by Charles Poinsatte Allen County, Fort Wayne Historical Society 1976...

There was a time when the writer of local history and the academic professional were two different people; indeed, one is almost tempted to say, they were two different species. Fortunately for both, this is no longer true. Many academic historians now recognize local units as the fundamental units of historical study, presenting hard data in manageable quantities for precise conclusions. Charles R. Poinsatte was among the first to recognize this and merge the academic and local traditions of hi

Early Fort Wayne played an important and definite role in the history of the old Northwest. Its unique position as a portage site between the Wabash and Maumee rivers made the Wabash route one of the natural waterways from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi river and brought Indians and fur traders to this spot at an early date. It is most likely the oldest continuous site settled by white men in Indiana. During the French, British, and American occupation of the region, forts were built here as

To know the history of any town is to know the significance of its geographical position. This is particularly true of the early history of Fort Wayne (Known to the Indians as Kiskakon or Kekionga [1] and to the French and English as Fort Miami). Therefore, it is necessary to explain the significance of the site of Fort Wayne in an era of exploration and trade when wilderness was king and waterways were the arteries of communication. The story of Fort Wayne begins as the history of the Maumee-Wa

Wayne’s victorious “Legion” arrived at Miamitown on the evening of September 17, 1794. Lieutenant John Boyer, to whose journal we are indebted for the best account of the conditions relating to the construction of Fort Wayne, wrote on the day of the arrival: ... there are nearly five hundred acres of cleared land lying in one body on the rivers St. Joseph, St. Mary’s and Miami; there are fine points of land contiguous to those rivers adjoining the cleared land ... the land adjacent [is] fertile

A dozen years had passed since the battle of Fallen Timbers and the defeat suffered by the Indians at that time was growing dim in their memories. English traders and military officials at Malden encouraged the red men to strike once again the Americans who were fast turning their hunting lands into farms and settlements. The occasion awaited only a second Pontiac. That leader came in the person of Tecumseh, the Shawnee. Tecumseh saw his race driven from their native land, their morals debased,

At last the savages had struck their long deferred blow. The little garrison of eighty-five men at Fort Wayne received with alarm the first account of the massacre at Fort Dearborn. The news was conveyed by one of the friendly Miamis who had accompanied Wells to Fort Dearborn. Unknown to the garrison at this date was the fact that Detroit—the protecting center of the other northwestern posts—had been ingloriously surrendered on August 16 to a British-Indian force by General William Hull. Mackina

After peace came finally with the end of the struggles of 1812-15, the scene around the fort was one of rare beauty. The extensive clearing made by order of General Wayne in 1794, and again by General Harrison in 1812, was covered with waving grass. Circling this was the green forest, pierced by three gates through which flowed the gleaming rivers. The days of Indian warfare had come to an end, the day of white settlement in numbers was yet in anticipation. The first year of peace, 1816, brought

While the traders, large and small alike, were thus successfully evading any effective control over their operations, Fort Wayne was developing from a frontier army post and portage center into a very prosperous community. Its strategic location, the opening of a land office in 1822 and its selection as the county seat of Allen county brought many new settlers to the area. The land office was established at Fort Wayne by an act of Congress on May 8, 1822. [1] The coming of Joseph Holman of Wayne

The year 1825 found the village of Fort Wayne had developed to a town of nearly one hundred and fifty people—that is to say of persons considered more or less permanently settled. The town was in the pathway of many who traveled by way of the rivers, passing chiefly to the southwest; so there was a closer business and social connection with the busy eastern centers than had prevailed during the earlier years. In many respects the growth of Fort Wayne was typical of what was happening elsewhere i

Abernethy, Thomas Perkins. Western Lands and the American Revolution. New York: Appleton Co., 1937. Adams, Henry. History of the United States of America. 9 vols. New York: Scribner, 1889-91, Vol. VI. Albach, J. R. Annals of the West. Pittsburgh: W.S. Haven, 1857. Alvord, Clarence and Carter, Clarence. British Trade and Politics in the Northwest. ( Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library , Vol. XVI) Springfield: Illinois Historical Society, 1921. Alvord, Clarence. The Illinois Count