Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA
1854 - Fort Wayne

Fort Wayne, a flourishing town, capital of Allen county, Indiana, is situated at the confluence of the St. Joseph's and St. Mary's rivers, which form the Maumee, and on the Wabash and Eric canal, 122 miles E. N. E. from Lafayette, and 112 miles N. E. from Indianapolis. Fort Wayne is a town of rapid growth, and is one of the most important places in the state. It is the western terminus of the Ohio and Indiana railroad, which connects with the Ohio and Pennsylvania railroad at Crestline, and is to be extended westward to Chicago. When this road is finished, Fort Wayne will be connected with Philadelphia by a continuous line of railways more than 600 miles in length. Another railroad is in course of construction to Muncie. Several plank-roads lead from this place to different parts of the state and of Ohio. It has 8 churches, a bank, a Methodist female college, and 2 newspaper offices. The surrounding region is highly productive, and a large portion of the land is under cultivation. On the site of the town was the old "Twightwee village," of the Miami tribe. Here Fort Wayne was erected in 1794, by order of General Wayne, and it continued to be a military post until 1819. The Miamies were removed beyond the Mississippi in 1841. Population in 1853, estimated at 6500.


A New and Complete Gazetteer of the United States: Giving a Full and Comprehensive Review of the Present Condition, Industry, and Resources of the American Confederacy ... Thomas Baldwin (of Philadelphia.) Joseph Thomas January 1, 1854 Philadelphia : Lippincott, Grambo & Company 1854.

Visit Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA
Discover the people who lived there, the places they visited and the stories they shared.