On October 11 and 22, 1898, Augustus M. Herring flew a powered airplane on Silver Beach near this spot. Herring began flying experiments in the 1880's and in 1894-95 built model gliders for aviation researchers Octave Chanute and Samuel P. Langley. In 1898 Herring built an improved version of the Chanute-Herring glider powered by a compressed air motor of Herring's design. He flew the machine in two successful flights of about 50 and 72 feet. Although neither was a fully controlled flight, Herring's experiments helped prove airplanes possible. These flights predated the famous 1903 Wright Brothers' flight at Kitty Hawk by five years.