Fort Wayne, Indiana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Ft. Wayne, IN)
Jump to: navigation, search
City of Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne skyline
Fort Wayne skyline
Flag of City of Fort Wayne
Flag		 Official seal of City of Fort Wayne
Seal
Nickname: The Summit City, The City That Saved Itself [1]
Motto: Ke Ki On Ga
Location in the state of Indiana, USA
Location in the state of Indiana, USA
Coordinates: 41°04′50″N 85°08′21″W / 41.08056, -85.13917
Country United States
State Indiana
County Allen
Founded October 22, 1794
Incorporated February 22, 1840
Government
 - Mayor Graham Richard (D)
 - City Clerk Sandra Kennedy (D)
 - City Council John N. Crawford (R)
Samuel J. Talarico, Jr (R)
John Shoaff (D)
Tom Smith (R)
Donald J. Schmidt (R)
Tom Didier (R)
Tom Hayhurst (D)
Tim Pape (D)
Glynn A. Hines (D)
Area
 - City 79.12 sq mi (204.92 km²)
 - Land 78.95 sq mi (204.48 km²)
 - Water 0.15 sq mi (0.4 km²)
 - Urban 135.25 sq mi (350.30 km²)
 - Metro 1,368 sq mi (3,554 km²)
Elevation 810 ft (247 m)
Population (2005)
 - City 223,341
 - Density 2,605.7/sq mi (1,006.1/km²)
 - Metro 565,606
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP Code 468
Area code(s) 260
FIPS code 18-25000GR2
GNIS feature ID 0434689GR3
Website: http://www.cityoffortwayne.org/

Fort Wayne is a city in northeastern Indiana, USA and the county seat of Allen County. Fort Wayne is Indiana's second largest city after Indianapolis. As of September 30, 2007, the city has an estimated population of 252,000, making it the 70th largest city in the U.S.[1]. In 2005, the combined metropolitan population was 565,606.[2] Nearly equidistant from Chicago, Cincinnati, and Detroit, it has historically served as a transportation and communications hub for the region, and an incubator for many products and companies.

Fort Wayne is named after General "Mad" Anthony Wayne. The United States Army built this last in a series of forts near the community of Kekionga, the largest of all Miami villages, which is located where the St. Joseph River and St. Marys River join to form the Maumee River.[3]


Contents

See also Forts of Fort Wayne, Indiana

The Miami nation established the first settlement at the Maumee, St. Joseph and St. Mary's Rivers in the mid 17th century. Called Kekionga, the village was the traditional capital of the Miami nation and related Algonquian tribes. Historians believe that around 1676, French priests and missionaries visited the Miami on their way back from a mission at Lake Michigan. In 1680, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle sent a letter to the Governor-General of Canada stating he also stopped there. In the 1680s French traders established a post at the location because it was the main portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. The Maumee River is approximately ten miles (16 kilometers) away from the Little River branch of the Wabash River, which flows, in turn, into the Ohio River.[4]

In 1696, Comte de Frontenac appointed Jean Baptiste Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes as commander of the French outpost in Miami country.[5] 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. In 1721, a few years after Bissot's death, Fort Miamis was replaced by Fort St. Philippe des Miamis.[6]

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.[6]

In 1790, President George Washington ordered the United States Army to secure Indiana. Three battles were fought in Kekionga against Little Turtle and the Miami Confederacy. The Miami forces defeated American army in the first two battles. Anthony Wayne led a third expedition, destroying the village while its warriors were away. When the tribe returned to their destroyed village, Little Turtle decided to negotiate peace. After General Wayne refused it, the tribe was advanced 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. [7]

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

The façade of the recently renovated and expanded Grand Wayne Center, looking east from West Jefferson Blvd.
The façade of the recently renovated and expanded Grand Wayne Center, looking east from West Jefferson Blvd.

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.

In recent history, the focus of the community has been the concern of breathing new life into a decaying downtown, as shopping centers and residents have slowly drifted to the suburbs throughout the last decades of the 20th century, joining many rustbelt cities in the Midwest sharing this same problem. The city has made significant strides in this venture however, with the newly renovated and expanded main library branch, the renovation and expansion of the Grand Wayne Convention Center, and most recently, it was announced that plans for a new baseball stadium, condominums, shops, and hotel were to be built in downtown Fort Wayne. Though it has been a controversial plan, the project was voted by city council to begin construction in the summer of 2007. This project has come to be known as the Harrison Square project.

Fort Wayne, like most of the Midwest, has a humid continental climate. Summers are hot and humid, and winters are generally cold with frequent snowfall. Precipitation is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. Severe weather is not uncommon, and tornadoes occasionally occur in the area, particularly in the spring and summer. The most severe tornado, an F2, struck portions of northern Fort Wayne on May 26, 2001, causing extensive damage but only minor injuries.[8]

The National Weather Service, which maintains an observation station in the control tower of Fort Wayne International Airport (elevation 791 feet), reports the record highest temperature in the city was 106 °F (41 °C) on July 14, 1936, and June 29, 1988, and the record lowest temperature was −24 °F (−31.1 °C) on January 12, 1918. The wettest month on record was 11.00 inches in July 1986. The greatest 24-hour rainfall was 4.93 inches on August 1, 1926. The snowiest month on record was 29.5 inches in January 1982. The greatest 24-hour snowfall was 12.6 inches on March 10, 1964.

The average annual precipitation (based on the period 1971-2000) ranges from 36.55 inches at the airport to 37.90 inches at the Fort Wayne Disposal Plant (elevation 740 feet). Comparison of observations at the "official" stations with those taken at local television stations (WANE-TV and WPTA-TV), as well as volunteer observers and National Weather Service "spotters," has shown that rainfall can vary dramatically during summer thunderstorms because of typically scattered precipitation throughout the city.

Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Rec High °F 69 73 82 88 94 106 103 101 100 90 79 71
Norm High °F 31 35.4 47.4 59.8 71.6 80.6 84.3 81.8 75.4 63 48.5 35.8
Norm Low °F 16.1 19.2 28.8 38.2 49.1 58.8 62.5 60.4 52.8 41.8 32.7 22.3
Rec Low °F -22 -18 -10 7 27 38 44 38 29 19 -1 -18
Precip (in) 2.05 1.94 2.86 3.54 3.75 4.04 3.58 3.6 2.81 2.63 2.98 2.77
Source: US Travel Weather [9]

Fort Wayne suffered disastrous floods in 1982.
Fort Wayne suffered disastrous floods in 1982.
St. Joseph River in Fort Wayne. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has constructed a flood wall along the river.
St. Joseph River in Fort Wayne. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has constructed a flood wall along the river.

For a regional summit, Fort Wayne is fairly flat. There are some local wetlands and gravel pits. A few small hills and depressions are found around the region, and some small bluffs can be found north of the city proper on the St. Joseph River. West of the St. Joseph River and St. Mary's River is 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.

The city has become known for frequent devastating floods due to the vast majority of the developed poplation in such close proximity to the three rivers or its smaller tributaries. The worst recorded floods have been in 1913, 1982 (in which then-President Ronald Reagan visited the city to survey the damage), and 2003. Since the 1982 flood, miles of levees, dikes, and river-widening by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as well as the addition of Headwaters Park near the confluence of the rivers, has contributed to protecting the city against future floods.

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

Under the so-called Unigov provision of Indiana Law, City-County consolidation would have been automatic when Fort Wayne's population exceeded 250,000 and became a first class city in Indiana.[10] Fort Wayne nearly met the state requirements for first class city designation in 2006 when the populous portions of Aboite Township were annexed.[11] However, a 2004 legislative change raised the population requirements from 250,000 to 600,000, which ensured Indianapolis' status as the only first class city in Indiana.[12]

See List of Fort Wayne, Indiana mayors

Fort Wayne's mayor is Democrat Graham Richard, who has served in the post since January 2000. In 2003, he was elected to a second term which ends December 31, 2007. He is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition,[13] an organization formed in 2006 and co-chaired by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston mayor Thomas Menino. He has announced he will not seek re-election in the 2007 city election.

The Fort Wayne City 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:

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

In the mid-20th century, Fort Wayne was a valuable manufacturing center of the northeastern United States. Major employers included General Electric, Westinghouse, International Harvester, and Tokheim gasoline pumps. Also, Phelps Dodge, Rea Wire, and Essex Wire comprised the largest concentration of copper and enamel wire manufacturing in the world at their Fort Wayne plants, dubbing the city as the "Magnet Wire Capital of 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. However, as of 2006 the top employer of full-time employees in Fort Wayne is General Motors Fort Wayne Assembly (2981 employees) where the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks are assembled.[14]

Reflecting the transition of the city's economy to health services, aerospace and communications engineering, insurance, and consumer services, other non-governmental employers within the top ten (ranked by number of full-time employees in 2006) are: Lutheran Health Network, Parkview Health Systems, ITT Aerospace & Communications Division, Lincoln Financial Group, Verizon, and Shambaugh & Son, L.P.

It's also worth noting the internationally recognized corporations who have headquartered in the Fort Wayne metropolitan area; Vera Bradley Desings, Inc., Sweetwater Sound, Inc., DeBrand Fine Chocolates, Centennial Wireless, and Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company.

Fort Wayne
Population by year[15]
Rank[16]
1744[6] 1,040
1833[17] 300
1850 4,282
1860 10,388
1870 17,718
1880 25,880
1890 35,393 83
1900 45,115 74
1910 63,933 86
1920 85,540 83
1930 114,946 89
1940 118,410 83
1950 133,607 72
1960 161,144 79
1970 178,269 72
1980 172,196 80
1990 195,680 99
2000 205,727 84
2006 248,637 70

The first census, performed in 1744 on the order by the governor of Louisiana, revealed a population of approximately forty Frenchmen and one thousand Miami.[6]

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 205,727 people, 83,333 households, and 50,666 families residing in the city. There are 90,915 housing units at an average density of 1,151.5/sq mi (444.6/km²). 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.

The Wolf & Dessauer Department Store Santa and Reindeer light display adorns National City Center during Holiday Fest.
The Wolf & Dessauer Department Store Santa and Reindeer light display adorns National City Center during Holiday Fest.

Fort Wayne is a mecca for festivals, especially between the spring and summer months, some celebrating the varied ethnic backgrounds of the community, others, saluting the local cuisine. Here is just a sampling of the dozens of festivals observed throughout the year.

Fort Wayne has a large number of bars and music venues. However, the night life in Fort Wayne does not center around the downtown area like most cities, instead, there is a noticeable concentration in the north central quadrant of the city, near the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Although downtown Fort Wayne is home to the Embassy Theatre, Arts United Center, and Grand Wayne Center, the downtown night life is generally located on the small strip named Columbia Street, or "The Landing", near the City County Building. A few dance clubs and the corner bar "Columbia Street West", which is home to the Midwest Original Music Showcase (MOMS) occupy this area.

Located in downtown Fort Wayne, the Allen County Courthouse is listed as a National Historic Landmark. Its attached park, the Courthouse Green, is a gathering place for political demonstrations.
Located in downtown Fort Wayne, the Allen County Courthouse is listed as a National Historic Landmark. Its attached park, the Courthouse Green, is a gathering place for political demonstrations.

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

For a mid-size city, Fort Wayne takes great pride in its award-winning and unusually extensive park system. Fort Wayne's first park (and smallest), the 0.2 acre (800 m²) Old Fort Park, was established in 1863. The newest developed park includes Buckner Park, established in 2004. Franke Park is the largest city park, at 316.4 acres (1.3 km²), also the home of the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo. Fort Wayne also boasts the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory downtown, which contains a seasonal showcase garden, a tropical oasis display, with waterfall, and Sonoran Desert display. As of 2007, the city had 84 parks and dozens of smaller community parks and playgrounds, covering 2,805 acres (8.9 km²).

In more recent decades, Fort Wayne has made strides in developing its valuable riverbanks with new paths and paved walking trails, known as the Rivergreenway Trail System, not only in an effort to beautify the riverfronts, but to also promote healthier living habits for residents around the community. The Rivergreenway Trail System currently encompasses around 20 miles (32 km) throughout Allen County. Fort Wayne also has a number of nature preserves in the area including Eagle Marsh, Fox Island, Matea Parks, among others.[18]

It was announced November of 2007, that the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) awarded the City of Fort Wayne nearly one-million dollars to aid in construction that will soon begin on a new extension of the Rivergreenway, called the Pufferbelly Trail, that will eventually link the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo in Franke Park and the northern suburbs of Fort Wayne with the rest of the trail system. The final plan includes joining Pokagon State Park near Angola, Indiana in the north, and Ouabache State Park in the south near Bluffton, Indiana.[19]

As of 2007, Fort Wayne had been part of the Tree City USA program for 17 years.

Built in 1930, the Lincoln Bank Tower was the tallest building in the state until 1962.
Built in 1930, the Lincoln Bank Tower was the tallest building in the state until 1962.

Fort Wayne and its suburbs are the home to a number of notable architectural structures, including:

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 Ogden Newspaper Group-owned Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. The two dailies have separate editorial departments, but under a joint operating agreement, printing, advertising, and circulation are handled by Fort Wayne Newspapers, Inc., which is 75 percent owned by the News-Sentinel, 25 percent owned by the Journal Gazette. Also, launched in 2004, Fort Wayne Magazine is a community magazine published on a monthly basis devoted entirely to local stories, relating to topics from cuisine to the arts. [2]

The city also is served by several free weekly and monthly alternative and neighborhood newspapers, including two that serve the African American community, Ink and Frost Illustrated. Another independently owned free entertainment weekly, Whatzup Magazine, has flourished, boasting an average weekly readership of around 50,000. Whatzup also organizes a popular Battle of the Bands event through each summer, as well as a local art & entertainment awards show called The Whammies.

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

WGL, Fort Wayne's first radio station, began broadcasting in 1924; it currently broadcasts "oldies" and CBS newscasts. WOWO, the city's second radio station, began broadcasting in 1925; it is now a news and information station, featuring local and network news from Fox and ABC. The city has two National Public Radio stations, WBNI and WBOI, both on FM.

Fort Wayne's first television station was WKJG-TV, which began broadcasting in 1953. Today the city 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 (ABC). Fort Wayne's PBS Member station is WFWA. Religious broadcasters include WINM and W07CL.

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

See also: History of sports in Fort Wayne, Indiana

The history of sports in Fort Wayne reflects a rich sports tradition for a city of its stature.

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 ninth 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 the team moved to Brooklyn, New York to become the Brooklyn Dodgers, eventually becoming today's Los Angeles Dodgers MLB team.[citation needed]

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 recorded, while playing an exhibition game in 1927 at League Park on North Clinton Street in Fort Wayne. Babe 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.

Recently, Fort Wayne was rated the "Best Place in the Country for Minor League Sports" in a 2007 issue of Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal. [3]

Club Sport League Venue
Fort Wayne Fever Soccer Premier Development League Hefner Stadium
Fort Wayne Flyers Football Minor League Football Association Dave S. Walter Memorial Stadium
Fort Wayne Freedom Indoor football Continental Indoor Football League Memorial Coliseum
Fort Wayne Komets Hockey International Hockey League Memorial Coliseum
Fort Wayne Wizards Baseball Midwest League Memorial Stadium
Fort Wayne Mad Ants Basketball NBA Development League Memorial Coliseum

Fort Wayne Int'l Airport entrance.
Fort Wayne Int'l Airport entrance.

Fort Wayne International Airport (formerly known as Fort Wayne Municipal Airport from 1946-1991 and Baer Field during World War II) is the only Midwest commercial airport, other than Chicago's O'Hare, with a 12,000-foot (3,700 m) runway. As of April 2006, a construction project was underway to strengthen the runway to make it usable by heavier airplanes requiring a longer runway.

As of 2007, passenger service was provided by Air Wisconsin (United Express), Allegiant Air, American Eagle (American Eagle), CommutAir (Continental Connection affiliate), Atlantic Southeast (Delta Connection), Comair (Delta Connection), Mesaba (Northwest Airlink), Pinnacle (Northwest Airlink), and SkyWest (United Express).

Fort Wayne International Airport is also the homebase of the 122d Fighter Wing (the "Blacksnakes") of the Indiana Air National Guard. F-16 fighter jets fly from a secure area of the airport away from publicly accessible facilities.

North of Fort Wayne, Smith Field serves as an airport primarily used for small aircrafts and pilot education and training.

Fort Wayne is the largest city in Allen County, Indiana. This map shows its relations with nearby municipalities and major roadways. Unincorporated towns are marked with a dark red dot.
Fort Wayne is the largest city in Allen County, Indiana. This map shows its relations with nearby municipalities and major roadways. Unincorporated towns are marked with a dark red dot.

Major automobile highways and freeways in the Fort Wayne area include Interstate 69, Interstate 469 (named the Ronald Reagan Expressway in 2005[20]), U.S. Route 24, U.S. Route 27, U.S. Route 30 (the Lincoln Highway), and U.S. Route 33. Fort Wayne is served by a single interstate highway (Interstate 69), which serves as the northern and western portion of the beltway around the metropolitan area (Interstate 469 serves as the southern and eastern portions of that beltway).

Inside the beltway, there are no freeways. With one exception (the intersection of Coliseum Boulevard and East Washington Boulevard), all major arterial roadway intersections within the beltway are traffic signal controlled at-grade intersections. This includes intersections along four-lane Airport Expressway. This expressway provides quick and easy access to Fort Wayne International Airport from the inner city and the fast-growing southwestern suburbs (including the General Motors Fort Wayne Assembly).

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

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, Indiana 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 interurban 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.

Between 1940 and 1947, the trolleys were replaced with trolleybuses, and in 1948, the system was sold to the city. By 1960, the trolleybuses had all been converted to motor buses. 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.

Amtrak does not offer service to Fort Wayne directly. The nearest station to the city is in Waterloo, Indiana, 24 miles (38 km) north of downtown Fort Wayne.

  • Luthern Hospital of Indiana, located on the southwestern fringe of the city, contains an expansive campus of a wide range of health facilities and ever-expanding wings. Originally located in midtown Fort Wayne, the hospital moved complete operations to its present location in 1992. Lutheran Health Network facilities include the Lutheran Heart Pavillion (which contributed to the hospital being ranked as the "Number One Hospital in Indiana for Overall Cardiac Services" by an independent national study in 2004[4]), the new 48,000 square-foot Lutheran Cancer Center, the Lutheran Musculoskeletal Center, part of the fast-growing orthopedic services being offered in the region, and finally the Lutheran Children's Hospital.

The Lutheran Health Network also serves a 130-mile radius with emergency air services provided by the Lutheran Air Helicopter.

  • Parkview Hospital/Parkview North Hospital, the first campus is located in northeast-central Fort Wayne, while the Parkview North campus is located on the northern fringe of Fort Wayne at the I-469/I-69 interchange. Parkview Hospital was founded in 1878. Currently, the northeast-central campus is downsizing and moving its central operations to Parkview North Hospital, keeping behind the only Level II Trauma Center in Northeastern Indiana open at the original campus. Parkview North Hospital was opened in 2002 to serve the escalating population on the north side of the city. Also at the Parkview North Campus is the Parkview Orthopaedic Hospital, which opened in 2001, and was was one of the very first of its kind in the nation at the time. Ground was broken in 2006 for the Parkview Women and Children's Hospital, also at the Parkview North campus. Facilities include the 100,000 square foot Parkview Heart Institute, which opened in 2005, the Parkview Comprehensive Cancer Center (with the addition of the CyberKnife [5]), Parkview Research Center, Sleep Disorders Center, Parkview Behavioral Health Center, and Regional Children's Center.

Like Lutheran, Parkview Health Systems has offered emergency air services since 1989 via two choppers, Samaritans.

  • St. Joseph Hospital is located in downtown Fort Wayne. The hospital was originally founded in 1869, but didn't move to its current campus until 1929. Known for its nationally-accredited burn unit, the unit was first opened in 1974, and has since become the region's primary burn center. In 2006, St. Joe received accreditation by the Society of Chest Pain Centers for the use of its Chest Pain Center. In 2007, the hospital announced plans for a new 29,000-square-foot medical office building at its downtown site, and expansion of the burn unit. St. Joseph Hospital is a part of the Lutheran Health Network.
  • Dupont Hospital is located on the northern fringe of Fort Wayne, near the I-469/I-69 interchange. Ground was broken on the hospital in January of 2000, and the official ribbon-cutting occurred in April of 2001. After high satisfaction rates from patients, and numerous accolades since its opening, Dupont Hospital officials announced plans for a 102,000-square-foot expansion in 2005. Recently, Dupont Hospital has made a name for itself in the "Five-Star Service" and luxury family birthing suites offered in the Dupont Birthplace. Ownership of the hospital is a joint venture between the Lutheran Health Network and more than 260 area physicians.

The above map shows which school district serve various parts of Fort Wayne. The blue section is Northwest Allen County Schools, the yellow section is East Allen County Schools, the dark pink section is Fort Wayne Community Schools and the green section is Southwest Allen County Schools.
The above map shows which school district serve various parts of Fort Wayne. The blue section is Northwest Allen County Schools, the yellow section is East Allen County Schools, the dark pink section is Fort Wayne Community Schools and the green section is Southwest Allen County Schools.

Fort Wayne is the home of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), with an enrollment of 11,943 is the 5th-largest public university campus in Indiana. The city also holds the main campus of the Northeast Region of Ivy Tech Community College, the second-largest public community college campus in the state. Indiana University (IU) maintains the third public higher educational facility in the city with the Fort Wayne Center for Medical Education, a branch of the IU School of Medicine.

Fort Wayne's private colleges and universities include religious-affiliates and secular institutions. Religious-affiliated schools include the University of Saint Francis (Roman Catholic), Concordia Theological Seminary (Lutheran), an Adult Learning Center of Concordia University Wisconsin (Lutheran) and Taylor University Fort Wayne (Evangelical Christian) and Indiana Wesleyan University (Wesleyan Church). Non-religious colleges and universities include the Indiana Institute of Technology (IIT) as well as regional branches of Tri-State University, Indiana Business College and International Business College.

As the largest city in Allen County, Fort Wayne geographic boundaries extend into each of the four elementary, middle and high school districts in the county. Most of Fort Wayne Community Schools is located within the Fort Wayne city limits; the district also extends into Pleasant Township on the south and into unincorporated areas of Wayne, St. Joseph and Washington Townships. Most of southeastern and parts of eastern Fort Wayne lies within the East Allen County Schools district, while the northern and northwestern part of the city lies in the Northwest Allen County Schools district. The 2006 annexation of a large swath of Aboite Township extended Fort Wayne into the remaining school district in the county, Southwest Allen County Schools.

The residents of Fort Wayne, Allen County, and surrounding region are serviced by the Allen County Public Library (ACPL) system, comprised of fourteen branches, offering a multitude of materials since it was founded in 1895 as the Fort Wayne Public Library.

The entire library system was recently overhauled bringing all branches up-to-code with the 21st century demands of its patrons. In late 2002, the expansion project on all branches came underway, and by late 2006, all branches had been finished and re-opened, with the centerpiece of the project, the main library branch, opening last. In January of 2007, a community grand opening occurred at the new main library, now at 367,000 square feet (34,100 m²), featuring an art gallery, underground parking garage, café, Great Hall, and community theatre.

According to the ACPL's website, in 2001, the main library branch was the eleventh-busiest main library in means of circulation, and sixteenth in number of visits per year in the country. [6] According to data from 2005, 5,405,090 materials were borrowed by patrons, and around 2,506,718 people visited the library system.

The main library branch is also renowned for having the second largest genealogy department in the United States, the Fred J. Reynolds Historical Genealogy Collection. [7]

Also, Fort Wayne has been cited recently as the "Best Read City in the United States" by Places Rated Almanac. [8]

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Fort Wayne.
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Fort Wayne.

Beside its "Summit City" nickname, Fort Wayne also is informally called the "City of Churches" by some of its residents; a nickname that stretches back to the late 1800s when the city was the hub of regional Catholic and Lutheran faiths. Until the building of the Lincoln Bank Tower in 1929, church and cathedral spires dominated the city's skyline.

The Missouri Synod of the Lutheran Church was constituted in St. Paul's Lutheran Church, then known as St. Pauls Evangelich Lutheranische Gemeinde, in the 1830s.

Fort Wayne is the principle city of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend whose region includes northeastern and north central Indiana. The principle cathedral of the diocese is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, located in downtown Fort Wayne.

As of May 2006, three national Christian congregations were headquartered in Fort Wayne: the Fundamental Baptist Fellowship Association, Missionary Church, Inc. and the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches (formerly Evangelical Mennonite Church).

Johnny Appleseed, Harper’s Magazine, 1871
Johnny Appleseed, Harper’s Magazine, 1871

See also List of famous people from Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Many celebrities, politicians, writers, inventors, and businesspeople were born, raised, or made their mark in history while living in Fort Wayne. 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, buried in Johnny Appleseed Park. Another famous resident (but also not a native) of Fort Wayne was Philo Farnsworth, best known for inventing the first completely electronic television.

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, Dan Butler of Frasier, Dick York of Bewitched, and Jenna Fisher of The Office, Cameron Scher of Beerfest. 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 industrialist Fred Zollner, founder of the National Basketball Association and the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (later renamed the Detroit Pistons).

Well-known athletic figures can also trace their beginnings to Fort Wayne, such as 11-time Pro Bowl NFL Player Rod Woodson, former baseball player for the Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies, and now current manager of the Cleveland Indians, Eric Wedge, and U.S. National Soccer Team player DaMarcus Beasley.

Fort Wayne natives 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, the namesake of Fort Wayne's McCulloch Park.

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

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

  • Bradley, George K., Fort Wayne and Wabash Valley trolleys, Central Electric Railfans' Association, 1983, ISBN 0-915348-22-5
  • Griswold, Bert J., Fort Wayne, gateway of the West, AMS Press, 1973, ISBN 0-404-07133-3
  • Hawfield, Michael C., Fort Wayne Cityscapes: Highlights of a Community's History, Windsor Publications, 1988, ISBN 0-89781-244-1
  • Martone, Michael, Fort Wayne is seventh on Hitler's list: Indiana stories, Indiana University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-253-33687-2
  • Paddock, Geoff, Headwaters Park: Fort Wayne's Lasting Legacy, Arcadia Publishing, 2002, ISBN 0-7385-1971-5
  • Thornborough, Gayle, Letter Book of the Indian Agency At Fort Wayne 1809-1815, Indiana Historical Society, 1961
  • Community Magazine segment of the 2006 Verizon Directory

  1. ^ Shawgo, Ron, We're No. 70: City population leap-frogs 15 spots in 1st census list since adding Aboite, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, June 28, 2007. (Accessed July 5, 2007)
  2. ^ Shawgo, Ron, City count approaches 250,000, census says, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, June 21, 2006. (Accessed June 21, 2006)
  3. ^ Brice, Wallace A. (1868) "History of Fort Wayne, from the Earliest Known Accounts of this Point to the Present Period". D.W. Jones & son.
  4. ^ Goodrich, De Witt C. and Charles Richard Tuttle (1875) An Illustrated History of the State of Indiana. (NP:R. S. Peale & Co., ND).
  5. ^ "Vincennes, Sieur de (Jean Baptiste Bissot)," The Encyclopedia Americana (Danbury, CT: Grolier, 1990), 28:130.
  6. ^ a b c d Peckham, Howard Henry (2003) "Indiana: A History". W.W. Norton ISBN 0-252-07146-8.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ National Weather Service
  9. ^ Fort Wayne Weather. US Travel Weather. Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
  10. ^ Indiana Code 36-3-1. State of Indiana. Retrieved on 2007-03-31.
  11. ^ "City planner says state law, not politics, was guide", The News-Sentinel. Retrieved on 2007-03-31. 
  12. ^ Senate Bill No. 225. State of Indiana. Retrieved on 2007-03-31.
  13. ^ Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Coalition Members. Retrieved on June 12, 2007
  14. ^ Allen County Major Employers. IPFW Community Research Institute (2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-05.
  15. ^ Fort Wayne QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2007-03-31.
  16. ^ Population of the 100 Largest Cities. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2007-03-31.
  17. ^ City of Fort Wayne Website. Retrieved on 2007-03-31.
  18. ^ About the Rivergreenway. Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation. Retrieved on 2007-11-30.
  19. ^ Area nature trails get $3.3 million. Fort Wayne-Journal Gazette. Retrieved on 2007-11-15.
  20. ^ Indiana 114th Senate Concurrent Resolution #11. State of Indiana (2005). Retrieved on 2007-07-19.

 Indiana Portal
v • d • e
Municipalities and communities of
Allen County, Indiana
County seat: Fort Wayne
Cities and towns
Map of Indiana highlighting Allen County
Townships