Wright Brothers in the Albemarle

While in Elizabeth City, the Wright Brothers purchased provisions necessary for their stay on the Outer Banks and depended on the stores there to augment items bought from Dayton. Familiar with the warehouses in Elizabeth City, they bought lumber, gasoline, hardware, assorted groceries, and canned goods to sustain them while they were experimenting on the Outer Banks. In 1902, they purchased a barrel of gasoline from the N.G. Grandy Company, which was in the general mercantile business, bought or traded produce from local farmers, and served as the first distribution point for Standard Oil Company in the area. The Wrights were repeat customers at the Grandy Company in 1903, when they purchased gasoline for their engine to make the first powered flight on December 17, 1903.

Elizabeth City, North Carolina · United States