Elmira and Harris Hill have long been associated with soaring in the USA. The establishment of the nation's most prolific glider manufacturer,
Schweizer Aircraft in Elmira and the holding of first 13 National Soaring Contests at the site between 1930 and 1946 guaranteed its stature as a location. During the US National Soaring Contests in the 1950s competitors and organizers discussed the concept of a national soaring museum. A local Elmira museum at Strathmont Estates featured a display on the subject at the time. In the 1960s, the gliding segment of this small collection was moved to Harris Hill as a result of the work of the Harris Hill Soaring Corporation and Schweizer Aircraft co-founder
Paul A. Schweizer. By 1969 the Soaring Society of America had earmarked Harris Hill as the location for the future National Soaring Museum. The museum was established as an independent nonprofit corporation. The New York State Department of Education chartered the museum as a non-profit educational institution in 1972. The museum replaced its original fire-damaged building in 1979 with a new facility. In 1989 an addition of was completed and in 1993 a Collections Annex was completed. The presence of the NSM at Harris Hill was instrumental in convincing the
National Warplane Museum, now called
Wings of Eagles to move to the area in 1997. Along with the nearby
Glenn H. Curtiss Museum in
Hammondsport, New York, these three aviation history museums are major tourist draws to the Elmira region. In 2013 the original Warren E. Eaton Motorless Flight Facility was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places. ==Collection==