A Brief History of Fort Wayne IN

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.

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 and Chicago for nearly a century.

On February 22, 1840, the growing city incorporated as the City of Fort Wayne.