About Kill Devil Hills

Kill Devil Hills received its municipal charter from the North Carolina General Assembly on March 6, 1953. It is located in the middle of the Outer Banks and is the largest municipality in Dare County, with a year round population of over 7,800 people.

In addition to our beautiful beach, family-friendly recreational sites, and numerous local businesses, our Town hold a piece of an important part of history; on December 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright were successful in making four flights at the base of the big hill that is now a part of the Wright Brothers National Monument. We are proud to be the site of the first heavier-than-air powered flight.

How did Kill Devil Hills get its name?

There are a few legends about how the Town got its unique name. One is that Kill Devil Hills’ name originated many years ago when sailing ships, transporting rum from the tropics to markets in the north, would wreck along The Outer Banks coast. Their cargo would wash up onto the sand hills, sit until found by the local population who would say that the rum was strong enough “to kill the devil.” Another story about the town’s name comes from a legend involving a local man who, in an attempt to extort money from the devil, entrapped him in a pit at the top of the big hill that is now the site of the huge granite pylon honoring Wilbur and Orville Wright.