The past, present and future at Wright-Patterson are all inextricably linked with the Wright brothers' legacy. The stories of the brother's early years, their bicycle shop, their printing business and their early aviation efforts are in evidence throughout the greater Dayton area.

Wright-Patterson's history as a military installation dates from World War I. Its aviation history, however, began around 1904 or 1905 when Wilbur and Orville Wright used an 84-acre plot of land, known as the Huffman Prairie Flying Field, for their experimental test flights. Here the Wright Brothers solved the final secrets of aerodynamics, learned to fly and developed the first truly practical airplane—their 1905 Flyer. They returned to the Huffman Prairie Flying Field in 1910 to operate a pilot training school—TheWrightCompany School of Aviation—and a flight exhibition company.

When their operations ended in 1916, aviation had become a reality and a rich tradition of invention, operations and education had been established on this sacred soil. The Huffman Prairie Flying Field was officially designated a National Historic Landmark in 1990 and became part of the newly created Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park two years later.

When the United States entered WWI in 1917, three military installations were established in the Dayton area. Two of these would become part of Wright-Patterson AFB. The third was located near downtown Dayton. Their original missions—logistics, research and development and military education—became the same mission performed at Wright-Patterson to this day.

Wilbur Wright Field and the Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot were adjacent installations located at what is today Area C of the base.Wilbur Wright Field was located on a 2,075-acre tract of land adjacent to the Mad River that was leased to the Army by the Miami Conservancy District. The lease included the Huffman Prairie Flying Field. The Signal Corps Aviation School established at the new airfield began operations in June 1917 as a training school for pilots. The field also housed an aviation mechanic's school and a school for armorers.

The Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot was constructed on 40 acres of land purchased by the Army from the Miami Conservancy District, immediately adjacent to Wilbur Wright Field. It provided logistics support to Wilbur Wright Field and three other Signal Corps aviation schools located in the Midwest. Each day the depot received, stored and issued equipment and supplies to the Signal Corps aviation schools in the region.

The third WWI military installation was McCook Field. This 254-acre complex located just north of downtown Dayton between Keowee Street and the GreatMiami River was named for the "Fighting McCook" family of Civil War fame who once owned part of the land. McCook Field was the temporary home of the U.S. Army Signal Corps' Airplane Engineering Division. As an engineering and research facility, McCook Field has been described as "the single most influential agency in the early years of American air power." McCook's engineers and technicians researched, developed, manufactured, tested and evaluated military aircraft and all of their associated components and equipment. Cooperation between the two geographically separated flying fields began in 1918 when Wilbur Wright Field agreed to let McCook Field use hangar and shop space as well as a force of enlisted mechanics to assemble and maintain airplanes and engines. Wilbur Wright Field's expansive and relatively isolated open flying field also proved ideal for testing the Air Service's experimental aircraft and the larger, more powerful models developed during the 1920s.

Following WWI, the training school at Wilbur Wright Field was discontinued.Wilbur Wright Field and the depot soon merged to form the Fairfield Air Depot. The depot remained active until 1946.

McCook Field remained in operation until 1927. The field's limited size could not accommodate the larger, more sophisticated aircraft that quickly emerged after WWI. "This Field is Small, Use It All!" was painted atop the airfield's hangars to warn pilots. When the Air Corps announced its intention to close McCook Field, local businessmen and citizens protested. The field offered a stable and expanding economic base for the community, and was also a great source of pride to the city that considered itself the birthplace of aviation. Under the leadership of the Patterson family (who had founded the National Cash Register Company), prominent citizens formed the Dayton Air Service Committee, Inc. This organization mounted a massive public campaign that raised $425,000 in two days. It used the money to purchase 4,520.47 acres of land northeast of Dayton, includingWilburWright Field and the Huffman Prairie Flying Field. In 1924, the Committee presented the deeds to President Calvin Coolidge for the construction of a new aviation-engineering center. The entire acreage (including the Fairfield Air Depot) was designated Wright Field in honor of both Wright brothers.

Between 1925 and 1927, modern new facilities were built on the portion of Wright Field west of Huffman Dam to house all of the functions being relocated from old McCook Field. Orville Wright raised the flag over the new engineering center at the official dedication ceremony on Oct. 12, 1927. The name "Wright Field" soon became synonymous with developments in the field of aeronautical engineering, a reputation that Wright-Patterson retains to the present day. This new portion of Wright Field became the headquarters of the Materiel Division, the main branch of the Army Air Corps responsible for developing advanced aircraft, equipment and accessories. The division also procured and provided maintenance for all of these systems and was charged with managing the extensive Air Corps depot system.

Wright Field incorporated the entire installation. Many citizens in the local community, however, believed that part of the field should honor the Patterson family in some way as recognition for their leadership in keeping the engineering center in Dayton. This happened on July 1, 1931, when the portion of Wright Field east of Huffman Dam was re-designated "Patterson Field" in honor of Lt. Frank Stuart Patterson.

Frank Stuart Patterson, born in Dayton, Ohio, on Nov. 6, 1897, was the son of Frank Jefferson Patterson and Julia Shaw Patterson. The elder Patterson and his brother, John H. Patterson, founded the National Cash Register Company and figured prominently in local Dayton history. Frank Stuart attended Yale University, but graduated "in absentia" in the spring of 1918 because he, like many of his fellow classmates, had joined the Army. He enlisted in May 1917 and was commissioned in September as a first lieutenant in the Offices Reserve Corps with the aeronautical rating of pilot.

1st Lt. Patterson was assigned to the 137th Aero Squadron as a test pilot atWilbur Wright  Field the following May. On June 19, 1918, little more than a month after his arrival, Patterson and his aerial observer, Lt. LeRoy Amos Swan, went aloft in their DH-4 to test newly installed machine gun synchronizers. They completed two trials successfully, but during a steep dive on the third test the airplane's wings collapsed and the aircraft crashed, killing both crewmen.