I'll go to The Old Fort with you, but remember that it's still summer vacation, so don't try to teach me any history.
From local cartoonist, Steve Smeltzer!
So, what are you learning this summer? Come over to the Old Fort during our summer hours (W-Sa 10-5, Sun noon - 4). Our summer interns will show you around (and make learning fun)!!
The modern Historic Old Fort has a page with events, photos and information on the City of Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation website, their own website: http://www.oldfortwayne.org and Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HistoricFortWayne/. Their Facebook page states: The Old Fort is on public park grounds, so you can always wander around, into the parade grounds, etc. The buildings themselves are only open during events when we have volunteers on site. There is a brochure available outside some of the buildings and it has a map with information about the history of the fort and how each of the buildings would have been used. Historic Fort Wayne is a Non-Profit Organization that manages the Old Fort in Fort Wayne, IN. We are a 100% volunteer organization. All of our events are free to the public. All programing is funded by private and corporate donations.
The first of April, some do say, Is set apart for All Fools' Day. But why the people call it so, Nor I, nor they...
The first of April, some do say,
Is set apart for All Fools' Day.
But why the people call it so,
Nor I, nor they themselves do know.
But on this day are people sent
On purpose for pure merriment.
Poor Robin's Almanac (1760)
Today the History Center returned a replica howitzer cannon to Historic Fort Wayne. This cannon is one of four that were created for the Old Fort in 1976.
The History Center's Executive Director, Todd Maxwell Pelfrey, and President of the Board of Directors, Orrin Sessions, fired the cannon to mark its return.
One of the original 1800's era replica Howitzer cannons originally purchased in 1976 was returned to the Old Fort today....
One of the original 1800's era replica Howitzer cannons originally purchased in 1976 was returned to the Old Fort today. It has been in the care of the History Center and they have kindly allowed us to borrow it when needed. Now, it is back at the Fort as a permanent home. Of course we had to celebrate by firing it!
There's more information about the Howitzer in the article and video linked below.
This August 1976 photo of action at the Old Fort shows one of the attraction's replica howitzers, lower right. One of the howitzers originally used at the fort will be returned to the fort today by The History Center, which has kept it mainly in storage for more than 20 years. (News-Sentinel archive photo)
Short aerial drone video of The Old Fort/Original Fort Wayne Originally Established by General Anthony Wayne in 1794, Thomas Hunt became commander of The Fort and built a new fort in 1800, Decommissioned in 1819 and the last building stood till 1852. The Fort we know today was designed from an 1816 painting and built in New York, then transported here in the 1970s, it would then open in 1976.
Colonial America came alive this weekend, at Trading Post on the Northwest Frontier. Thanks to all the volunteers and reenactors who gave us a taste of military and civilian life in the late 1700s, and to all our guests as well!
Feel free to tag yourself and friends!
And so it begins! This morning the blockhouse roof was removed. What a sight! Reconstruction of the Spy Run Blockhouse...
And so it begins! This morning the blockhouse roof was removed. What a sight! Reconstruction of the Spy Run Blockhouse will take place later this week (weather permitting), and we are so excited to see this progress.
This is the first in a series of major renovations on the Old Fort. Once the Blockhouse is done, we plan to move forward with the next building, the Doctor’s Quarters. Thanks to grants and donations, we have funding in hand of $250,000 towards that project. Eventually every building will undergo renovation so we can keep history alive in Fort Wayne, as funding is secured! If you’d like to help, a link to donate is included.
A huge ‘thank you’ to Mayor Henry, the City Council, Megan Butler and the City's Grant Administrators for providing an ARPA grant that will fund approximately 50% of the Blockhouse project, and to everyone who helped make this morning’s event possible:
Don R Fruchey Inc
Local 103 Operating Engineers
Local 147 Ironworkers
On-site crew
MacAllister Rentals
C Henry Steel
Our city's namesake is the focus of some much-deserved attention, and I hope a lot of people will be able to help with...
2016/06/12: Posting the colors by AroundFortWayne posted June 19, 2016 on YouTube Posting the colors at Historic Fort Wayne as part of Sunday morning's Morning Troop. This was the second day, June 12, 2016, of the Frontier Fort To Statehood : 1816 - 2016 weekend.
Historic Fort Wayne - Where History Comes to Life published May 22, 2013 by HistoricFortWayne on YouTube
Historic Fort Wayne....we make history come to life. You can spend 12 years reading about history in school, but unless you see it in person you will never really understand the hardships, the lifes, the triumphs, and just what it was really like back in the days of old. And so that is our mission here at Historic Fort Wayne...to bring history to life! That is why nearly every event is free (except for a free will donation) because we want people to learn all they can!
Reconstructed fort on Spy Run Avenue near downtown Fort Wayne across the St. Marys River from Headwaters Park. The History page on their web site: oldfortwayne.org briefly describes the various forts built near the three rivers. The bottom section titled The Reconstructed Fort states: This project began in 1964 when Historic Fort Wayne Inc. was established and started planning a reconstruction of the Fort, using Major Whistler’s 1814 drawings. After much fundraising, they purchased property in the late 1960’s and sought a fort builder. Lok-N-Logs Inc., a log home company in Sherburne, New York, took on the unusual project, constructing the Fort first in New York, then transporting it to Indiana, where it was reassembled. It officially opened shortly before July 4, 1976, to celebrate the nation’s Bicentennial, and remained open daily until the early 1990’s. Historic Fort Wayne Inc. disbanded in 1989, and the current Historic Fort Wayne, Inc. was formed in 2004 as a volunteer effort to preserve the Fort. Though they share a name, the two groups are not connected. Construction of the fort re-creation began in the summer of 1975. Work on the replica was not finished for its dedication June 5, 1976, but several hundred people turned out for the festivities. See the articles Historic Fort Wayne and Old Fort Wayne – Learn History In Person! by Louisa D. published June 8, 2015 on Visit Fort Wayne. See photos on Throwback Thursday: Old Fort published August 31, 2017 on The Journal Gazette newspaper. See their Facebook page - INFortWayne.com YouTube Bicentennial Celebration at Historic Fort Wayne. 360 virtual photo tour on vpix.net.
Whereas, in pursuance of an act of Congress, passed on the nineteenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and sixteen, entitled "An act to enable the people of the Indiana Territory to form a constitution and State government, and for the admission of that State into the Union," the people of the said Territory did, on the twenty-ninth day of June, in the present year, by a convention called for that purpose, form for themselves a constitution and State government, which constitution and State government, so formed, is republican, and in conformity with the principles of the articles of compact between the original States and the people and States in the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, passed the thirteenth day of July, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven:
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the State of Indiana shall be one, and is hereby declared to be one, of the United States of America, and admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States, in all respects whatever.
A big thank you to the Parks Department for the repairs on the bridge railings and sidewalls. That's a favorite spot for watching battles at events and it's wonderful to know our guests will be safe!
A big thank you to the Parks Department for the repairs on the bridge railings and sidewalls. That's a favorite spot for watching battles at events and it's wonderful to know our guests will be safe!
Whoa - we just hit 10,000 followers on this page! Thank you all for your continued support of the Old Fort. We love bringing history to life with you, and can't wait to see you at this summer's events!
Whoa - we just hit 10,000 followers on this page! Thank you all for your continued support of the Old Fort. We love bringing history to life with you, and can't wait to see you at this summer's events!
An amazing crew from Hart Log Homes, LLC was at the Fort today. They got the demolition of the second floor of the Spy...
An amazing crew from Hart Log Homes, LLC was at the Fort today. They got the demolition of the second floor of the Spy Run Blockhouse done, and a good start on rebuilding it! You can watch it take shape this week if you drive by the Old Fort.
The Blockhouse reconstruction is Phase 1 of a total Fort restoration project. There's a link in the comments so you can track our progress, and donate if you wish to help keep the Fort in Fort Wayne!
Today's assignment took me to The Old Fort for the Siege of Fort Wayne 1812. I captured some of the defense of the fort reenactment, some of the village craftsmen at work, and a fire starting demonstration. Good times.
We had a blast in this morning's Three Rivers Festival parade, with our float highlighting 200 year of Allen County...
We had a blast in this morning's Three Rivers Festival parade, with our float highlighting 200 year of Allen County history, emphasizing the relationship between soldiers, civilians, and Native Americans. We even won an award for "Most Educational" float. Thanks to everyone who helped put this together and came out early to walk the parade with us! #TRF#AllenCountyBicentennial
1940 - State, Federal Commissions Seek to Commemorate Anthony Wayne Historic Fort
By Bessie Keeran Roberts, Chairman, Indiana State Anthony Wayne Memorial Commission
Selected text: Fort Wayne is now seeking state and national recognition for Gen. Anthony Wayne in the form of an adequate memorial to be erected on the site of the fort that bore his name. Although the actual form of the memorial has not been decided upon, the in-augurators of the idea are convinced that it should be placed where Wayne stood when he determined on the spot to build his fort; that it should symbolize the idea of "The Glorious Gate," as Little Turtle, great Miami chief, designated the portage leading from the headwaters of the Maumee to the little Wabash; that it should recreate in the minds of future generations the importance of this site and the part played by Wayne in the building of a great republic, and that it be enduring in form. The foregoing suggestions imply a structure of imperishable material, to be placed in a park commanding a view of the Maumee river, as it appeared to Wayne, and marking the exact spot where he stood to view this site. The inaugurators of the idea feel that if the great ideal is carried out adequately, the form the memorial assumes will be of secondary importance.
Commission Appointed. To further the memorial plans, which had their inception in Fort Wayne, Governor M. Clifford Townsend has appointed a state commission composed of Bessie K. Roberts, chairman; Attorney Walter E. Frederick, secretary; A. J. McAndless. A. W. Kettler and Carl J. Suedhoff, all of Fort Wayne.
This commission is working trith local groups appointed by Mayor Harry W. Baals, the Chamber of Commerce and the Allen County Fort Wayne Historical Society, to effect an organization and to promote a co-ordinated campaign of education that will aid in gaining the great objective. Cooperation is being given to groups in Ohio organized for the purpose of securing adequate recognition of Gen. Anthony Wayne.
An initial step in this co-operative plan has been to work for the enactment of legistion now pending in Congress providing for a survey of a proposed Gen. Anthony Wayne Memorial parkway and plans for designing and constructing a permanent memorial in the city of Fort Wayne.
Federal Commission.
The Federal Anthony Wayne Commission is composed of Representative Eugene B. Crowe, chairman. Bedford. Ind.; W. A. Kunkel Jr., secretary, Bluffton; Harry G. Hogan, treasurer, Fort Wayne; Representative Cliff Clevenger, Bryan, O.; Represenetative Don W. Harter, Akron, O.; Senator Frederick Van Nuys, Indiana; Senator Robert A. Taft, Ohio; Senator Vic Donahey, Ohio, and William Wayne, Paoli, Pa.
From historic evacuation 121 years ago, thoughts naturally turn back to the October Tuesday in 1794 when, at 7 o'clock in the morning the Stars and Stripes were raised on a beautiful new flagstaff visible at least a half mile down the Maumee river, as the military post just completed at its headwaters was given the name Fort Wayne.
Private Bryant, an eyewitness and participant in the dedication, reported the event in these words: "Col. Hamtramck then formed the entire forces of the garrison into line and while the drums and fifes struck up our favorite tune, a tune that had inspired the soldiers on many a hard-fought battle of the revolution The white cockade and the peacock feather, The American boys will live forever; The drums shall beat and the fife shall play Over the hills and far away.
