History of Fort Wayne, Indiana

History Of Fort Wayne, Indiana

Coordinates: 41°04′49.62″N 85°08′20.94″W / 41.0804500°N 85.1391500°W / 41.0804500; -85.1391500

Fort Wayne is a city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 255,824 as of the July 1, 2011 Census estimate making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana after Indianapolis. The municipality is located in northeastern Indiana, approximately 18 miles (29 km) west of the Ohio border and 50 miles (80 km) south of the Michigan border. Fort Wayne is the principal city of the Fort Wayne metropolitan area, consisting of Allen, Wells, and Whitley counties, for an estimated population of 419,453. In addition to those three core counties, the combined statistical area includes Adams, DeKalb, Huntington, Noble, and Steuben counties, for a population of about 615,077.

Under the direction of American Revolutionary War statesman General "Mad" Anthony Wayne, the United States Army built Fort Wayne last in a series of forts near the Miami Indian village of Kekionga in 1794. Named in Wayne's honor, Fort Wayne established itself at the confluence of the St. Joseph River, St. Marys River, and Maumee River as a trading post for European settlers. The village was platted in 1823 and experienced tremendous growth after completion of the Wabash and Erie Canal and advent of the railroad. Once a booming industrial town located in the Rust Belt, Fort Wayne's economy has diversified in recent times, now relying on distribution, transportation, and logistics, health care, manufacturing, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and financial services. The city is also a center for the defense contractor industry which employs thousands in the city.

As Northeast Indiana's cultural hub, Fort Wayne is home to 15 museums and art galleries, two daily newspapers, philharmonic orchestra, children's zoo, three minor league sports franchises and an NCAA Division I team, and 86 parks and playgrounds. The city is home to the fifth largest public university in Indiana, Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), and the private universities of Concordia Theological Seminary, Indiana Institute of Technology, and University of Saint Francis. The city is also widely recognized as the final resting place of American folklore legend Johnny Appleseed.

The city has been an All-America City Award recipient in 1982, 1998, and 2009.