Augustus M. Herring of Georgia built several unsuccessful gliders in the early 1890s before turning to Lilienthal-type designs. With these, he was able to make glides of up to 150 feet (46 meters). This caught the attention of Octave Chanute, and in 1895 Herring moved to Chicago and built a Lilienthal glider at Chanute's expense. He left Chanute's employ for a more lucrative job, helping Samuel Langley build his aerodromes at the Smithsonian Institution. Herring left Langley after less than a year and joined the band of aviation enthusiasts that Chanute brought together in the sand dunes outside Miller, IN in June 1896 to test glider designs. During this expedition, Herring and Chanute collaborated on the design of a biplane glider, then refined it over dozens of test flights. By the time they left Miller in September, the Chanute-Herring glider was the most capable gliding machine in the world.
Mathias Arnot, a banker from Elmira, NY, read about the success of the Chanute group and employed Herring to create a slightly-improved Chanute-Herring glider. Herring sub-contracted the construction to William Avery, and Avery also helped him test it at Miller, IN.