Fort Wayne, Indiana

cityoffortwayne.org
visitfortwayne.com

Fort Wayne is a city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Allen County. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is 18 miles (29 km) west of the Ohio border and 50 miles (80 km) south of the Michigan border. With an estimated population of 258,522 in 2014, Fort Wayne is the 77th most populous city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana. It is the principal city of the Fort Wayne metropolitan area, consisting of Allen, Wells, and Whitley counties, a combined population of 419,453 as of 2011. In addition to the three core counties, the combined statistical area (CSA) includes Adams, DeKalb, Huntington, Noble, and Steuben counties, with an estimated population of 615,077.

Under the direction of American Revolutionary War statesman Anthony Wayne, the United States Army built Fort Wayne last in a series of forts near the Miami tribe village of Kekionga in 1794. Named in Wayne's honor, the settlement established itself at the confluence of the St. Joseph, St. Marys, and Maumee rivers as a trading post for European pioneers. The village was platted in 1823 and experienced tremendous growth after completion of the Wabash and Erie Canal and advent of the railroad. Once a booming manufacturing town located in the Rust Belt, Fort Wayne's economy is based upon distribution, transportation and logistics, healthcare, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and financial services. The city is a center for the defense industry which employs thousands.

Fort Wayne was an All-America City Award recipient in 1982, 1998, and 2009. The city also received an Outstanding Achievement City Livability Award by the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 1999.