Fort Wayne, Indiana

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Fort Wayne is a city and the county seat of Allen County in northeastern Indiana, USA. As of the 2004 update of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 219,351 and a metropolitan population of 502,141. It is named after a U.S. military fort established in 1794 by Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne where the St. Joseph River and St. Marys River join to form the Maumee River.<ref>Brice, Wallace A. (1868) "History of Fort Wayne, from the Earliest Known Accounts of this Point to the Present Period". D.W. Jones & son.</ref>

Contents

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History

Historically the site was known as Kekionga, the traditional capital of the Miami nation. Around 1676, French priests and missionaries are thought to have stop in Miami's tribes on their way back from a mission at Lake Michigan. In the year 1680, Robert de La Salle sent a letter to the Governor-General of Canada stating his stopping there. Afterwards, the 1680s saw French traders established a trading post at the location because it was the main portage between the Great Lakes via the Maumee River and the Mississippi River via the nearby Little River branch of the Wabash River.<ref>Goodrich, De Witt C. and Charles Richard Tuttle (1875) "An Illustrated History of the State of Indiana". R. S. Peale & Co.</ref>

The French built the first fort on the site, Fort Miamis, in 1697 as part of a group of forts built between Quebec, Canada and St. Louis. After François-Marie Bissot, the Sieur de Vincennes' death, Forts Miamis was replaced by Fort St. Philippe des Miamis in 1721.<ref name="IND">Peckham, Howard Henry (2003) "Indiana: A History". W.W. Norton ISBN 0-252-07146-8.</ref>

Increasing tension between France and the United Kingdom developed over the territory. In 1760, after defeat by British forces in the French and Indian War, the area was ceded to the British Empire. The fort was renamed "Fort Miami."

In 1763, various Native American nations rebelled against British rule and retook the fort as part of Pontiac's Rebellion. The Miami regained control of Kekionga, a rule that lasted for more than 30 years.<ref name="IND" />

Starting in 1790 under President George Washington, three battles where fought in Kekionga against Little Turtle's tribes, leader of the Miami Confederacy, led his army to defeat twice in a row the American army. The tribe returned to their destroyed village to be attacked by General Anthony Wayne's army knowing that they would win Little Turtle decided to negotiate peace. After General Wayne refused it, the tribe was drawn back to Fallen Timbers where they were defeated on August 20, 1794. On October 22, 1794, the United States army captured the Wabash-Erie portage from the Miami Confederacy and built a new fort near the three rivers. Fort Wayne aquired its name after the general.<ref>Hoxie, Frederick E. (1996) "Encyclopedia of North American Indians: Native American History, Culture, and Life from Paleo-Indians to the Present". Houghton Mifflin Company. p.343 ISBN 0-395-66921-9.</ref>

Eventually, the portage was replaced by the Wabash and Erie Canal in 1833. Fort Wayne's significance as a waterway portage lost national prominence as the railroad system developed in the United States. For nearly a century it was an important railroad center between New York and Chicago.

On February 22, 1840, the growing city incorporated as the City of Fort Wayne.

Most of the population growth occurred in the 19th century with immigration from Germany and Ireland. The large numbers of Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches reflect this. German-language newspapers were published into the 20th century.

Interesting Fact: Some inhabitants of Fort Wayne over the years have casually joked about how General Anthony Wayne only stayed in Fort Wayne for 4 days before departing.

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Law and government

Fort Wayne has an elected mayor, clerk and city council-style of government. As of April 2006, the city was exploring a government restructuring that included the possible consolidation of its government or parts of its government with Allen County, Indiana.

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Executive - mayor

Fort Wayne's mayor is Democrat Graham Richard, who has served in the post since January 2000. He was elected to a second term in 2003.

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City clerk

Democrat Sandra Kennedy has been Fort Wayne's city clerk since 1983.

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Representatives - common council

The Fort Wayne Common Council is a nine-member legislative group that serve four-year terms. Six of the members represent specific districts; three are elected city-wide as at-large council members. The council elected on November 4, 2003 will serve until December 31, 2007:

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Geography

Modern Fort Wayne is set in a productive agricultural area, but has always been an important transportation hub. Founded at the confluence of three rivers, the city was the summit of the Wabash-Erie Canal. Fort Wayne also sits at the high point between two Indiana watersheds; hence its nickname, "Summit City."

Current Fort Wayne straddles Interstate 69, and is served by Norfolk Southern, Conrail and CSX rail lines as well as Fort Wayne International Airport and Smith Field regional airport.

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Physical geography

For a regional "summit," Fort Wayne is fairly flat. There are some local wetlands and gravel pits. West of the St. Joseph's River and St. Mary's River is part of the Tipton Till Plain, with deep dark brown soil. Land east of there is the former Black Swamp, a soil heavy with clay that forms deep cracks in August and must be plowed in the fall because it's too wet in the spring.

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Major parks

Image:Fort-wayne-indiana-courthouse.jpg Fort Wayne's first park, the 0.2 acre (800 m²) Old Fort Park, was established in 1863. The newest park, the 170 acre (690,000 m²) Salomon Farm Park, was established in 1995. As of 2005, the city had 87 parks covering 2,199.55 acres (8.9 km²).

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Economy

In the mid-20th century, Fort Wayne was a major manufacturing center of the northeastern United States. Major employers included General Electric (which was a merger of many electric companies including Fort Wayne's Jenny Electric), International Harvester (left Fort Wayne in 1983), and Tokheim gasoline pumps (sold in 2003). Phelps Dodge, Rea Wire, and Essex Wire comprised the largest concentration of copper and enamel wire manufacturing in the world. In the latter half of the 20th century, shifts in manufacturing patterns led to the reduction of the number of manufacturing plants and jobs, and Fort Wayne could be counted among the relatively stagnant "rust belt" cities of the northeast.

The Fort Wayne region has always been prominent in the automotive industry. John Lambert of nearby Ohio City, Ohio built the first gasoline-powered automobile in the U.S. in 1891. The Auburn, Cord, and Duesenberg were manufactured in nearby Auburn, Indiana. International Harvester Corporation manufactured trucks in New Haven, Indiana from 1910 until 1982, and produced the Scout, one of the first SUVs.

To support these many manufacturers, OEM manufacturers sprung up. Bowser, inventor of the gas pump, actually predated automobiles, manufacturing in Fort Wayne from 1885 to 1962. Other area factories manufacture a wide variety of components ranging from wheels to steering wheels, from transmissions to automotive trim, from hydraulic hoses to nuts and bolts.

Dudlo Wire opened on Fort Wayne's Wall Street in 1912, and a decade later, was the world's largest manufacturer of magnet wire, selling to the likes of Delco-Remy and Ford Motor Company. Dublo was bought by General Cable Corporation, with Fort Wayne operations were closing in 1933 - but Dudlo's general manager in Fort Wayne, Victor Rea, opened his own factory in a new location as Rea Magnet Wire, and Essex Wire Corporation opened up in the old Dudlo factory. In turn, to support the wire companies, other companies sprung up manufacturing diamond dies for drawing copper wire.

In recent decades growth based on a more diverse economy has resumed. General Motors opened the Truck and Bus Assembly operation in the 1980s. Fort Wayne employs many in the transportation and logistics sector, with Sirva, the Norfolk Southern Railway, along with its subsidiaries Triple Crown Services (supplying intermodal services) and TransWorks (supplying carrier and shipper transportation tools), and Kitty Hawk Air Cargo combining for more than 2,500 local jobs. National defense is also an increasingly important component of the local economy, with ITT and Raytheon employing more than 1,000 people each.

Mid-Size businesses have also shown growth throughout the Fort Wayne area. Insurance companies such as K&K Insurance, Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company, and Insurance & Risk Management, one of Indiana's largest private insurance companies, have their headquarters in the Fort Wayne area. The finance sector has grown in recent years as well, having accounting firms such as Baden Gage and Schroeder and the bank headquarters of Star Financial Group. Recently the city had lost almost 1,000 jobs due to the sale of Waterfield Mortgage Company.

A secure area at the Fort Wayne International Airport (formerly known as Baer Field) houses the Indiana Air National Guard's 122nd Fighter Wing, which flies the F-16 fighter.

While the homegrown Lincoln National Corporation has changed names and relocated its headquarters to Philadelphia, Lincoln Financial still employs about 1,500 professionals in the city and contributes millions of dollars annually to local charities and civic causes.

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Demographics

* 1860 city figures not reported.
Fort Wayne
Population by year [1]
1850 4,282
1860 *
1870 17,718
1880 25,880
1890 35,393
1900 45,115
1910 63,933
1920 85,540
1930 114,946
1940 118,410
1950 133,607
1960 161,144
1970 178,269
1980 172,196
1990 195,680
2000 205,727
2003 219,495

The first census was done in 1744 ordered by the governor of Louisiana showed that there were approximately forty Frenchmen and one thousand Miami.<ref name="IND" />

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 205,727 people, 83,333 households, and 50,666 families residing in the city. In 2003, the Census Bureau revised the population of Fort Wayne upward to 220,486 to reflect neighborhood annexation after 2000.

On January 1, 2006 an additional annexation of 13 square miles of suburban Aboite Township into the City of Fort Wayne became effective. It brought in approximately 30,000 additional people, boosting the city's overall population to an estimated 252,000.

There are 90,915 housing units at an average density of 444.6/km² (1,151.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 75.45% White, 17.38% Black or African American, 0.39% Native American, 1.56% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.91% from other races, and 2.26% from two or more races. 5.78% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 83,333 households out of which 31.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.9% are married couples living together, 14.6% have a female householder with no husband present, and 39.2% are non-families. 32.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.41 and the average family size is 3.08.

In the city the population is spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there are 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 90.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $36,518, and the median income for a family is $45,040. Males have a median income of $34,704 versus $25,062 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,517. 12.5% of the population and 9.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 17.5% of those under the age of 18 and 7.6% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

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Media

For the complete list, see List of media in Fort Wayne, Indiana

The major newspaper in the city is the independent Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, a daily that has more than twice the circulation of the city's second daily, the Knight Ridder-owned Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. The two dailies are managed under a joint operating agreement called Fort Wayne Newspapers. which is 75 percent owned by Knight Ridder and 25 percent owned by the Journal Gazette Company.

The city also is served by several free weekly and monthly alternative and neighborhood newspapers. The city also is the home of two ethnic newspaper that serve the African American community, Ink and Frost Illustrated.

Nationally, Fort Wayne is the home of the Macedonian Tribune, the oldest and largest Macedonian language publication in outside of the Balkans.

Fort Wayne is served by a handful of television stations as the 106th-largest media market. Broadcast network affiliates include WANE-TV (CBS), WFFT-TV (FOX), WISE-TV (NBC), and WPTA-TV (ABC). Fort Wayne's PBS Member station is WFWA-TV.

UPN and The WB are primarily local cable television channels also are broadcast as digital television sub-channels on the WANE and WPTA, respectively. The upcoming The CW Network and My Network TV also will be cable-only for many Fort Wayne market viewers as they are scheduled to by digital sub-channels of WISE and not broadcast on an NTSC channel.

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Sites of interest

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Architecture of note

Image:Fort-wayne-lincoln-tower.jpg

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Education

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Colleges/universities

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Public school districts

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Sports

Fort Wayne has a rich sports tradition for a city of its size. See: History of sports in Fort Wayne, Indiana for more.

On June 3, 1883, Fort Wayne hosted the Quincy Professionals for the first lighted baseball game involving a professional team (the very first lighted game of any kind was played earlier that year in Lowell, Massachusetts).

The first major league baseball game was played on May 4, 1871, between the Fort Wayne Kekiongas and the Cleveland Forest Citys. It was rained out in the top of the 9th inning, with the Kekiongas ahead 2-0. The Kekiongas franchise in the National Association of Professional Baseball Players was sold midway through the first season, and they moved to Brooklyn, where they eventually became the Trolley Dodgers and eventually today's Los Angeles Dodgers professional baseball team.

In women's sports, Fort Wayne was the home of the Daisies, the first women's professional baseball team.

According to local legend, Babe Ruth hit the longest home run ever hit, while playing an exhibition game in 1927 at League Park on North Clinton Street in Fort Wayne. Ruth belted a homer over the left-center-field fence, where it landed in an open boxcar and didn't stop until it was miles away.

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Current professional sports teams

Club Sport League Stadium (or Arena) Logo
Fort Wayne Fever Soccer Premier Development League Hefner Field Image:Fort Wayne Fever logo.png
Fort Wayne Flyers Football Minor League Football Association Dave S. Walter Memorial Stadium Image:Fort Wayne Flyers logo.png
Fort Wayne Freedom Arena football United Indoor Football Association Memorial Coliseum Image:Fort Wayne Freedom logo.png
Fort Wayne Komets Hockey United Hockey League Memorial Coliseum Image:Fort Wayne Komets.gif
Fort Wayne Wizards Baseball Midwest League Memorial Stadium Image:FortWayneWizards.png
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Transportation

Image:US-IN-Allen County Municipalities.png

Fort Wayne International Airport[8] (formerly known as Baer Field) is the only Midwest commercial airport, other than Chicago's O'Hare, with a 12,000-foot runway. A construction project now underway will strengthen the runway to make it usable by heavier airplanes that need a longer runway. Passenger service is provided by Air Wisconsin (United Express). American Eagle (American Eagle), CommutAir (Continental Connection affiliate), Atlantic Southeast (Delta Connection), Comair (Delta Connection, Mesaba (Northwest Airlink), Pinnacle (Northwest Airlink), and Sky West (United Express).

Amtrak offers daily passenger trains with a station in Waterloo (Garrett, Indiana), 24 miles north of downtown Fort Wayne along I-69.

Fort Wayne Public Transportation Corporation[9] Citilink provides bus service between downtown, urban shopping centers and area employment locations.

Major automobile highways and freeways in Fort Wayne include Interstate 69, Interstate 469, U.S. Route 24, U.S. Route 27, U.S. Route 30 (the Lincoln Highway), and U.S. Route 33.

Light rail systems started being built in Fort Wayne in 1872 with horse-drawn cars on Calhoun Street. By 1900, a number of lines had been built, the companies building them consolidated into one, and the lines electrified. The next step was the interurban, with a line to Huntington in 1901. Many interurban routes were built between 1900 and 1908, and no place was more enthused than Fort Wayne, which had the only full cloverleaf for the interurbans in the entire country. A few well-publicized wrecks and the 1910 introduction of the Model T led to a decline of passengers, but even at peak traffic in 1915, most interurban systems were unprofitable, and many filed for bankruptcy in the 1920s.

Author Mabel Thomas, writing under the pen name Harriet Housewife, wrote that in the early 1920s, she was sent as a 4-year-old across Fort Wayne to play with a friend. I boarded by myself, and told the man where I was to go on 4th Street. When we got downtown, the man told me which car to transfer to. Several hours later, my friend's mother told me that my mother had called, that she wanted me to come home, that she had a surprise for me. I again boarded by myself, went back to Hughes Street, and found a new baby brother waiting for me."

Between 1940 and 1947, the trolleys were replaced with trolleybusses, and in 1948, the system sold to the city. By 1960, the trolleybusses had all been converted to motor busses. The same electric power plan used to power the trolley system by day was one of two electric systems lighting businesses and houses by night. After years of neglect, the system was in need of major capital expenditures that the city could not afford, and Fort Wayne leased their municipal power system to rival I&M in 1975. Science Central has occupied the old City Light power plant since 1991.

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Notable natives

Many celebrities, politicians, writers, inventors and business were born or raised or made their mark in history while living in Fort Wayne, Indiana. For the complete listing, see: List of famous people from Fort Wayne, Indiana.<ref name="FW">Willis, Wanda (2002) "Haunted Hoosier Trails: A Guide to Indiana's Famous Folklore Spooky Sites". Guild Press Emmis Publishing, L.P. p.45. ISBN 1-57860-115-0.</ref>

Perhaps one of the most enduring famous residents of Fort Wayne was pioneer horticulturalist and Swedenborgian missionary, John Chapman, who is better known in American folklore as Johnny Appleseed.

A regional center of the arts, Fort Wayne has been the birthplace of stars of Broadway, film and television. These include film actress Carole Lombard, and television actors Shelley Long of Cheers and Dick York of Bewitched.

Fashion designer Bill Blass was born in Fort Wayne, as was author and mythology expert Edith Hamilton, and her sister, Dr. Alice Hamilton.

Many business leaders were born or raised in Fort Wayne, including Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's International and Fred Zollner, industrialist, founder of the National Basketball Association and the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, later to become the Detroit Pistons.

Fort Wayne native who entered politics include former U.S. Surgeon General Leonard Andrew Scheele, former U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia E. Ross Adair, and former United States Secretary of the Treasury and first Comptroller of the Currency, Hugh McCulloch, namesake of Fort Wayne's McCulloch Park.

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Trivia

During its history, the town was renamed from Kekionga to Fort Miamis, Fort Miami, French Town, Kisakon, Miami Town, Omee Town, Post Miami, and Twightwee Village in part because it was a place where different colonies settled althrough history.<ref name="FW" />

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Religious centers

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Cultural impact

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Film/TV shot in Fort Wayne

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Famous fictional characters from Fort Wayne

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Fiction set in Fort Wayne

  • Richard Bach's 1977 book Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah is set in the mystical hills east of Fort Wayne, Indiana. East of Fort Wayne is the remnants of the Black Swamp, the flattest land in Indiana and Ohio.

An episode of the WB's Supernatural sent the stars on a search for the source of the original "Bloody Mary" mirror in Fort Wayne.

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Sister cities

Fort Wayne has three sister citiesas designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI) and Fort Wayne Sister Cities International (FWSCI):

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References

  • Bradley, George K., Fort Wayne and Wabash Valley trolleys, Central Electric Railfans' Association, 1983, ISBN 0915348225
  • Griswold, Bert J., Fort Wayne, gateway of the West, AMS Press, 1973, ISBN 0404071333
  • Hawfield, Michael C., Fort Wayne Cityscapes: Highlights of a Community's History, Windsor Publications, 1988, ISBN 0897812441
  • Martone, Michael, Fort Wayne is seventh on Hitler's list: Indiana stories, Indiana University Press, 1993, ISBN 0253336872
  • Paddock, Geoff, Headwaters Park: Fort Wayne's Lasting Legacy, Arcadia Publishing, 2002, ISBN 0738519715
  • Thornborough, Gayle, Letter Book of the Indian Agency At Fort Wayne 1809-1815, Indiana Historical Society, 1961

<references/>

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External links

The following links are references for more information or provided source material for the information provided in the above article:

Government Web Sites

Business and Commerce

Culture

Professional Media

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