Nineteenth Century
Typical Canal Vessel
Nickel Plate Railroad Depot
|
The Canal Era
The next key figure in Fort Wayne’s history was Judge Samuel Hanna, who was not only a judge but also “a pioneer, merchant,…legislator, canal builder, railroad builder, [and] banker” [2, p. 109]. Hanna arrived in 1819 and shortly thereafter helped construct a trading post and a grist mill. He also helped realize the construction of the Wabash & Erie Canal in the 1830s, and later secured groundwork for the city’s first railroad. In addition, Hanna was instrumental in the organization of Allen County as a political entity in 1824 and subsequently designating Fort Wayne as the county seat [8, p. 68].
Fort Wayne itself was incorporated as a town in 1829, became a city in 1840, and experienced a considerable enlargement in 1894, when the wooded territory of South Wayne was annexed [2, p. 109-174]. The earliest pioneers arriving in Fort Wayne were attracted by the fur trade business, yet that all changed quickly as formation of the canal served as yet another critical point because it opened the city to the development of new industries and a swelling of immigrant populations in the early 19th century. The Railroad Era
The first railroad tracks laid in the city were just south of present-day downtown (then the edge of town), and served as a connection to the Pennsylvania Railroad. By 1870, the city became a crossroads for several regional lines extending to other Midwestern cities. The city benefited tremendously from these connections, leading to the formation of a variety of industrial enterprises. The iron and lumber industries in particular were strong in Fort Wayne during this time [45, p. 60].
In 1880, the previous “canal right-of-way was purchased by the Nickel Plate Railroad whose elevated tracks trace the canal route through the north edge of downtown” [8, p. 68]. That same year, total manufacturing employment in Allen County had grown to approximately 3500 [37, p. 417]. Despite all of the changes occurring in Fort Wayne over the course of the 19th century, it remained a dense, compact city. Physical expansions did occur, but they were mainly limited to “larger, landscaped lots in neighborhoods such as the Lakeside Park addition, platted in 1890, and Williams-Woodland Park, platted in 1903” [16]. |