Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne (
IPA: ) is a
city and the
county seat of
Allen County in northeastern
Indiana,
USA with a city population of an estimated 248,341, as of
2005;
[ Shawgo, Ron, City count approaches 250,000, census says, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, June 21, 2006. (Accessed June 21, 2006) ] and a
MSA population of 502,141, as of the
2004 update of the
2000 census. Nearly equidistant from
Detroit, Michigan,
Chicago, Illinois and
Cincinnati, Ohio, it has historically served as a transportation and communications center for the region, and an incubator for many products and companies, much more so than its size might suggest.
Fort Wayne was named after Gen.
"Mad" Anthony Wayne. The United States Army built this last of of a series of forts near the community of
Kekionga, largest of all
Miami villages, where the
St. Joseph River and
St. Marys River join to form the
Maumee River.
[Brice, Wallace A. (1868) "History of Fort Wayne, from the Earliest Known Accounts of this Point to the Present Period". D.W. Jones & son.]See also Forts of Fort Wayne, IndianaThe
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 traditional capital of Miami nation and related
Algonquian tribes. Around
1676,
French priests and missionaries are thought to have stopped in Miami's tribes on their way back from a mission at Lake Michigan. In the year
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 away from the Little River branch of the
Wabash River, which flows, in turn, into the
Ohio River.
[Goodrich, De Witt C. and Charles Richard Tuttle (1875) An Illustrated History of the State of Indiana. (NP:R. S. Peale & Co., ND).] In 1696,
Comte de Frontenac appointed
Jean Baptiste Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes as commander of the French outpost in Miami country.
["Vincennes, Sieur de (Jean Baptiste Bissot)," The Encyclopedia Americana (Danbury, CT: Grolier, 1990), 28:130.] 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.
[Peckham, Howard Henry (2003) "Indiana: A History". W.W. Norton ISBN 0-252-07146-8.]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.
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 acquired its name after the general.
[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.]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.
Nicknames and other monikers
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.
Although in more recent years, Fort Wayne has been known primarily by its "Summit City" nickname, the city has garnered other monikers throughout its history.
Originally a portage, later a canal and rail center, located on the first coast-to-coast paved highway, Fort Wayne was "Gateway to the West". Located on the continental divide between the
Great Lakes and the
Gulf of Mexico watersheds, Fort Wayne is the "Summit City". A home of many and diverse denominations, and enough wealth to build facilities for them, Fort Wayne is the "City of Churches". Look Magazine called Fort Wayne the "America's happiest Town".
[ Kevin Leninger, Not the brightest bulb in the box], Fort Wayne News Sentinel, January 12, 2005. (Accessed August 3, 2006) ]Fort Wayne earned another nickname as "The City That Saved Itself" when volunteers took extraordinary steps in flood fighting in 1982.
[ Barbara Johnstone, Stories, Community, and Place: Narratives for Middle America, Indiana University Press, 1990. ] Fort Wayne has saved itself economically as well. In the 1980s, major employer
International Harvester imploded, closing their New Haven plant.
Lincoln National Corporation, an insurance giant, left the city of its founding and moved to
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to be closer to capital markets. Magnavox moved their consumer electronics business to Tennessee. Bowmar, inventor of the handheld calculator, filed for bankruptcy in 1975. Despite all those setbacks, Fort Wayne has not seen major drops in population as many
Rust belt cities have.
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.
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.
Climate
Due to its location, Fort Wayne has typical continental interior weather with cold winters and hot, wet summers.
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year | Avg high °F
(°C) | 32
(0) | 35
(2) | 46
(8) | 60
(15) | 71
(22) | 81
(27) | 84
(29) | 82
(28) | 76
(24) | 64
(18) | 49
(9) | 36
(2) | 60
(15) |
|---|
Avg low °F
(°C) | 17
(-8) | 19
(-7) | 28
(-2) | 39
(4) | 49
(9) | 59
(15) | 63
(17) | 61
(16) | 53
(12) | 42
(6) | 32
(0) | 22
(-6) | 40
(4) |
|---|
| Rainfall in. (mm) | 2.3 (58) | 2.0 (51) | 2.9 (74) | 3.6 (91) | 3.6 (91) | 3.9 (99) | 3.6 (91) | 3.3 (84) | 2.6 (66) | 2.8 (71) | 2.9 (74) | 2.6 (66) | 36.2 (919) |
|---|
:''Source:
Weatherbase.com[Fort Wayne, Indiana, Weatherbase.com (Accessed July 1, 2006)]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.
Executive - Mayor
See List of Fort Wayne, Indiana mayorsFort 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.
City Clerk
Democrat Sandra Kennedy has been Fort Wayne's city clerk since 1983.
Representatives - City Council
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:
*John N. Crawford: At-Large,
Republican*Samuel J. Talarico, Jr: At-Large,
Republican*John Shoaff: At-Large,
Democrat*Tom Smith: 1st District,
Republican*Donald J. Schmidt: 2nd District,
Republican*Tom Didier: 3rd District,
Republican*
Tom Hayhurst: 4th District,
Democrat*Tim Pape: 5th District,
Democrat*Glynn A. Hines: 6th District,
DemocratIn 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. Dudlo 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.
Publicly traded Steel Dynamics is headquartered in Fort Wayne. Privately held
OmniSource, one of the nation's largest metallurgical recyclers, is also based in Fort Wayne.
United Art and Education, a mid-sized art supply retailer opened in the 1960s in Fort Wayne, has its headquarters located on Airport Expressway. It also has eight stores throughout the Midwest, with its highest selling store located in Fort Wayne.
align=bottom|* 1860 city figures not reported. Fort Wayne
Population by year [1] |
| 1744 | 1,040 |
| 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, performed in 1744 on the order by the governor of Louisiana, revealed a population of approximately forty Frenchmen and one thousand Miami.
As of the
census of
2000, there were 205,727 people, 83,333 households, and 50,666 families residing in the city. In 2005, the Census Bureau revised the population of Fort Wayne upward to 248,341 to reflect
suburban
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.
Arts and Theatre
Fort Wayne has a rich art and theatre scene. Of the many options are the Embassy Theatre, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Scottish Rite Center, First Presbyterian Theatre, Bower North Productions, the Fort Wayne Dance Collective, Fort Wayne Mānnerchor/Damenchor, Foellinger Theatre, Arts United Center, Fort Wayne Youtheatre, Fort Wayne Civic Theatre, Bach Collegium, IPFW Department of Music, IPFW Department of Theatre, Fort Wayne Ballet, Festival Choir of Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne Children's Choir, Fort Wayne Cinema Center, and Heartland Chamber Chorale.
The Fort Wayne Museum of Art permanently features a 1,300-piece collection,as well as traveling exhibits.
Recreation
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).
* Buckner Farm Park
*
Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory* Foster Park
* Franke Park, the city's largest at 316.4 acres (1.3 km²), home to the
Fort Wayne Children's Zoo * Freimann Square
* Headwaters Park
* Historic Old Fort
* Hurshtown Reservoir
* Japanese Garden
*
Johnny Appleseed Park, including the gravesite of
Johnny Appleseed * Lakeside Park
* Lindenwood Nature Preserve
* McMillen Park
*
Little Turtle Memorial
* Shoaff Park
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.
Current professional sports teams
Media
For the complete list, see List of media in Fort Wayne, IndianaThe 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 3/4 owned by the News-Sentinel, 1/4 owned by the Journal Gazette.
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.
Nationally, Fort Wayne is the home of the
Macedonian Tribune, the oldest and largest
Macedonian language publication produced 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 (
ABC). Fort Wayne's PBS Member station is
WFWA. Religious broadcasters include
WINM and
W07CL.
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 WPTA and WISE, respectively, and not broadcast on an
NTSC channel.
Fort Wayne is its suburbs are the home to many notable architectural structures of note, including:
*
Allen County Courthouse, 700 block of South Clinton Street, government building, by
Brentwood S. Tolan, 1897-
1902*
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, 4000 Parnell Avanue, sports arena
* Anthony Wayne Bank Building, 203 East Berry Street, commercial high-rise,
1960*
Center School, 1893 schoolhouse restored to its original state
* Commerce Building, 127 West Berry Street,
Beaux-Arts architecture high rise,
1923*
Concordia Senior College, now
Concordia Theological Seminary, by
Eero Saarinen,
* Crooks House, residence, by
postmodernist architect
Michael Graves,
1976 * Fine Arts Center, School and Performing Arts Theater, theatre, by
L. I. Kahn, 1966-
1973* Fort Wayne National Bank Building (
National City Bank),
skyscraper,
1970*
Old City Hall, government building,
1893* J. B. Franke House, residence,
1914* Hanselmann House, residence, by
postmodernist architect
Michael Graves,
1967*
One Summit Square (
Chase Bank), skyscraper,
1981*
Richardville House, residence,
1827* Haus der Schönen Künste - Fine Arts Center, museum, by
L. I. Kahn, 1961-
1964*
Lincoln Bank Tower (Tower Bank), 116 East Berry Street, skyscraper, by
Alvin M. Strauss,
1929*
Snyderman House, residence, by
postmodernist architect
Michael Graves,
1972* Wermuth House, residence, by
Eero Saarinen, 1942-42
|
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 International Airport[
2] (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 runway. As of April 2006, a construction project was underway to strengthen the runway to make it usable by heavier airplanes that need a longer runway. As of 2006, Passenger service was 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 does not offer service to Fort Wayne directly. Instead it offers a shuttle bus service to daily passenger trains with a station in
Waterloo, Indiana, 24 miles north of downtown Fort Wayne.
Fort Wayne Public Transportation Corporation
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 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.
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 trolleybuses, and in
1948, the system 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.
Colleges and Universities
|
IPFW's Willis Bridge across Fort Wayne's Crescent Street, links the university's main academic campus with its residential campus. |
Fort Wayne is the home of
Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), with an enrollment of 11,755 is the 5th-largest
public university campus in Indiana. The city also hold the main campus of the Northeast Region of
Ivy Tech State 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 (
Catholic),
Concordia Theological Seminary (
Lutheran), an Adult Learning Center of
Concordia University Wisconsin (
Lutheran) and
Taylor University Fort Wayne Campus (
Evangelical Christian). Non-religious colleges and universities include the
Indiana Institute of Technology (IIT) as well as regional branches of both Indiana Business College and International Business College.
Primary and Secondary Education
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.
See also List of churches in Fort Wayne, IndianaBeside 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.
Fort Wayne is the principal see-city of the
Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend whose region includes Northeastern and North central Indiana. The principal 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 |
See also List of famous people from Fort Wayne, Indiana.Many celebrities, politicians, writers, inventors and business were born or raised or made their mark in history while living in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
[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.
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 industrialist Fred Zollner, founder of the National Basketball Association and the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons''(later renamed the
Detroit Pistons).
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.
TV programs and films shot in Fort Wayne
*
In the Company of Men *
American Reel*
The Last Roadstop*
Endless BreadTV programs and films set in Fort Wayne
* A
2005-
2006 episode of
Supernatural sent the stars on a search for the source of the original "Bloody Mary" mirror in Fort Wayne.
Fictional characters from Fort Wayne
*
Frank Burns, doctor, on
M*A*S*H * Fawn Liebowitz, character, on
Animal House*
George Taylor, character, on
Planet of the Apes *
Topside, character, on
GI JoeNovels set in the Fort Wayne area
*
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):
* -
Gera,
Germany since 1992
* -
Płock,
Poland since 1990
* -
Takaoka,
Japan since 1977
*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
Community Magazine segment of the 2006 Verizon Directory
The following links are references for more information or provided source material for the information provided in the above article:
*
Official city web page*
2003 Census adjustment
