The Fort Wayne Old City Hall Building in downtown

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

operates as a museum known as The History Center, and has served as headquarters for the Allen County–Fort Wayne Historical Society since 1980. The

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a architectural style, style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revivalism (architecture), revival style incorporates 11th- and 12th-century ...

style

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

building was designed by the architectural firm Wing & Mahurin and built in 1893. It served as a functioning

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

for the city until 1971 when local officials moved to the City-County Building. ''Note:'' This includes and Accompanying photographs It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1973. The History Center has collected 32,000 artifacts and shows many of them in permanent displays dedicated to the region's history, dating from the

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

to the 18th century to present. The Society also owns the National Historic Landmark Chief Jean Baptiste de Richardville House and the Historic Barr Street Market.The History Center - Chief Richardville House
Retrieved on 2008-05-01.

Exhibits

* ''Shaping the Confluence:'' includes the following ''Earliest Inhabitants'', tools, weapons, a

mastodon A mastodon, from Ancient Greek μαστός (''mastós''), meaning "breast", and ὀδούς (''odoús'') "tooth", is a member of the genus ''Mammut'' (German for 'mammoth'), which was endemic to North America and lived from the late Miocene to ...

's broken rib bone and large tooth are displayed. ''Miami Indian History'', images of Pacanne, Little Turtle, and Jean Baptiste de Richardville, all chiefs of the Miami, displayed, along with collections on the Miami Indian capital,

Kekionga Kekionga (, meaning "blackberry bush"), also known as KiskakonCharles R. Poinsatte, ''Fort Wayne During the Canal Era 1828-1855,'' Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau, 1969, p. 1 or Pacan's Village, was the capital of the Miami tribe. It wa ...

. Miami chief Little Turtle's items displayed include a sword presented to him by President

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

. Exhibit also includes a model of a typical 18th-century Miami village. ''Anthony Wayne'', exhibits the birth of Fort Wayne with General "Mad"

Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and a Founding Father of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military expl ...

's ordering of a fort to be built at the three rivers, October 22, 1794. ''An Emerging City'', includes a model of and parts of the Wabash and Erie Canal, attributed to turning the city into a boom-town in the 19th century. * ''Industry & Transportation'', includes a recreation of a blacksmith shop, foundry and discusses Fort Wayne's long association with the railroads. * ''Innovation & Technology'', a new gallery opened in 2012, features a number of the products that were created and produced by entrepreneurs in Fort Wayne and Allen County. * ''Old City Jail'', This section of the Old City Hall building housed the Police Department. There were offices, an interrogation room, a garage for vehicles, and most notably the City Jail and booking area. This small jail was in operation from 1893 to 1971 and was mostly used as a temporary holding area for those awaiting trial. City Hall Ft W IN 2

References

External links

*
The History CenterThe History Center Digital Collections
{{Fort Wayne, Indiana City and town halls on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Former seats of local government National Register of Historic Places in Fort Wayne, Indiana Government buildings completed in 1893 History centers History museums in Indiana Museums in Fort Wayne, Indiana Romanesque Revival architecture in Indiana

Exhibits

See also

References

External links