From Palm Beach County to Miami-Dade, 11 cities are celebrating their centennials in 2025 and 2026. WLRN News' series "History We Call Home" spotlights the moments, ideas and people that made these cities part of our community's fabric over the past century.
The world might recognize that the first manned airplane flight was the Wright Brothers' famous flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Orville and Wilbur Wright have for years held America’s attention as the fathers of modern air travel.
But there’s another aviator from that same era who also designed and built his own planes — a man who left an indelible mark on the history of aviation, and the history of South Florida.
It's the story of an overlooked hero of sorts with a rich history and a 100-year-old city eager to tell it.
“Glenn Curtiss is an unsung hero to say the least,” said Jorge Santin, councilman for the City of Miami Springs.
Curtiss was an aviator, entrepreneur and founder of three South Florida cities: Hialeah, Opa-Locka and Miami Springs.
First and foremost, however, he was an inventor, and a man obsessed with speed and motion.
“I believe he's an unsung hero and not just today as an aviation pioneer, but to the country."Councilman Jorge Santin
His early days as a teenage bike messenger for Western Union in Rochester, New York, started him on a love affair with velocity. He would go on to open his own bicycle shop in his hometown of Hammondsport and start building bikes in 1898.
It wasn’t long before his drive to go faster led him to experiment with and design motorcycles. In 1906, Curtiss built a bike with a V-8 engine, which machinist Dale Stoner built a replica of for the recent Miami Springs’ centennial motorcycle show.
It was this V-8 bike that Curtiss took in 1907 to Ormond Beach, Florida, where he beat the land speed record — reaching 136 miles per hour — earning him the title of fastest man on earth until 1911.
Curtiss’ fixation with speed continued to grow and evolve.
As the technology of the 20th century progressed, Curtiss' mechanical mind eventually led him to building some of the earliest airplanes. Miami Springs historian Ken Wilde said Curtiss used his experience making motorcycles to pioneer aviation.
“He made special engines that he used to build these motorcycles. The engines were used on dirigibles, and that got him into aviation. Beginning in 1908, he started manufacturing actual airplanes,” Wilde told WLRN.
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The Wright Brothers performed the first manned flight in 1903 — but few people actually saw that inaugural launch.
“The Wright brothers had the first flight, but it wasn't open to the public. It was a private showing. It wasn't under any scrutiny by anybody,” Wilde said.
The Wright brothers were very private and kept their designs to themselves. Curtiss, however, was willing to go public. He joined the Aerial Experiment Association, an organization founded by inventor Alexander Graham Bell, who created the telephone.
Curtiss designed a craft called the June Bug and entered into a contest in 1908 to fly a plane over 5,000 feet in front of a public audience.
This was the first time that the press and the American public would witness a powered aircraft flight. It was storming that day, but Curtiss went ahead with the launch, becoming the first man to fly in a public demonstration in the U.S.
Curtiss would go on to design planes that would help train military pilots in World War I. He would also enter a yearslong feud and legal battle with the Wright Brothers that would last the rest of his life.
In 1920, after years of success as an aviation pioneer, Curtiss moved to South Florida and got into the real estate business.
He already had a flight school in Miami, so he set down roots in the area and started buying up land. He went into business with cattle rancher James Bright and formed the cities of Hialeah and Opa-Locka.
Country Club Estate
Curtiss’ third and final city was where he built his home.
“It was originally developed as a part of Hialeah in 1922. But, starting in 1924, they referred to it as Country Club Estate,” said Wilde.
Miami Springs was first incorporated in 1926 as “Country Club Estates,” named for the golf course and country club that still exists as a major business driver in the small city.
Curtiss liked the idea of themed developments, building Opa-Locka in the style of Arabian Nights-like Moorish architecture.
For Country Club Estates, Curtiss adopted the Pueblo Indian style of the American Southwest — using building materials like orange adobe. His home, the Curtiss Mansion, remains as a celebrated example of this style in the city today.
In 1930, the name Country Club Estates was changed as a marketing ploy to attract more buyers.
Unfortunately, shortly after the city’s name change, Curtiss died in July of 1930 at the age of 53 due to complications from an appendix surgery. He was on his way to New York to appear in court during his patent battle with the Wright Brothers.
Curtiss has no surviving family, and despite his drive to show off his inventions, he was an introverted man with little taste for self promotion. His mansion actually had a secret staircase he would use to escape dinner parties.
For these reasons, Curtiss’ name isn’t as famous in conversations about aviation luminaries or city founders. That’s why the people of Miami Springs want to take up the mantle of Curtiss’ heirs, and make his name known as their city celebrates 100 years.
“I believe he's an unsung hero and not just today as an aviation pioneer, but to the country,” said councilman Santin. "I mean, all the things that he's done, they're still impacting their aviation right now. And he was definitely a seminal force to South Florida's development.”
The City of Miami Springs plans to honor Curtiss with a replica statue of his June Bug airplane to be built in the city’s centennial year of 2026. The monument is planned to be located in the city’s downtown, on Curtiss Parkway.
