When Wilbur and Orville Wright conducted their printing and cycle shop businesses at various locations along West Third Street in Dayton Ohio beginning in 1889, they were surrounded by other businessmen of whom they interacted. Some of these men include Frank Hamburger, from whom they purchased hardware; William and Irvin Fouts who ran the Owl drug store; William Tompert from whom they purchased meat; and William (Billy) Orth who ran a saloon of which the Wrights would not have partaken, but were certainly friendly with Orth.
The Sanborn maps below show the locations of some of the various businesses of the owners discussed in this post. Images are provided through courtesy of the Library of Congress, and annotated by this Author.
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| 1897 combined Sanborn maps of south side of West Third street. Image will enlarge when clicked on using a desktop computer. Hamburger Hardware shop moved to north side of street to 1105/1107 in 1899. |
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| Western edge of combined map above. |
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| 1897 combined Sanborn maps of north side of West Third street. Image will enlarge when clicked on using a desktop computer. |
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| Center section of 1897 Sanborn map above. |
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Frank Hamburger
As reported in the Dayton Daily News in 1936, "Hamburger, proprietor of a hardware store at 1105 W. Third st., and for 40 years engaged in business, had his store at the time the Wrights were engaged in their bicycle shop, immediately across the street from it. Naturally, he was neighborly with them and was familiar with what was going on the way of experimentation and building in the now famous room at the rear of the building.
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| The Dayton Herald, June 16, 1909. |
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| From The Dayton Herald (1) |
'I frequently visited the boys in their shop and watched them while they were engaged in perfecting the parts which went into the first successful ship,' said Hamburger. 'I furnished them with hardware repairs which went into the motor and other parts while the building was going on.'
The Wright brothers, Hamburger agrees with the other pioneer business men of the West Side who were well acquainted with them, never were secretive about their work, unlike many other men who are engaged in giving the the world a new invention. They talked freely with their friends and neighbors and went about their business of designing and building undisturbed by the presence of these when they dropped into the shop to pass the time of day or on business.
Hamburger recalls having a small part in assisting the inventors when they were in France for their trial flights at the behest of the French government. 'When they took the plane abroad the stove bolts which they expected to use in assembling the shop were found to be too short,' Hamburger said, 'and they found it impossible to find what they required over there for the reason that the French apparently were not manufacturers and users of stove bolts. Accordingly they communicated with me and I sent them the bolts of the dimensions required to meet their needs.'
The veteran hardware dealer also claims the distinction of having seen the first successful flight of a Wright ship of the many conducted on Huffman prairie, following the successful one at Kitty Hawk on Dec. 17, 1903.
Accompanied by the late William Fouts and James Jamison [Oscar F. Jamieson], of Germantown, Ind., a traveling salesman who was with Hamburger at the time, the trio went to the bicycle shop and learned that the Wrights were not present. Surmising that they were at their field the three went out to the prairie and there witnessed the memorable event. Hamburger recalls that, while visitors were not permitted on the field, he and his companions were allowed to remain, supposedly because the brothers recognized them as neighbors." (2)
In 1932, Hamburger shared, "It all happened a quarter century ago, and it could never, never happen again- that traction ride which a Dayton hardware dealer, a druggist and a shoe polish representative took on the hunch that they would see the miraculous. Frank Hamburger, the hardware-man, whose store is at 1105 W. Third st., not half a block from that other store in which two young inventors had toiled to achieve 'the miraculous,' told the story Saturday. At the end of the traction ride, at Simms Station (now Patterson Field), the trial to see the Wright brothers in their first successful flight since, months before, they had skimmed over the sand dunes at Kitty Hawk, N.C. The Kitty Hawk venture was the first satisfactory heavier-than-air flight......The men with Hamburger were Will Fouts and John Jamison [O. F. Jamieson]. Both, as far as he knows, are now dead. [William Fouts died November 13, 1923 (12)] Fouts was a Dayton druggist and Jamison [Oscar F. Jamieson died May 15, 1930 (3)], who represented a shoe polish concern, was from Germantown, Ind. The suggestion to observe the flight attempt came from Jamison [Jamieson]. 'He and I roomed together at the time,' Hamburger recalled Saturday. [Unclear the meaning of "roomed together". Frank and wife Blanch lived at 1107 West Third. Perhaps while in town, Jamieson stayed in a spare room at 1107.] 'That morning he had the notion that the Wright boys were out at the field. Fouts wanted to go, too. We tried to find out at their home if they had gone to Simms Station, but we couldn't. 'So we acted on the hunch. When we got there, we found them prepared to make a trial. We helped pull up the weight they used to give the ship momentum. No one else was there. Just the five of us. Wilbur Wright took down our names in a little notebook he carried. He considered it worth remembering that we had been witnesses.' The plane did not rise high nor travel far, and when it came down it bumped along the ground on its sled-like landing gear.
Back on the West Side (but it was still called Miami City in those days) Hamburger's, Fouts' and Jamison's [Jamieson's] friends did not believe their story. More than one asked them what they had been drinking. Hamburger told his story to the minister, and he didn't believe it either. 'His theory,' Hamburger said Saturday, 'was that the boys were wasting their time until they found something that would 'lift' the flying machine from the top. He told them so, too. But they just kept on reading all they could find on the subject. They knew they could fly if they could get enough 'push', and that they didn't need 'lift'. (4)
Wilbur Wright noted in his 1905 notebook, on October 3, Hamburger, Fouts, and O. F. Jamieson [Oscar F. Jamieson] were present at Huffman Prairie, in addition to Howard Myers and that two traction cars passed by during the successful flight by Orville of 25 minutes, 5 seconds. According to Hamburger's recollection in 1932, the three had visited Huffman Prairie early in 1904. The launching derick was first used in September of 1904. If the three had visited prior to September of 1904, Hamburger may have been remembering helping pull up the weight from their October 1905 visit.
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| Wilbur Wright's 1905 notebook, October 3. W. Fouts, F. Hamburger, O. F. Jamieson, Howard Myers present. Two traction cars passed during flight. Image courtesy of Library of Congress. |
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| Aero Club of America March 12, 1906 report of September and October flights of 1905. (5) |
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| Aero Club of America March 12, 1906 report, partial list of witnesses of flights at Huffman Prairie. (5) |
In 1932, Frank also shared an account of how Orville Wright helped him at the time of the Dayton Flood of March 23-24, 1898. The brothers had occupied The Wright Cycle Shop at 1127 West Third in 1897. Frank's Hardware store was located across the street at 1124. "At one time, back in the late 90's, when Dayton was visited by a flood, Hamburger's store was across the street, at 1124, from the Wright bicycle shop. He had a carload of nails in the basement, and he knew that if the water hit them, they would be worthless. Wilbur and Orville helped him move the nails upstairs, and would take no compensation." (4)
Years later, in 1948, George Antrim of the Gem City Ice Cream Company shared, "...I'd like to relate an incident that had to do with Orville's character as a neighbor. That is, when he helped Frank Hamburger boost a half carload of nails up out of the cellar of his hardware store on the morning of March 25, 1913, because he hated to see Frank lose a few nails because it looked like the river was coming over the levees, and it was predicted that before noon everybody on the West Side would have a cellar full of water. [George has the flood date confused in his account. It was the 1898 Dayton flood, not the 1913 Dayton flood.] Orville got his helper, Charles Taylor and, together with Frank and his clerk, they boosted the nails onto the ground floor. [George also stated this detail incorrectly. Charley Taylor was not employed by the Wrights until June of 1901. As stated by Frank Hamburger, it was Wilbur who helped Orville and Frank in lifting the nails to the ground floor.] Frank, in telling me about it, said, 'We worked like beavers, and when I offered to pay him, he wouldn't take a cent.' .....'When I was president, in 1928, and we had a meeting in honor of Orville, I told those two stories that had never been told publicly before. Just to make Orville feel at home, I had Charlie Webber, [Webbert] from whom he rented his shop; Frank Hamburger, the hardware man; Jesse Gilbert, who ran a coal business in the next block, and Charlie Monback, the barber, who had given Orville more close shaves than he ever got in an airplane, on the platform. When I told that nail story, I said that a lot of fellows didn't like to set a price for their work when they had offered their services, but many of them would accept a tip should it be offered them; and since Orville had refused to set a price, it might not yet be too late for him to accept a tip. There-upon, Frank reached into his pocket and handed Orville a quarter. I promptly fined Orville a quarter for accepting a tip for such little service, as being un-Rotarian. Doc Lewis, sergeant-at-arms, collected the quarter and kept it. And he still has that quarter!" (6)
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| Orville Wright's tip. (15) |
Orville, writing to his father March 31, 1898, "Dear Papa: .....We had a very narrow escape from the floods. By putting 500 men at work......they succeeded in building the levee high enough to keep the water out of Miami City [The West Side]. All other parts of town were more or less flooded. The water came up nearly two feet on the addition made to the levee. Had the water raised four inches higher we would have been under three or four feet of water. In North Dayton the water was up over first stories in some places. I will inclose [enclose] a few proofs of pictures we took. They have been exposed to the light till they are rather dim, but you can probably make something out of them. They give a little idea of what the water really looked like, though. The levee you see is what had been built during the day of the flood. The old levee being entirely covered between Williams street and the Third street bridges....." (7)
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| Glass plate negatives by Wrights of 1898 Wolf Creek flooding showing the water height right at the edge of the levee, courtesy of Library of Congress. |
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Oscar F. Jamieson
Author's note- It was helpful that Wilbur Wright asked for O. F. Jamieson's name, as Hamburger and Fouts would have introduced him by his nickname James. The newspaper articles misspelled the last name, but fortunately, Wilbur asked him how to spell the name. Elsewhere, I found historians incorrectly listing his first name as Oliver. Through some investigation, I confirmed his name as Oscar F. Jamieson. In the 1900 census, his occupation is listed as "Commercial, trav. Shoe polish", and in the 1910 census, his occupation was listed as "Salesman, Shoe Polish Co." He married Ida Robina Mount in 1914. (3)
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William Condit Fouts
William was born the same year and in the same State as Wilbur Wright, on September 24, 1867 in Indiana. During the years the Wrights Cycle Shop was located at 1127 West Third, Fout's The Owl Drug Company was located at 1101 West Third at the northwest corner of West Third and Williams streets. In addition to the October 3, 1905 visit to Huffman Prairie, William Fouts witnessed Orville's 17 minute, 15.5 second flight of 12 rounds of the field on September 30, 1905. Lorin Wright, Lorin's son Milton, and William Weber were also present that day. (8) William Weber was a plumber and he and his wife Ella lived at 1143 West Third.
About the visit, William Fouts stated, "It is the most wonderful thing that ever happened. I wouldn't believe it myself until I saw it. I went out to Huffman's Prairie I expected to see somebody's neck broken. What I did see was a machine weighing 900 pounds soar away like an eagle. When they were about 60 or 70 feet in the air they pointed its nose to a horizontal line and sailed round like a great bird. No wavering. No ducking up and down. It just sailed around that ring like it had been running in a groove. I told a friend about it that night and he acted as if he thought I had gone daft or joined the Mars' club. I got permission from the Wright boys and next day I took him out with me. He groaned and shook his head when he saw the machine, but when it flew up in the air and began to circle gracefully around like an eagle, his grin turned to a look of amazement. He rubbed his eyes and pinched himself to see if he was awake. When we were coming home he said he would believe anything the Wright brothers might say hereafter. Yes, sir; the flying machine has arrived, and it was born in Dayton..." (9)
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Irvin Fouts
As reported in the Dayton Daily News in 1936, "Fouts calls up the early days of the Wright brothers as a youth of that period, rather than as a contemporary business man. He had known them even before they took their location at 1127 W. Third st., at the time when they were operating a commercial printing shop on the second floor of the building at the southwest [southeast] intersection of Third and Williams sts.
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| Hoover Block, SE corner of West Third and Williams streets. Photo by Author. |
'We kids used to go to the rear of the shop [at 1127 West Third Street] and see the Wrights at work in the rear room and I recall what a thrill it gave me when I saw their motor really running. [In early 1903, Irvin was 21 years old.] I cannot say that the first airplane actually was constructed in that room, but the parts were perfected there and later were assembled in the device which gave the world a new era,' said Fouts." (2)
Irvin was William Fouts' nephew, son of William's oldest brother George. Irvin worked as a clerk at his uncles store from 1908 though 1923. As William never married, Irvin became the proprietor of his uncle's drug store business, The Owl Drug Company after William's death in 1923. (13)
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| Ad in The Dayton Herald, October 6, 1927. |
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William Tompert
As reported in the Dayton Daily News in 1936, "Tompert, now retired, was for almost 36 years in the meat business at 1109 W. Third st., and has not only known the brothers over a long period, but also was a friend of their late father, Bishop Wright.
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| The Dayton Herald February 14, 1912, ad by Cadillac. |
'I many times saw the Wrights engaged in making parts for their plane in their little work shop near my place of business," said Tompert. "I visited them often. It was at that shop that they began seriously upon the work connected with their first plane and gradually the bicycle business was made secondary to the experimental work.'
%20Tompert.jpg "William Tompert Meats West Third Street Dayton Ohio") |
| The Dayton Herald June 16, 1909 |
Tompert recalls that the brothers had as their repairman and mechanic in the shop Charles Taylor. As the work on the airplane more and more engrossed the inventors and as they progressed they took Taylor from the bicycle end of the business and he afterwards devoted most of his time on work on the plane. 'The boys worked a great deal at night,' said Tompert, 'but apparently not because they had anything to conceal. They were tireless workers who kept steadily at their task and right well do I recall the grimy appearance they presented when at work with their tools in the rear room upon the motor and other essentials of the plane.' [The Wrights had the reputation of staying clean when working on their bicycles. Tompert's recollection hints that when working on the motor, the grease and oil made its impact on the brothers.]
Tompert agrees with other of their friends of that early day that the Wrights never appeared disturbed by persons coming into the shop while they were engaged and they they talked freely of their plans at hand and their hopes for the future." (2)
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William Orth
As reported in the Dayton Daily News in 1936, "Orth is the proprietor of a cafe at 1022 W. Third st., which he operated as well at the time the Wright boys were occupants of the room at 1127 W. Third st.
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| Dayton Daily News, January 9, 1953 (11) |
%20Moose%201022%20cropped.jpg "The Moose Cafe 1022 West Third Street Dayton Ohio") |
| The Moose Cafe at 1022 West Third, from Dayton Daily News, May 15, 1915 ad. |
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| Panoramic of south side of 1000 block West Third street, showing former location of the Orth building. The Orth building no longer stands, today an empty lot. Address along West Third changed in 1939. The address numbers as shown are pre-1939. In 1939, the address at 1022/24 changed to 1030/1034. Unaware of the address change, modern historians misinterpreted the Orth building location as the second location of the Wright Cycle Exchange at 1034 West Third. However prior to 1939, the 1034 address applied to the footprint of the east end of the Setzer building, which in 1893 was a single story structure. |
He had occasion to drop into the bicycle shop at least once a week. In discussing the activities which were going on within the shop Orth said he and other of their friends gave no particular thought to what they were doing about building an airplane and he agrees with those who knew them well that they worked hard and tirelessly.
'I remember that the boys after taking the store room erected a balcony which ran across the west side of the front room and that this was reached by a flight of steps. The balcony provided the proprietors with office space, while at the same time looking down upon the store room and making ti possible for them to see a customer when one entered the shop." Again referring to what some persons believed was a wild dream on the part of the brothers in ever perfecting a heavier-than-air machine which actually would fly, Orth laughingly remarked that he was one of those who "gave them the benefit of the doubt.'
He recalls also that the shop at 1127 W. Third st., was the third institution of the kind which the inventors had. The first was on S. Williams st., to the east of the building which has become famous as the one in which occurred the birth of the airplane. [1127 W. Third was not the third cycle shop location. The first location was at 1015 W Third, the second at 1034 West Third, the third was a temporary move to the second floor of the Hoover Block for a number of months after vacating 1034 prior to the move to the fourth and fifth locations of 22 S. Williams and 23 West Second Street.] 'I have in my memory one particular experience which I had with the boys. That was when they were experimenting with a hydroplane. I took the first ride with them in the thing when they launched it on the Miami river near the Third st. bridge. It would float all right," but it wouldn't leave the water and rise in the air. Even then I would have invested a thousand dollars with the boys, but they never asked me for it.'" (2)
William retired in 1941. From a Dayton Daily News story from August of that year, "Orth told about his start in the liquor business which began in 1887, at Third and Williams sts., which then was known as Ripp's corner....Orth said he took over the saloon of Mike Amann, when the latter died in 1887 at the suggestion of the late Adam Schantz. The records show he stayed there only six months, did a grand business and then he started out to look for a place for himself. He located at 1029 W. Third st., and after staying there a few years [1889-1898], bought a vacant lot across the street at No. 1030 [1024] after having a building erected, has been there ever since, except for the prohibition period, when he leased his place. With the repeal of prohibition, Orth went back into the business. That was in 1934 [1937]." (10)
Note that Orth bought a vacant lot. The 1884 and 1887 Sanborn maps show a structure at 1024. Perhaps the home burned down in 1898, and the resulting vacant lot was available for Orth to purchase. The new structure of 1022/24 shows on the 1919 Sanborn map.
The address of 1030 was the address at the time this article was written in 1941. However, when Orth purchased the lot and built the building, the address at that time was 1022/24. In 1939, addresses along the 1000 block of West Third changed, and 1022/24 became 1030/34. Orth's location was shown in the Dayton City Directories at 1029 W. Third in 1889, and he remained there through 1898. The 1899 Dayton Directory lists his address as "Wine and Beer Saloon; Choice Brands of Liquors and Cigars; Adam Schantz's Cool Lager always on Tap, 1024 W. 3d; Residence same. (Mrs. Katie). In 1900, the listing read as "saloon, 1022 W. 3d, res.1024 W. 3d. (Mrs. Katie). In 1937, the Directory lists for the first time Orth's restaurant at 1022 W. Third, and the 1939 Directory indicates the address change of Orth's restaurant as 1030 W. Third. Years prior, they had left their residence and leased out the 1024 west side of the building and lived at the NW corner of Orth Avenue and Negley Place.
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| Compilation of Sanborn maps from 1887, 1897, 1919, and 1950 is shown here, assembled by this author. The location of 1034 West Third is identified in each with a yellow star. This marks the building where the Wright Cycle Exchange/Wright Cycle Company was located in 1893-1894. The numbering of the addresses changed in 1939, with old and new numbering depicted on the 1950 plan. 1034 was changed to 1048. Also note that 1022/1024 was changed to 1030/1034, leading previous historians to mistakenly identify this building as the location of the 1893/94 Wright Cycle Company. |
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Frank Hamburger passed away January 31, 1937 at Miami Valley Hospital, at the age of 72. Buried at Memorial Park Cemetery. (1)
Oscar F. Jamieson passed away May 15, 1930 at his home in Pershing, Indiana, at the age of 70. (3)
William C. Fouts passed away November 13, 1923 at his home at 115 N. Williams St., at the age of 56. Buried at Woodland Cemetery. (12)
Irvin H. Fouts passed away February 24, 1962, at the age of 80. Buried at Woodland Cemetery. (13)
William Tompert passed away March 24, 1947 at Miami Valley Hospital, at the age of 85. Buried at Woodland Cemetery. (14)
William Orth passed away January 9, 1953 at St. Elizabeth Hospital, at the age of 87. Buried at Calvary cemetery. (11)
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| Dayton Daily News May 15, 1915 list of West Side Merchants. Note Pearson Delicatessen at 1127 West Third Street. Orville left his 2nd floor office at this location to move to the Wright Aeronautical Laboratory at 15 North Broadway in December of 1916. |
Copyright 2026-Getting the Story Wright
Related Posts:
Witnesses of Wright Brother's Simms Station (Huffman Prairie) 1905 Flights
Wright Cycle Exchange, 1015 West Third Street, Dayton, Ohio
22 South Williams Street- Wright Cycle Company/Wright & Wright Printers (1895-1897)
The Wright Brother's Print and Cycle Shop Locations
The Gem City Ice Cream Building and the 1st Wright Cycle Shop
West Third Street, Dayton Ohio Wright Brother Connection
Notes-
1. The Dayton Herald, Feb 1, 1937 "Frank Hamburger Called by Death"
2. Dayton Daily News, July 5, 1936 "Early Days At Wright Plane Shop Recalled By Business Neighbors"
3. The Richmond Palladium and Sun-Telegram, Richmond, Indiana, Friday May 16, 1930 "O. F. Jamieson Funeral Will Be On Sunday" "Funeral services for Oscar F. Jamieson, 70 years old, oldest native born citizen of Pershing, who died at his home here Thursday afternoon will be held on Sunday afternoon at 2 o'clock at the Evangelical Church. Rev. M. L. Shiedler, pastor of the church, will officiate. Burial will be made in the Lutheran cemetery of Pershing. Mr. Jamieson's death was due to heart disease. He was a life-long and prominent resident of Pershing.....Mr. Jamieson owned and operated the general store of the vicinity during the earlier years of his life. During more recent years he had been a traveling salesman, having stayed in this sort of work for 40 years. Mr. Jamieson retired four years ago. The deceased had been ill for a period of about three weeks preceding his death....Survivors include the widow; one daughter, Mrs. Louis J. Gardener, Chicago, a brother, Charles, Orlando, Fla.; a step-daughter, Mrs. Fred Hines, Green's Fork; two granddaughters, Joan and Jean Marie, Green's Fork; two sisters, Mrs. Anna Pittman, Houston, Texas, and Mrs. Elmer Hurst, Connersville. Mr. Jamieson was a member of the Red Men's lodge and the Travelers Protective association."
4. The Dayton Daily News Sunday October 16, 1932 "Daytonian, Recalling Early Wright Brothers' Trials, Prizes Replica Of Wrecked Craft"
5. From Author's collection. Copy of John Wood's, author of Airports, Elements of Design, given to him by Orville Wright.
6. The Dayton Herald, February 7, 1948, "Rotary Club Speakers Pay High Tribute To Memory of Member, Orville Wright", from Louis Christman newspaper collection, now part of Author's archives. It is interesting with the passing of time, how memories can merge different events. George confused the 1913 Dayton Flood with the 1898 Dayton Flood in his account. Orville and Katharine awoke to the flooding of the neighborhood in 1913, and escaped the home and area. There was no time in 1913 to move items such as the glass plate negatives stored in the shed behind their home. In 1898, there was time to move items, and fortunately, the water didn't rise to flood West Third Street at that time. 1913 was a much different story.
7. Orville Wright to Milton Wright, March 31, 1898, on Wright Cycle Company letterhead, Family Papers: Correspondence- Wright, Orville, 1881, 1888-1898, Library of Congress.
8. Wilbur & Orville Wright A Reissue of A Chronology Commemorating the Hundredth Anniversary of the Birth of Orville Wright August 19, 1871, by Arthur George Renstrom.
9. The Dayton Daily News, January 5, 1906 "North Pole Can Not Be Reached", "Testimony Of Two Witnesses". William Weber was quoted as saying, "It just sailed right off the ground like a bird and sailed round and round until they got ready to come down. Then it lit like a duck on the water."
10. The Dayton Daily News Sunday August 10, 1941 "Bill Orth, Dayton's Oldest Saloon Keeper, Is Going To Retire"
11. The Dayton Daily News Friday January 9, 1953 "William Orth, Cafe Owner, Hunter, Dies"
12. The Dayton Daily News Thursday November 15, 1923 "Funeral Rites- William C. Fouts"
13. Dayton City Directories 1900-1924, Family Tree, The Dayton Herald, October 6, 1927.
14. The Dayton Herald, March 26, 1947, "William Tompert Rites Tomorrow".
15. Not the actual quarter. But, in 1928, the tip would have been a standing liberty quarter similar to the one shown. Placed on letter from George Antrim from Author's collection.
