Fort Wayne, Indiana

May 27, 2013

As you probably know, I live in Fort Wayne, Indiana. You may know it as the second largest city in the Hoosier state or the Summit City; it has won the All-America City Award from the National Civic League three times (1982, 1998, 2009).

Let's start from the beginning. It all began as Kekionga, the capital of the Miami Tribe. After disputes from the French and British which included Detroit multiple times, the British ceded Kekionga to the United States in the Treaty of Paris in 1783. After Chief Little Turtle held down Kekionga, or Miami Towns (Before Miami, FL was settled in), Secretary of War, Henry Knox, decided that a United States fort was needed in there. That is when the Indians (Including Chief Little Turtle) had a major victory over Governor Arthur St. Clair and the Americans at the Battle of the Wabash, or also known as St. Clair's Defeat (Casualties: Native Americans- 61, Americans- 952). In 1794, General "Mad" Anthony Wayne and the Legion of the United States entered Kekionga and selected it as a new United States fort, Fort Wayne.

Since then, Fort Wayne has become an All-American city with much of its history affecting its culture today. Obviously, the name is a remembrance of the city's history. But the city's motto is Ke Ki On Ga, to honor Miami's capital meaning Blackberry Bush; one of the first professional baseball teams was called the Fort Wayne Kekiongas, which won the first professional baseball league game against the Cleveland Forest Cities.

The sports references don't stop there to commemorate the city's past; the NBA D-League team is named the "Mad Ants" as a salute to the Mad General that founded the Fort. General "Mad" Anthony's name is all around the city including the Mad Anthony Brewing Company (Including the Mad Anthony Pale Ale), Anthony Blvd, Anthony Street, Wayne High School, Grand Wayne Convention Center, Anthony Wayne Building, and the former Anthony Wayne Bank. Fun Fact: Marion Michael Morrison was given the stage name, Anthony Wayne after the mad general but Fox Studios found "Anthony" too Italian. As a result, the legendary actor "John Wayne" was born.

Fort Wayne is more American because of just the historical presence of Anthony Wayne. Fort Wayne has the burial site of the John Chapman; you probably better know Mr. Chapman as the American legend, Johnny Appleseed. Like, Anthony Wayne, Johnny Appleseed's legacy can be felt all around town. The annual Johnny Appleseed Festival is held in the properly named "Johnny Appleseed Park" where John Chapman's grave is located. The historical references continue in sports with the Single-A baseball team, the Fort Wayne TinCaps, in honor of the Johnny Appleseed's tin pot cap (The team was almost named the PotHeads but they saw it was probably a terrible idea). Johnny Appleseed is commemorated in various places around the city including the mall.

In addition to the Wayne and Johnny Appleseed themes, the fact the city lies where three rivers conjoin (St. Joseph, St. Marys, Maumee (Someone done messed up)) is asserted all around the city. This includes the Three Rivers Festival, Three Rivers Credit Union, and Three Rivers Running Company. The existent of the three rivers has also created a strange obsession with the triangle shape all over the city...

What other things make this an All-American city? Besides the explicit American history, Fort Wayne has the majority of American chain/franchise restaurants that you could possibly name; supposedly, the city is a good testbed for restaurants. Fort Wayne is the epitome of a Midwest city. There are numerous large churches with suburban cul de sacs all around; these, of course, are surrounded by farms including corn fields. Yes, the people are genuinely nice and are generally more relaxed. In the summer, there seems to be a festival celebrating different food cultures every week; but they aren't very interesting nor is the food very good (besides the true ribs and traditional carnival food).

Just like any other city, there are many intricacies that make it special. Upon arrival at Fort Wayne International Airport, there is a nice senior woman to welcome you to Fort Wayne with a free cookie. Streets change names without notice and it happens more often than you would like; you also have an intersection that's St. Joes/St. Joe Center. There's a strange thing about travel time in Fort Wayne; it takes 15 minutes to get anywhere, no matter where you are going (downtown or to one of many parks); add a few minutes if you're traveling anywhere between the hours of 5pm-7pm because everyone in Fort Wayne is eating out. Just like any city there's traffic but it's rarely on the highway, it's near the mall especially on the weekends when Michiganders and Buckeyes wander to town. Fort Wayne also has the second largest genealogy museum in the world. What is an American town without trains including a working steam engine? And everyone in town seems to go to "The Lake"; there is no way everyone goes to one specific lake but yet in conversation, everyone knows "The Lake".

While so many people complain about Fort Wayne, there is so much to love and enjoy in this city that can't be found in many places in this amazing country. This is my city.

Notable People that are linked to Fort Wayne: Mason and Miles Plumlee, DeShaun Thomas, Rod Woodson, Stephen King, Dave Thomas, Jenna Fischer, Philo Farnsworth, and the famous Shelley Long! (Maybe there was an unconscious explanation I started watching Cheers after arriving in the Fort)

Here are just some of Fort Wayne's attractions that has been made possible to its history: