What was the name of the Wright brothers’ 1904 testing field near Dayton?

The Wright brothers’ 1904 testing field near Dayton was called Huffman Prairie.

Huffman Prairie was an open field beside the Dayton, Springfield and Urbana Electric Railway, close to Simms Station in Ohio. The brothers used it after their 1903 flights at Kitty Hawk because it was near their home and bicycle business.

The site became the main proving ground for the Wright Flyer III and later aircraft. In 1904, the brothers faced difficulties taking off without the strong coastal winds available at Kitty Hawk, so they developed a catapult system to launch the aircraft from a track.

By 1905, Huffman Prairie had become the setting for increasingly reliable flights. The Wright Flyer III made long, controlled circuits there, helping demonstrate that the brothers had developed a practical flying machine rather than merely achieved a brief powered hop.