Allen County, Indiana Genealogy

April 20, 2024 Gregg Bender cartoon in the The Journal Gazette newspaper.

Allen County Bicentennial on Facebook.

Website: https://www.allencounty.in.gov/771/Allen-County-Bicentennial

The Indiana General Assembly passed legislation in late 1823 designating a 660 square mile area of northeast Indiana to be Indiana's newest county. The legislation would take effect on April 1, 1824 and on that day Allen County was born. Named after Colonel John Allen, a military leader who helped the relieve the siege of Fort Wayne during the War of 1812, Allen County is today home to nearly 400,000 residents.

On April 1, 2024, Allen County will celebrate its bicentennial, marking 200 years since its official establishment. Through the end of 2024 we will endeavour as a community to... Remember our Past, Celebrate our Present, and Imagine our Future.

Join the celebration!

January 4, 2024 post by Allen County Bicentennial on Facebook:

Design the new official Allen County flag!

Did you know? Allen County does not have an official flag. As we celebrate Allen County's Bicentennial, we're seeking design submissions from the community for our new flag. COMPETITION DETAILS:

Designs accepted 1/1/2024 – 3/29/2024 (11:59pm EST)

Open to all ages

3 submissions per person accepted

Designs may be digitally created or hand-drawn

We'll unveil the official Allen County flag on Flag Day — June 14!

Learn more: Flag Design Competition Overview

The board also announced a contest for a new county flag design and wants residents to submit their ideas, one of which will be used. Allen County released a new county logo last year. The commissioners decided to pursue a new flag design to go with the county’s new logo and colors. The flag design competition will open online at www.allencounty200.com on Jan. 1 and close March 29. Copied from Allen County reveals bicentennial logo, announces new flag contest Madelyn Kidd October 17, 2023 The Journal Gazette newspaper.

On Monday, April 1, join us for the Allen County Bicentennial Opening Ceremony at the Rousseau Centre! April 1 is Allen...

Posted by Allen County Bicentennial on Monday, March 25, 2024

Monday, March 25, 2024 post by Allen County Bicentennial on Facebook:

On Monday, April 1, join us for the Allen County Bicentennial Opening Ceremony at the Rousseau Centre!

April 1 is Allen County's official 200th birthday — the perfect day to kick off the celebrations happening throughout 2024.

Keynote Speakers:
—Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch
—Therese Brown, Allen County Commissioner 
—Todd Pelfrey, The History Center
—Tom Harris, Allen County Councilman and Bicentennial Executive Board Chair

Hear a musical performance by Heartland Sings, and enjoy Cookie Cottage cookies and refreshments.

Find event details at: Opening Ceremony

PRIMETIME Allen County 200 - Bicentennial 1824 to 2024 Season 2024 Episode 3213 | 26m 51s

Guests - Tom Harris and Erin Okeson. This area’s only in-depth, live, weekly news, analysis and cultural update forum, PrimeTime airs Fridays at 7:30pm. This program is hosted by PBS Fort Wayne’s President/General Manager Bruce Haines.

Aired: 03/29/24 Rating: NR

At the corner of Columbia and Barr Street, local residents met throughout the early 1820s with one goal: formally...

Posted by Historic 07 District - Fort Wayne on Saturday, April 6, 2024

Saturday, April 6, 2024 post by Historic 07 District - Fort Wayne on Facebook:

At the corner of Columbia and Barr Street, local residents met throughout the early 1820s with one goal: formally establishing the town and area. Through these conversations, we find our county named Allen, and streets named Barr, Calhoun, Clinton, Harrison, and Wayne. Hidden, though, might be why these names are here. Today is that story. In the early 1800s, an eyewitness stated there were less than thirty homes and a diminished Indian population in the area. The area lacked much of a population because of continued conflict amongst the French, British, Native Americans, and then the Americans in both the Northwest Indian War and the War of 1812. While the victories in the Northwest Indian War established Fort Wayne, the United States was still being pressured by the British with trade restrictions, continued British support of Native Americans in armed resistance in the Midwest, and more. This continued conflict zone severely restricted this fledgling community from developing for decades. With this backdrop, by 1812, the United States, led by congressional war hawks Henry Clay and John Calhoun declared war, with some viewing this as the second revolution – a battle between the United Kingdom, American Indians, and the United States. At the time, the area included a mixture of French, Indians, and Americans living and trading amongst one another. Individuals such as Benjamin Stickney and Benjamin Berry Kercheval served as Indian agents, Antoine Bondie, a Frenchman married to an Indian, and William Wells, Chief Little Turtle's son-in-law, were a few notable residents. The frontier was blindsided when the war broke out, and Chicago fell quickly. Wells, who fought against the United States with the tribes in the Northwest Indian War, actually died helping to evacuate women and children from Chicago in 1812 in support of the United States. The residents of Fort Wayne received word of Wells' death and determined the women and children should be evacuated. By that time, hundreds of Indians surrounded Fort Wayne. The siege lasted for a week until relief came from William Henry Harrison's army, with the first regiment led by Colonel John Allen. While the war ended in 1815, Stickney and Kercheval stayed, and so did some former members of the militia protecting Fort Wayne, such as Alexander Ewing and John Tipton. This group in the early 1820s, with memories of conflict and a new vision of growth, helped determine the names we see today. Tipton helped name the county after John Allen; others, within a decade or so, would recognize General Harrison with Harrison Street, and in the Original Plat, Wayne Street was named after Anthony Wayne. While the wars were important, so was infrastructure. Perhaps bridging the eras was the naming of Calhoun and Clinton Streets. Calhoun, who had only been in politics for a couple of years, was one of the biggest supporters of going to war with Britain in 1812 and oversaw Indian affairs as the Secretary of War between 1817 and 1825. He also advocated as early as 1817 for binding "the republic together with a perfect system of roads and canals." Concerning Clinton Street, Stickney was in contact with DeWitt Clinton, the father of the Erie Canal, and helped him learn of Fort Wayne as a possible extension of his canal project in New York. It is perhaps less important who these streets and the county are named after, but rather the collective memories of that early community striving for an area without conflict with the opportunity to grow.

Thank you to the Allen County Public Library genealogy team and Randy Harter for help with digging into this.

Picture 1 - Map of Ewing Tavern - Likely location of meetings to decide names. [ This Barr And Columbia Street Intersection ]
Picture 2 - Original Plat Developed in Early 1820s
Picture 3 - William Wells
Picture 4 - John Allen
Picture 5 - John Calhoun
Picture 6 - DeWitt Clinton
Picture 7 - Anthony Wayne 

County Organized 200 Years Ago: On December 17, 1823, Allen County was organized by an act of the Indiana General...

Posted by The Waynedale News on Thursday, December 28, 2023

Thursday, December 28, 2023post by The Waynedale Newson Facebook:

County Organized 200 Years Ago: On December 17, 1823, Allen County was organized by an act of the Indiana General Assembly. The new county was to be named in honor of Colonel John Allen, an attorney and Kentucky state senator who was killed in the War of 1812. . .

Historic Details: County Organized 200 Years Ago

ON THIS DAY // On April 1, 1824 Allen County was organized. Allen County was organized by European Americans on December...

Posted by Indiana Bicentennial Commission on Saturday, April 1, 2017

Saturday, April 1, 2017 post by the Indiana Bicentennial Commission on Facebook:

ON THIS DAY // On April 1, 1824 Allen County was organized. Allen County was organized by European Americans on December 17, 1823, from Delaware and Randolph counties. The county is named for Colonel John Allen, an attorney and Kentucky state senator who was killed in the War of 1812.

Fort Wayne, the county seat, was founded at the confluences of the Maumee, St. Joseph, and St. Marys rivers. 

Today marks the official Allen County Bicentennial! 🎉 Join us for the Bicentennial Opening Ceremony at the Rousseau...

Posted by Allen County Bicentennial on Monday, April 1, 2024

Monday, April 1, 2024 post by Allen County Bicentennial on Facebook:

Today marks the official Allen County Bicentennial!

Join us for the Bicentennial Opening Ceremony at the Rousseau Centre at 10am — to celebrate the day and kick off the festivities coming up this year.

We have a great lineup of speakers, music from Heartland Sings, and refreshments from Cookie Cottage!

What a fun morning! The Official kickoff of the Allen County Bicentennial! Great job done by my fellow Bicentennial Board Members!

Posted by St. Joseph Township, Allen County on Monday, April 1, 2024

Monday, April 1, 2024 video post by St. Joseph Township, Allen County on Facebook:

What a fun morning! The Official kickoff of the Allen County Bicentennial! Great job done by my fellow Bicentennial Board Members!

How much do you know about the county that we call home? Allen County was organized on December 17, 1823, and officially...

Posted by The History Center on Monday, April 1, 2024

Monday, April 1, 2024 post by The History Center on Facebook:

How much do you know about the county that we call home? Allen County was organized on December 17, 1823, and officially formed on April 1, 1824. This year marks our county’s 200th Birthday. To celebrate this milestone, our staff decided to feature items from each of the twenty townships that make up our great county. While the urban center and county seat of Fort Wayne (located in Wayne Township), is often the star of Allen County’s history, the rural communities in the outlying townships and on the edges of the Summit City have greatly contributed to our area’s history. These small communities represent the rural character of our county and state history, and are home to much of our area’s agricultural history. Here are artifacts from each of the county’s twenty townships. Visit the History Center to see these artifacts and more in our new temporary exhibit “Twenty Townships: Celebrating Allen County’s Bicentennial.” #sociallyhistory

THANK YOU to everyone who joined us yesterday to celebrate the official Allen County Bicentennial Opening Ceremony! What...

Posted by Allen County Bicentennial on Tuesday, April 2, 2024

Tuesday, April 2, 2024 post by Allen County Bicentennial on Facebook:

THANK YOU to everyone who joined us yesterday to celebrate the official Allen County Bicentennial Opening Ceremony! What a special day to gather together to remember our past, celebrate our present, and imagine our future.

A special thank you to our fantastic speakers, Heartland Sings for the musical performance, and to our amazing event sponsors: Hanning & Bean Enterprises, Inc., TJ NOWAK Supply, Sand Point Living Interiors, and Cookie Cottage.

We can't wait to continue the celebrations throughout 2024! #AllenCounty200

𝟸𝟶𝟶 𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝙾𝚕𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙲𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐...🌟🌟🌟 A massive 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞 𝗬𝗢𝗨 to everyone who braved the chill to come out and celebrate Allen...

Posted by Allen County Sheriff's Department on Sunday, April 21, 2024

Sunday, April 21, 2024 post by Allen County Sheriff's Department on Facebook:

200 Years Old and Counting...

A massive 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞 𝗬𝗢𝗨 to everyone who braved the chill to come out and celebrate Allen County's Bicentennial Birthday 🎉 We love our county and appreciate every opportunity to connect with our community. We hope you had as much fun as we did ✨

📣 Call for artists! We're seeking muralists to paint fiberglass sculptures that will be placed around Allen County as...

Posted by Allen County Bicentennial on Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Tuesday, May 14, 2024 post by the Allen County Bicentennial on Facebook:

Call for artists!

We're seeking muralists to paint fiberglass sculptures that will be placed around Allen County as part of the Bicentennial celebrations! 15 artists or artist teams will be selected to complete one of the sculpture murals.

Artists are invited to submit their qualifications for consideration. :

"I Am Allen" Sculpture Project

Hundreds – literally – of people have ideas about how Allen County's first official flag should look, so it will be...

Posted by The Journal Gazette on Tuesday, June 11, 2024

Tuesday, June 11, 2024 post by The Journal Gazette on Facebook:

Hundreds – literally – of people have ideas about how Allen County's first official flag should look, so it will be November before a reveal. The Allen County Bicentennial Executive Board was "overwhelmed" with about 300 submissions.

Allen County postpones bicentennial flag unveiling to evaluate nearly 300 submissions 

The submissions deadline was midnight March 29 and officials had expected to unveil the new flag on Flag Day, which is Friday. But because of the outpouring of ideas, the Bicentennial Executive Board requested more time from the commissioners, a news release said.

“We were overwhelmed by the response,” she said. “We received designs from people who are age 7 to 78 years old. From local students at Croninger Elementary in Fort Wayne to a young woman in Australia.”

The design will not be revealed until Nov. 16 during the Bicentennial Bash.

In the 200 years since the county was established on April 1, 1824, the county has never had an official flag. The county does have a logo that is used on a white background. That image appears in various settings as a symbol of local government, including as a flag at Rousseau Centre.

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