Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana

Anthony Wayne Parkway - 1931 and 1947

Go to: Anthony Wayne Parkway Commission, 1947 Proposed Anthony Wayne Parkway for Ohio and Indiana, 1947 Proposed Anthony Wayne Parkway (Express Highway) Fort Wayne

1949 Anthony Wayne Highway sign

1949 Indiana Anthony Wayne Parkway sign at AA Roads.

1931 - The Proposed Anthony Wayne Maumee River Parkway
Fort Wayne to Toledo, Ohio

  1. 1931 - The Proposed Anthony Wayne Maumee River Parkway

    August 8, 2024 post by Randy Harter on New Haven Area Heritage Association on Facebook:

    In 1931 the City of Fort Wayne launched off on a plan they called the The Anthony Wayne Maumee River Parkway. It was to be a 125-mile Fort Wayne to Toledo beautification of the Maumee River and adjacent lands that would include new bridges, roads, parks, historic pull-offs and picnic areas. Drawn was the seven-foot-long proposed design, as shown, that included some features that would at least in part affect New Haven. Some of those were that the railroad tracks here would be elevated, Meyer Rd would become Fort Waynes new circumurban (rather than the now extended Bueter Rd), and additional roads would be built in some areas. Additionally, all the ground between Hartzell Road and Landin on the north side of Rose Avenue would become a park and golf course including the area that is now West Drive. In 1940 some addendum's were made to the proposed plan but am not sure that any of the ideas ever ending up making it off the drawing board, and certainly not those that included New Haven. The section of the map shown is from Fort Wayne to the Ohio line. Its interesting to see how forward thinking some folks at least tried to be. 

  2. Anthony Wayne Maumee River Parkway, Fort Wayne to Toledo, Proposed 1931

    Anthony Wayne Maumee River Parkway, Fort Wayne to Toledo, Proposed 1931 at the The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

  3. 1931 - River Parkway From Toledo to Ft. Wayne is Possibility, Ash Learns

    Article from Apr 5, 1931 The Lima News (Lima, Ohio) 1933, Anthony wayne maumee river parkway
    1931 - River Parkway From Toledo to Ft. Wayne is Possibility, Ash LearnsThe Lima News, Lima, Ohio, Sunday, April 5, 1931, Page 5

  4. 1933 - River Parkway Given Stimulus at Fort Wayne

    Article from Oct 2, 1933 The Daily Sentinel-Tribune (Bowling Green, Ohio) 1933, Anthony wayne maumee river parkway

    1933 - River Parkway Given Stimulus at Fort WayneThe Daily Sentinel-Tribune, Bowling Green, Ohio, Monday, October 2, 1933, Page 1

    1933 - River Parkway Given Stimulus (continued)

    Article from Oct 2, 1933 The Daily Sentinel-Tribune (Bowling Green, Ohio) 1933, Anthony wayne maumee river parkway
    1933 - River Parkway Given Stimulus (continued)The Daily Sentinel-Tribune, Bowling Green, Ohio, Monday, October 2, 1933, Page 2

  5. Plan suggesting a civic center marking noted historic site "Glorious Gate" : embellishing entrance to the proposed Anthony Wayne Maumee River Parkway, Fort Wayne to Toledo by Hanna, Robert B; Bradley, LeRoy; Fort Wayne (Ind.). City Plan Commission, Publication date 1934

  6. 1937 - Defiance Paper on Wayne Memorial

    Article from Aug 10, 1937 The Daily Sentinel-Tribune (Bowling Green, Ohio) 1937, Anthony wayne maumee river parkway

    1937 - Defiance Paper on Wayne Memorial The Daily Sentinel-Tribune, Bowling Green, Ohio, Tuesday, August 10, 1937, Page 1

    1937 - Defiance Paper on Memorial (continued)

    Article from Aug 10, 1937 The Daily Sentinel-Tribune (Bowling Green, Ohio) 1937, Anthony wayne maumee river parkway

    1937 - Defiance Paper on Memorial (continued) The Daily Sentinel-Tribune, Bowling Green, Ohio, Tuesday, August 10, 1937, Page 2

November, 5, 1947 Proposed Anthony Wayne Parkway (Express Highway)

  1. Anthony Wayne Parkway (Express Highway) - November, 5, 1947, Even though the federal government would pay all but $4.08 million of the $27 million total, Fort Wayne voters rejected construction of the proposed Anthony Wayne Parkway. Copied from the 1940-1949 Timeline: In The Shadow of War fromFort Wayne History Stories About Time Periods in I Remember History online tour of Summit City history from the archives of The News-Sentinel newspaper.

  2. May 3, 2018 post by Hofer and Davis, Inc. Land Surveyors on Facebook:

    For "Throwback Thursday" we share this PLAN for the ANTHONY WAYNE MEMORIAL HIGHWAY prepared for the OPTIMISTS CLUB of FORT WAYNE by A.K. Hofer in 1944. This was obviously never built, but it is fun to imagine "What if?" It's kinda hard to picture in your mind (at least for a surveyor) with North on the Bottom and South on the Top. THE GLORIOUS GATEWAY PARK is where The Three Rivers Apartmets are. At one time (1975) these were displayed at the Hofer and Davis office in 414 Utility Building, now the paper maps are brittle and tattered. Another piece of history from Hofer and Davis, Putting Northeast Indiana "On the Map" since 1915!

  3. May 10, 2018 post by Hofer and Davis, Inc. Land Surveyors on Facebook:

    For "Throwback Thursday" we share the middle portion of a map for the ANTHONY WAYNE MEMORIAL HIGHWAY prepared for the Optimists Club of Fort Wayne by A.K. Hofer in 1944. Just like the one we shared last week, North is at the bottom of the page and South is at the top. It was proposed to go along Superior Street and you can see where the current Headweaters Park is by Duck Street on the map. At Wells Street it was to split both North and South. The Civic Concert and Recreation Center would have blended in with the Riverfront Development underway now. Hofer and Davis, Putting Northeast Indiana "On the Map" since 1915!

  4. May 17, 2018 post by Hofer and Davis, Inc. Land Surveyors on Facebook:

    This is the last section of the planned ANTHONY WAYNE MEMORIAL HIGHWAY made in 1944 by A.K. Hofer for the Optimists Club of Fort Wayne. This goes along with the two maps we showed to the East that we shared for "Throwback Thursday" the last two weeks. Remember that North is on the bottom of the sheet, and South is on the top, quite a different orientation for a surveyor! This used to hang high at the entrance to our office at 414 Utility Building in 1975 and was untouched and in pretty good shape. Unfortunately, in our move to the Central Building in 1989, it got stored (not too well) and has seen a better day! Again, this is another example of how Hofer and Davis has been putting Northeast Indiana "On the Map" since 1915! That's 103 years!

  5. The voter referendum defeated 62% against to 38% for two proposed east-west and north-south expressways, paid for by the federal government, to go through downtown Fort Wayne. Fort Wayne's 1946 Anthony Wayne Expressway Thwarted Due to Racism is the title of an article posted in the Marsha Smiley Collection at the The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
  6. Fort Wayne to Have Expressway 6 page report by James T. White Traffic Engineer, Fort Wayne on Purdue.edu docs.
  7. Anthony Wayne Expressway, late 40s/early 50s by OSP published January 22, 2016 on FortWayneReader.
  8. Hoosier rocker John Mellencamp wrote the song "PINK HOUSES" released in 1993 that started with the lyrics: "Well, there's a Black man with a black cat living in a Black neighborhood. He's got a interstate running through his front yard. You know, he thinks he's got it so good." This song is mentioned in the transcript of the 7-minute NPR broadcast A Brief History Of How Racism Shaped Interstate Highways on April 7, 2021 that talks with Deborah N. Archer author of the reseach paper ‘White Men’s Roads Through Black Men’s Homes’: Advancing Racial Equity Through Highway Reconstruction 73 Vanderbilt Law Review 1259 (2020) NYU School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 20-49 72 Pages Posted: 10 Mar 2020 Last revised: 6 Nov 2020 Deborah N. Archer New York University School of Law Date Written: February 18, 2020.
  9. Plate A-1 - West Aerial View of East - West Expressway Route

    Plate A-1 - West Aerial View of East - West Expressway Route provided by Creager Smith City of Fort Wayne Historian for the proposed expressways through Fort Wayne, which never came to fruition from The urban expressway not taken: Exploring the history and future of Fort Wayne’s roadway system by Joshua Schipper posted March 30, 2022 on Input Fort Wayne. Shared March 30, 2022 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on FacebookPlate A-1 - West Aerial View of East - West Expressway Route Plate A-3 - South Aerial View of North - South Expressway Route provided by Creager Smith City of Fort Wayne Historian for the proposed expressways through Fort Wayne, which never came to fruition.

    1946 State Highway Commission plan

    Plate 15. 1946 State Highway Commission plan shows the proposed path of both expressways. It shows the path of a northern bypass, which became Coliseum Boulevard. This proposal routed the northern bypass along Reed Road.

    Discussed July 17, 2022 in Great Memories and History of Fort Wayne Private Facebook Group.

    Photos of Plates A-2 and A-4 from the lobby at INDOT posted March 25, 2024 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook.

    Plate A-2 - East Aerial View of East - West Expressway Route

    Plate A-2 - East Aerial View of East - West Expressway Route

    Plate A-2 - East Aerial View of East - West Expressway Route

    Plate A-4 - North Aerial View of North - South Expressway Route

1947 - Proposed Anthony Wayne Parkway System for Ohio and Indiana

  1. 1948 - Erect Wayne Memorial Markers - Anthony Wayne Parkway - ODOH signs

    Article from Dec 3, 1948 Sidney Daily News (Sidney, Ohio) 1948, Anthony wayne parkway

    1948 - Erect Wayne Memorial Markers - Anthony Wayne Parkway - ODOH signs Sidney Daily News, Sidney, Ohio, Friday, December 3, 1948, Page 11

    1951 Anthony Wayne Parkway postcard

    This image was also a 1951 postcard shown as Anthony Wayne Parkway at the Miami University University Libraries.

    Caption: Anthony Wayne Parkway STATE AND U. S. ROUTES CONSTITUTING "THE ANTHONY WAYNE PARKWAY SYSTEM" Special blue and white markers, erected by the Ohio Department of Highways, identify the military route traveled by Anthony Wayne in his campaign against the Indians. Wayne, who earned his sobriquet, "Mad Anthony," in the Revolutionary War, was appointed by Washington in 1792 to command the western army. His decisive defeat of the Indians in the Battle of Fallen Timbers, supplemented by the Treaty of Greenville on Aug. 2, 1795, resulted in the opening of the northwest to settlement. Map courtesy of Division of Traffic and Safety Ohio Department of Highways, 1948

  2. 1953 - Anthony Wayne Parkway System Draws Wide Interest As Ohio Observes Sesquicentennial

    Article from Dec 6, 1953 Springfield News-Sun (Springfield, Ohio) 1953, Anthony wayne parkway system
    1953 - Anthony Wayne Parkway System Draws Wide Interest As Ohio Observes Sesquicentennial Springfield News-Sun, Springfield, Ohio, Sunday, December 6, 1953, Page 18
  3. Page four 1954 Old trails and modern highways brochure

    Cover of the 1954 Old trails and modern highways brochure at the Indiana State Library Digital Collection

    Page three of the 1954 Old trails and modern highways

    Page three of the 1954 Old trails and modern highways brochure at the Indiana State Library Digital Collection

Anthony Wayne Parkway Commission

  1. This commission may have come about by at least 1940 from a newspaper article about building a historic Fort Wayne Memorial by Bessie Keeran Roberts, Chairman, Indiana State Anthony Wayne Memorial Commission who mentions a Federal Anthony Wayne Commission although on page four of the 1954 Old trails and modern highways brochure at the Indiana State Library Digital Collection it says it was created by an act of the State legislature in March 1951 shown below and a March 30, 1951 Terre Haute newspaper article below the brochure: It was still in existence in 1972 but was described as "not quite so important" in a newspaper article.

    Page four 1954 Old trails and modern highways brochure

  2. 1951 - Parkway Commission Named by Schricker (Governor of Indiana)

    Article from Mar 30, 1951 The Terre Haute Star (Terre Haute, Indiana) 1951, Anthony wayne parkway commission
    1951 - Parkway Commission Named by Schricker (Governor of Indiana) The Terre Haute Star, Terre Haute, Indiana, Friday, March 30, 1951, Page 13

  3. 1952 - Anthony Wayne Parkway Commission

    Article from Apr 27, 1952 The Times (Hammond, Indiana) 1952, Anthony wayne parkway commission
    1952 - Anthony Wayne Parkway Commission The Times, Hammond, Indiana, Sunday, April 27, 1952, Page 82

  4. 1954 - Anthony Wayne Parkway Commission

    Article from Oct 20, 1954 The Herald (Jasper, Indiana) 1954, Anthony wayne parkway commission
    1954 - Anthony Wayne Parkway Commission The Herald, Jasper, Indiana, Wednesday, October 20, 1954, Page 1

  5. 1961 - Dauler Named to Fair Board - mentions Anthony Wayne Parkway Commission still exists

    Article from Nov 15, 1961 Anderson Daily Bulletin (Anderson, Indiana) 1961, Anthony wayne parkway commission

    1961 - Dauler Named to Fair Board - mentions Anthony Wayne Parkway Commission still exists Anderson Daily Bulletin, Anderson, Indiana, Wednesday, November 15, 1961, Page 11.

    Dauler, who had been a member of the Anthony Wayne Parkway Commission of Indiana resigned from this post and was replaced by Charles Westerman, Fort Wayne.

  6. 1972 - Anthony Wayne Parkway Commission - seem "not quite so important"

    Article from Nov 13, 1972 Journal and Courier (Lafayette, Indiana) 1972, Anthony wayne parkway commission

    1972 - Anthony Wayne Parkway Commission - seem "not quite so important" Journal and Courier, Lafayette, Indiana, Monday, November 13, 1972, Page 11.

    The executive branch also has its share of agencies that to most people seem not quite so important Among these are the Anthony Wayne Parkway Commission the William Henry Harrison Trail Commission the Governor’s Mansion Commission’ and the Indiana Auctioneer Commission.

  7. Anthony Wayne Parkway (Ind.) five items at Ohio History Connection.
  8. Ohio. Anthony Wayne Parkway Board six items at Ohio History Connection.

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