Founded in 1961 by Otto Kohl, who worked at the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company from 1915. The 60,000-square-foot facility holds a reproduction of the June Bug that Curtiss flew nearly a mile above Hammondsport on July 4, 1908, taking the Scientific American prize for the first public flight in North America. Also on display: the Curtiss Model E, the America flying boat designed for the first transatlantic attempt, a JN-4D Jenny, and early hydro-aeroplanes of the type Curtiss tested on Keuka’s surface. The motorcycle collection spans his full career, including an exact reproduction of the V8 that reached 136.4 mph in January 1907. The restoration shop is a working facility open to visitors. A dedicated exhibit covers the Curtiss Cadettes, the 766 women who completed a wartime aerodynamics program at Cornell, MIT, and five other universities between 1943 and 1945. Path Through History site. Adults $10; children free.















