Museums 101: Leonardo da Vinci's inventions (photo diary)