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 seat of Allen County. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is 18 miles (29 km) west of the Ohio border and 50 miles (80 km) south of the Michigan border. With an estimated population of 258,522 in 2014, Fort Wayne is the 77th most populous city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana, after Indianapolis. It is the principal city of the Fort Wayne metropolitan area, consisting of Allen, Wells, and Whitley counties, a combined population of 419,453 as of 2011. In addition to the three core counties, the combined statistical area (CSA) includes Adams, DeKalb, Huntington, Noble, and Steuben counties, with an estimated population of 615,077.

Under the direction of American Revolutionary War statesman Anthony Wayne, the United States Army built Fort Wayne last in a series of forts near the Miami tribe village of Kekionga in 1794. Named in Wayne's honor, the European-American settlement developed at the confluence of the St. Joseph River, St. Marys River, and Maumee River as a trading post for pioneers. The village was platted in 1823 and underwent tremendous growth after completion of the Wabash and Erie Canal and advent of the railroad. Once a booming manufacturing town located in what became known as the Rust Belt, Fort Wayne's economy in the 21st century is based upon distribution, transportation and logistics, healthcare, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and financial services. The city is a center for the defense industry which employs thousands.

Fort Wayne (disambiguation)

Fort Wayne is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana.

Fort Wayne may also refer to:

Fort Wayne (fort)

Coordinates: 41°5′7.91″N 85°8′10.78″W / 41.0855306°N 85.1363278°W / 41.0855306; -85.1363278 Fort Wayne in modern Fort Wayne, Indiana, was established by Captain Jean François Hamtramck under orders from General "Mad" Anthony Wayne as part of the campaign against the Indians of the area. It was named after General Wayne, who was victorious at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. Wayne may have chosen the name himself—the fort was dedicated the day after he left it. The fort was officially occupied by the army on October 21, 1794. The fort was a basic stockade with few buildings, and was located near the present intersection of Berry and Clay streets.

History

Fort Wayne was the successor of several previous military outposts at the location. Jean Baptiste Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes built the first fortified trading post on the site in 1704 called Fort Miami.

Fort Wayne

Wayne's Legion arrived at Kekionga on 17 September 1794, and Wayne personally selected the site for the new U.S. fort. Wayne wanted a strong fort built, capable of withstanding not only an Indian uprising, but a possible attack by the British from Fort Detroit. The fort was finished by 17 October, and was capable of withstanding 24-pound cannons. It was named Fort Wayne and placed under command of Major Jean François Hamtramck, who had been commandant of Fort Knox in Vincennes. The fort was officially dedicated 22 October (the fourth anniversary of Harmar's Defeat), and the day is considered the founding of the modern city of Fort Wayne.

Fort Wayne (Indian Territory)

Indian Territory by Lt. Col. R.B. Mason of the 1st Dragoons. Originally, Captain John Stuart of the 7th Infantry was ordered to build the fort (then designated as Camp Illinois) on the south bank of the Illinois River headwaters. Before its completion, new orders changed the location to Spavinaw Creek, nearer the Arkansas – Indian Territory border. Lt. Colonel Richard B. Mason and the First Dragoons were tasked to perform the relocation in 1840. Named for Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne, it was intended to supplant Fort Coffee as a link in the great line of forts protecting the American West. Specifically, it was to protect a nearby military road and relieve residents of northwestern Arkansas of fears of depredations by Cherokees living in Indian Territory. The army abandoned the fort in 1842 due to the high incidence of malaria suffered by soldiers assigned there, and turned it over to the Cherokee Nation. It was used thereafter by Stand Watie and his followers until the Civil War Battle of Old Fort Wayne in October, 1862.