“What’s for dinner?” During the 1960s, French cuisine became popular due in large part to the efforts of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. In 1961, John N. Spillson opened one of Fort Wayne’s premier restaurants, Café Johnell. The restaurant featured red velvet upholstery, fine antiques, linen tablecloths, and framed paintings. The European menu was hailed by critics as one of the finest in the Midwest and the Spillsons took home numerous awards. The restaurant’s wine cellar was one of the nation’s most extensive. Café Johnell was arguably the most elegant restaurant ever located in Fort Wayne, offering diners fine French cuisine in the upscale South Calhoun Street restaurant. Always a family affair, John and his wife, Jayne, ran the restaurant with their children Nike and John joining them in the 1980s. After the death of her father in 1995, French-trained chef, Nike Spillson took over the running of the restaurant for the next six years. The forty year tradition of fine French dining in Fort Wayne came to an end in 2001, when owner Nike Spillson closed Café Johnell for the last time. #sociallyhistory
If you weren't able to join us for the four-hour long live feed of the building move, we were able to compress everything you need to see in just under four minutes (the building is moving at 8x the actual speed in this video. Check out our live stream replay from earlier to see how slow it was actually moving.) Be sure to watch until the end to see how much of a tight squeeze it was.
We are elated for our new neighbors, and we are so excited to see the Fort Wayne skyline change—from our perspective.
This is its second move in a year. Its original resting place was 312 S. Harrison Street for around 124 years before it moved across the street next to our agency (at 120 West Superior Street) in January last year. Now, it has finally moved to its final resting point at the southeast corner of Superior and Harrison—where it will become a two-story restaurant with a patio overlooking Promenade Park. We look forward to seeing what Bud Hall and his team do with this historic building.
A sign on Main Street points to Camp Allen Park where a monument was erected May 4, 2017 but not shown in the 2015 Street View photo from Google map. The monument was placed at the old Kekionga Ball Grounds, which is now Camp Allen Park along the St. Marys River on the northwest side of downtown Fort Wayne. It marks the location of the first professional baseball league game played between the Fort Wayne Kekiongas and the Cleveland Forest Citys on May 4, 1871. Fort Wayne defeated Cleveland 2-0 in the game. City Councilman Geoff Paddock, baseball historian Bill Griggs and the local Society of American Baseball Research worked with the Fort Wayne Parks Department to place the monument.
750,000 Americans lost their lives in the Civil War. In Allen County alone, 4,000 citizens went to war, many of them receiving the bulk of their preparation and training on West Main Street’s Camp Allen, located just west of the Saint Marys River. Nearly 500 of those soldiers lost their lives during the war. Copied from the newspaper article Area's ties to Civil War still reverberate Timothy S. Goeglein published July 13, 2022
in The Journal Gazette newspaper.
3615 Oxford Street "originally a training center for the Army's Railroad Operating Battalions. But at the end of the war, it was the detention center for more than 600 German prisoners of war, mostly from Field Marshall Erwin Rommel's famed Afrika Korps." from World War II camp had impact on city by Michael Hawfield published December 15, 1990 in Cityscapes from the archives of The News-Sentinel newspaper.
On Wednesday, September 13, at 1 p.m. ET, archivist Rachael Salyer will speak about the records of the Office of the Provost Marshal General (OPMG) and enemy prisoners of war detained in the United States during World War II.
The United States established hundreds of Prisoner of War (POW) camps during World War II, which held an estimated 425,000 German, Italian, and Japanese prisoners. Salyer will discuss the records of these camps created by the OPMG. She will provide an overview of their establishment and construction, how and where to locate records related to specific camps, and provide suggestions for how to begin researching individual prisoners, as well as camp staff and assigned units.
Hidden gem: Built in 1852, the Canal House lives on as Fort Wayne's oldest surviving commercial building.
The historic structure, which is located on Superior Street in downtown Fort Wayne, served as an office, home and warehouse used in trade along the Wabash and Erie Canal. #TBT
John Brown, stonecutter, mason and merchant of related building supplies, constructed his warehouse at 114 E. Superior Street (which at the time was called Water Street) in 1852. This building, still standing, is the oldest commercial building in Fort Wayne, and the last local structure that is directly linked to the Wabash & Erie Canal.
While most of the businesses and residential activity would have been on the south side of the canal, the real estate on the canal’s north side would have been priced to fit Brown’s needs, as his back door (which then very likely would have been considered the front door) was about 50 feet from the towpath and adjacent canal. Just outside his door would have been mules and horses pulling packet (passenger) and line (freight) boats going east to Toledo or west to Huntington and beyond with the southern terminus being in downtown Evansville, just two blocks from the Ohio River.
Brown’s business occupied this rubble-style building for about 10 years before he sold it 1862. Over the next few decades, the building had a number of owners and uses before ownership was transferred to the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railway Company in 1885 who then owned it for the next 86 years. Also known as the Nickel Plate Railroad (later Norfolk and Western and now Norfolk Southern), it was that company that purchased the canal right-of-way through Fort Wayne in 1881 and began filling it in. The first regularly scheduled Nickel Plate passenger train arrived over the old canal bed in the fall of 1882.
In 1971 the railroad deeded the canal house to the City of Fort Wayne. As preparation for the nation’s bicentennial two years hence, in 1974 the building was identified as a potential restoration project. This led to the formation of ARCH, our local architecture and heritage preservation organization, who with many helping hands completed the Canal House project in 1976. The building then housed the Fine Arts Foundation (now Arts United) offices from 1977 to 2010, when they moved to Arts United Center and then on to the Auer Center in 2011.
The 166-year-old Canal House has now sat empty for the past eight years and is deteriorating from neglect. It, along with the old bus depot lot to the east (who moved to Baker Street in 2012) and the empty site to the west that was the Trolley Bar and adjacent Norfolk & Western passenger depot, all belong to the City of Fort Wayne. With the Landing Project revitalization, Superior Lofts, Promenade Park and other touted nearby development, one hopes a new use for this historic block that includes preservation of the forlorn Canal House will also soon be announced.
A tip of the hat for research and information by John Loveland, Tom Castaldi, Walter Sassmannshausen, Betsy Kachmar
and Susan Mendenhall.
Randy Harter is a Fort Wayne historian/author and the architecture/history guide for FortWayneFoodTours.com
The history of the Capehart Corporation in Fort Wayne, Indiana, dates back to the late 1920s, when entrepreneur Homer Earl Capehart (1897-1970) established the foundations for the enterprise. Capehart was known for producing quality high-end phonographs, radios,radio-console combinations, and jukeboxes.
Homer E. Capehart was born 6 June 1897 in Algiers, Indiana, and he grew up on a farm. After high school he enlisted in the U.S. Army from 1917 to 1919 and advanced to the rank of sergeant. He joined the J.I. Case Corporation as a salesman and soon earned a reputation as a man who could sell anything. He moved from sales to entrepreneurship, at first manufacturing and selling popcorn poppers. In 1928 he established the Automatic Phonograph Corporation; by 1929 the company was manufacturing "talking machines" and was known as the Capehart Automatic Phonograph Corporation. Capehart served as founder and president from 1927to 1932. During the 1930s Depression era, when other companies such as Philco and the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) were developing low-priced consumerradio sets to encourage sales, Capehart stood stubbornly behind the company's high-quality, expensive receivers. This decision led the company to the brink of bankruptcy. In the early 193os, at the height of the Depression, Capehart joined Wurlitzer, a producer of jukeboxes, and as a result the Capehart Corporation was saved. Capehart himself served as vice president of the Wurlitzer Company from 1933 to 1938. The joining of the two companies was a complementary success: Wurlitzer sold jukeboxes, which in turn sold records, which in turn created a demand for the Capehart phonograph. The investment helped make Capehart a wealthy man. Despite success with Wurlitzer, Homer Capehart was forever the adventurer and entrepreneur, and by the end ofthe 1930s he was ready to move into real estate.
In 1938 the Capehart Company and all its "real estate, plants, factories ...all patents, patent licenses and patent application rights, and trade marks" were sold to the Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation. Farnsworth kept the name Capehart because of its reputation for quality radio and phonograph manufacturing.The Capehart manufacturing entities were retooled to manufacture both Farnsworth and Capehart brand-name radio and television receivers intended for consumer sale. The Farnsworth Corporation was banking on the Capehart organization's reputation for quality to launch its entrance into the manufacturing business. However, World War II intervened, and the plants were converted a second time, this time for the manufacturing ofarmed forces communication equipment. Following the war, the name Capehart surfaced again. By 1949 the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation
(ITT) had purchased the Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation, and the Capehart-Farnsworth division of the company was returned to consumer manufacturing. However, even with the financial backing of ITT, the Capehart-Farnsworth sets were never able to capture a significant share of the radio and television manufacturing market. They were competing against the giants of radio manufacturing at the time-RCA, General Electric, Philco, and Westinghouse. By 1954 the Capehart-Farnsworth division of ITT was split. The Farnsworth Electronic division continued as a wholly owned subsidiary of ITT, but the Capehart manufacturing was sold in 1956 to the Ben Gross Corporation, a holding company. The manufacturing properties in Fort Wayne were retained by ITT, CAPITAL RADIO 2.97 the remaining assetswere sold,and the Capehartname disappeared from the history of radio and television.
DONALD G. GODFREY
See also High Fidelity; Receivers
Further Reading
Godfrey, DonaldG., Philo T Farnsworth:The Father of
Television, Salt Lake City: Universityof Utah Press, 2.001
Pickett, WilliamB., HomerE. Capehart:A Senator's Life,
1897-1979, Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1990
Sampson, Anthony, The Sovereign State ofITT, New York:
Stein and Day, 1973
Homer E. Capehart was a businessman and politician who grew wealthy manufacturing phonographs, radios, and jukeboxes, and served as a Republican Senator from Indiana from 1944-1962. Starting out as a salesman, Homer Capehart founded the Automatic Phonograph Corporation in 1927, which became the Capehart Corporation in 1928, with headquarters in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Copied from Capehart-Farnsworth 661-P Television (1948) on antiqueradio.org. See Homer E. Capehart and Philo T. Farnsworth.
Been a busy day at 203 W. Wayne Street #316, but we now have your Wall of Fame Wednesday edition!!!! For some reason, we always end up around boundary lines! Here we have a No Trespassing sign found at the old CASAD Depot on the former State Road 14 East of New Haven that we surveyed several years ago! Come on down and visit the WOF, you'll be glad you did!
Originated in 1977 when friends Jimmy D’Angelo and Tom Casaburo opened their first restaurant on Coldwater Road. Casa’s…Fort Wayne’s “own” Italy! on Visit Fort Wayne blog. See photos and history on their About Us web page.
In 1862, the French Brewery began operations along the St. Joseph River under the ownership of C.L. Centlivre. See their advertisement in the 1883 Fort Wayne City Directory. In 1961, Centlivre became employee owned and renamed Old Crown Brewery. It closed in 1970 and due to vandalism damage was demolished in 1989. Centlivre's home and carriage house still stand across the street. The statue that stood above the plant can be seen at Don Hall's Gas House on Superior Street. From September 22, 2015 discussion by Daniel Baker on Facebook.
Charles Lewis Centlivre founded the French Brewery on Spy Run Avenue between the St. Joe River and the Wabash & Erie Feeder Canal in 1862. Through the years, the company would have several name changes: C. L. Centlivre Brewing Co. 1893-1918; during Prohibition, Centlivre Ice & Storage Co. 1918 – 1933; Centlivre Brewing Corp 1933 – 1961; and finally, Old Crown Brewing Co. 1961 through the company being dissolved in 1973.
Along with his sons Louis A. and Charles F.; his daughter Amelia’s husband John Reuss; and Brewmaster Peter Nussbaum Charles Centlivre built a thriving business that also included a street car line from downtown to the brewery and his beer gardens, Centlivre Park, which was located along Spy Run Creek, the current site of the Centlivre Apartments. At the park, families could gather for picnics, musical performances and sporting events as well as naturally drink a little beer. The park would later serve as the city’s circus grounds for many years, as well as the site of a horse riding academy. His street-car line not only allowed revelers from the city to make the trip north of town down Spy Run Avenue, but also gave steady dependable transportation of the finished beer to the Nickel Plate Railroad station (for which “Little Nick” was made) and the dozens of saloons downtown. Through the years Centlivre made a variety of beers, including during prohibition a near-beer called “That’s It.” Other of the Centlivre/Old Crown brands included: Nickel Plate Special, Old Reliable, Old Crown Ale, Old Crown Bock, Muenchener, Bohemia, Centlivre Tonic, Alps Brau and others.
This image reflects the 1889 rebuilt brewery after a fire in July of that year had leveled much of the original. In 1890, the employees commissioned a nine foot tall statue of C. L. Centlivre which was placed atop the main building. C. L. died four years later at age 67. Don Hall would later purchase the statue, which now stands above the Hall’s Old Gas House restaurant with C.L. pointed wistfully down Spy Run towards his former business and home. The large cast metal C. L. Centlivre lettering that was on the main building is now mounted on the bar wall at Hall’s Triangle Park.
Old Crown (Centlivre) Brewing Co. closed on December 1, 1973 along with the last use of the company’s terms “Lazy-Aged” and “Smoother-ized”. Some of the buildings were quickly removed, with the last of them being razed in 1989. Remnants of the once renowned company include the brick Queen Anne style home of brewmaster Peter Nussbaum, designed by John Riedel at the corner of Spy Run and Nussbaum Avenues, and the frame Queen Anne home of C. L. Centlivre designed by Wing & Mahurin at 2417 Spy Run which faces North Side High School across the river. (Image courtesy Jan Sanner Collection)
Thanks go to Craig Leonard for architectural information. Randy Harter is a Fort Wayne historian, author and the tour guide for Fort Wayne Food Tours.
For "Throwback Thursday" we share this article written for the PEOPLE SOUTHWEST through The Journal-Gazette by Tracy Warner on February 11, 1988. Tracy later became Journal-Gazette writer and Editorial Editor, and now works for Indiana and Michigan Power (AEP). We shared pictures before on the McCulloch House on Superior Street, when Tom and Kris Bireley had restored it and we surveyed for them. This article is on the flip side, and mentions one of our long-time clients Bud Hall. It also talks about the City Light property before it became Science Central. BTW....Hofer and Davis, Inc. provided the survey when Science Central took over!
The post shows an image of the PEOPLE SOUTHWEST a The Journal Gazette newspaper article by Tracy Warner on February 11, 1988 discussing six old buildings he wrote about four years earlier in 1983, four were vital to Fort Wayne heritage, that were wasting away. Two were still empty in 1988. They were the McCulloch House, the Centlivre Brewery site still standing in 1988 but later demolished, The Edsall House, the Baker Street Train Depot, the Hanna School built in 1905, closed in 1977, city bought in 1979, sold in 1984, bought again in 1986 then demolished in 1987 saving only the arched doorways, a gable, the cornerstone and balustrade; and City Light now Science Central. At the end he mentioned car phones a new technology in 1988!
After 45 years of being out of commercial production, Alps Brau beer will once again be returning to Hoosier bars & package stores. Originally created by the Centlivre/Old Crown Brewing Company of Ft. Wayne in 1957 to celebrate that brewery’s 95th anniversary, the beer was a staple in the Midwest for over 20 years. Like many other regional beers and breweries of the time, competition from large national brewers proved too much for the brewery and the brand.
In 2021, Lawrence, IN entrepreneurs Brad & Sheila Klopfenstein acquired the Alps Brau trademark and went on a quest to bring the brand back after more than 40 years of hibernation. That quest led them to meet with over two dozen breweries from Wisconsin to Pennsylvania. After an exhaustive search, the couple formed Alps Brau Brewing LLC and entered into an agreement with 2Toms Brewing Company.
We have developed an amazing beer based on research of historical beer of the era and will produce, market, and distribute Alps Brau throughout Indiana.
The Charles F. and Mollie Centlivre House at 2417 Spy Run Ave. and its brick carriage house will become a local historic district, meaning they cannot be altered externally or torn down without the city’s permission. Built in the late 1800s, the Queen Anne-style house was designed by the firm of Wing & Mahurin, which also produced Old City Hall, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and other prominent structures and is considered historically and architecturally ldquo;significant” by local preservation group ARCH. Their brewery was across the street in the 1860s. The carriage house held their sleigh in back and a long gray building used to hold their beer trucks. Copied from KEVIN LEININGER: Historic status for Centlivre house would help preserve Fort Wayne’s rich brewing tradition by Kevin Leininger published December 11, 2018 in The News-Sentinel newspaper.
March 26, 2021 post by 312 Event Center & Bridal Suite on Facebook. A comment pointed out this business in response to a photo of the eleven bay garage originally for stoarge of the brewery beer delivery trucks in an October 12, 2023 post on Facebook.
From their website History page: Now in May of 2021, 3/12 has renovated this beautiful house into a bridal suite and soon an event center. Plenty of space for your whole bridal party to prepare for the wedding right here. Enjoy downtown and everything this property has to offer in historic Fort Wayne.
A December 26, 2016 post by Northeastern Indiana Racing Museum on Facebook stated: Fort Wayne, Indiana is famous for many race tracks and one that goes way back is the: Centlivre Park Speedway - Fort Wayne / (aka: Centlivre Speedway) 1/2 mile dirt oval (9/28/1907) (1909) (7/23/1911) (9/14/1911), (9/19/1914 - 7/18/1926) (6/03/1928 - 7/08/1928), Ray Harroun won the race on 9/14/1911 / may have been a mile at one time horse track owned by the C.L. Centlivre Brewing Company Pappy Hough started his racing career here in 1919 Was located where the Centlivre Apartments are or were. Don Lieberum Says " Ray Harroun did a demonstration run at the old one mile driving park on that day. Rain made braking the record impossible, so they stopped mid-run to change a tire for the crowd. The Centlivres owned race horses and trained them on their narrow half mile track. They were willing to rent out the Park for many types of events and even more willing to sell beer there." Also the dates the track was open I have from a different source are: 9/19/1914-10/17/1915, 9/9/1917-7/20/1918, 9/6/1920-7/18/1926, 6/3/1928-7/8/1928.
Recognize this place? It is the Centlivre Service Station, circa 1928, that sat on the southeast corner of East State Boulevard and Pleasant Avenue (just east of North Side High School). The main building is still there, occupied by Deluxe Glass. At one time, this was also the local warehouse for 7-Up bottling in Indianapolis.
Called John Hancock Oak by Waymarking.com is described as a 200+ year old bicentennial year tree with a marker just south of Parkview Field on Baker Street between Fairfield and Harrison Streets by the Baker Street train station parking lot. The marker states: 1787-1987 The National Arborists Association and The International Society of Arboriculture jointly recognize this significant tree in this bicentennial year as having lived here at the time of the signing of our constitution Presented by: Maxwell Tree Expert Company.
There is a former Old Apple Tree with lots of local lore too!
May 22, 2022 Facebook post by ACRES Land Trust shows how ACRES staff learned how to use a borer tool that safely takes a section of wood from a tree that shows you can age the tree and observe how much it grew each year!
George Ironstrack, Assistant Director of the Myaamia project, presents on the historical and contemporary contexts of the akima Pinšiwa awiiki (Chief Richardville House in Fort Wayne, Indiana), which received National Historic Landmark status in 2012. This talk was given during Family Day of the 2012 National Gathering of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma.
Item 7. The Chief Richardville House (Akima Pinšiwa Awiiki ) is one of only two National Historic Landmarks in Allen County. The Pinšiwa (Richardville) House is a rare and nationally significant example of a treaty-negotiated residence, built in 1827. It represents the resolve of Civil Chief Pinšiwa and the Myaamia (Miami) people to remain on their traditional lands within the expanding United States. When built, this was the finest house in northern Indiana. It was the primary home of Pinšiwa from 1827 to his death in 1841, and today it is owned and operated by the History Center. Note—the official NHL name of the house is in the Myaamia language. from from 10 Things to Know About Historic Preservation in Fort Wayne at City of Fort Wayne.
Website: www.fwhistorycenter.com/chiefRichardvilleHouse.html. At a press conference on April 17, Todd Maxwell Pelfrey, executive director of the History Center, offered a brief history of the life of Chief Richardville. “Born in Kekionga (in what would become Fort Wayne) in 1761, Chief Jean Baptiste de Richardville (know as Pinsiwa, “The Wildcat,” in the Miami language) served as the Akima or Civil Chief of the Miami from 1814 until his death in 1841. His legacy and the legacy of his people were secured through his implementation of a seemingly benign yet revolutionary piece of treaty making, the establishment of fee-simple title to Miami homelands throughout Indiana and construction of permanent residences for tribal leaders on these lands. His home at 5705 Bluffton Road was constructed in 1827, funded in part by the 1826 Treaty of Mississinewa, along with eight other residences for his sub-chiefs throughout northern Indiana. Copied from Observations on the Chief Richardville House National Historic Landmark Designation posted April 27, 2012 on History Center Notes & Queries blog.
The original site 5705 Bluffton Road is the oldest Native American dwelling in the Midwest, the first Greek Revival Style house in northeast Indiana, the oldest house in northeast Indiana and home to the wealthiest man in Indiana at the time of his death in 1841. His home was acquired in 1991 by the Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society. The United States government officially declared it a National Historic Landmark in 2012. It is, in fact, the only Treaty House (of the once thousands in existence) that is still standing in the United States. Copied from THE AKIMA PINSIWA AWIIKI posted September 9, 2016 by Michael Morrissey on The Waynedale News.com.
The Akima Pinšiwa Awikii (Chief Jean-Baptiste de Richardville House), Fort Wayne, Indiana, is a rare example of a treaty house remaining in the U.S. that was constructed as the direct result of treatymaking between American Indians and the U.S. government. Built in 1827 as part of the terms of the 1826 Treaty between the Miami (Myaamia) and the U.S., the Pinšiwa Awikii was the primary residence and the locus of Pinšiwa’s activities as a sovereign leader in Miami negotiations with the United States government during the years 1818 to 1841. The Akima Pinšiwa Awiiki is nationally significant under NHL Criterion 1 as it is associated with events that made a significant contribution to, and is identified with or outstandingly represents the broad national patterns of United States history and from which an understanding and appreciation of those patterns may be gained. Copied from a longer American Indian Influence in the Old Northwest Territory article at the National Park Service.
Cigar Manufacturers
The tobacco plant is native to the New World. Mass cultivation of the tobacco plant in America began during the 17th century. Throughout the succeeding centuries the cultivation and distribution of tobacco has been a driving force in the American economy. Beginning in 1860, Fort Wayne played a part in the tobacco industry with the manufacture of cigars for nearly a century. Some of the most prominent cigar manufacturers in our city were Cooney Bayer, Baker Cigars and William J. Steckbeck & Sons. Coony Bayer, the last remaining and also the largest cigar manufacturer in Fort Wayne, closed in 1958. Copied from photos posted July 9, 2018 by The History Centeron Facebook to promote their temporary cigar display: Sweet Smell of Success: Fort Wayne’s Premier Cigar Industry! On September 26, 2017 a discussion of 1127 Wells Street formerly the location of George F Wells who made cigars at then 43 Wells Street included Craig Leonard, local historic preservation consultant, and Randy Harter, Fort Wayne historian and authoron You are positively from Fort Wayne, if you remember... Archived group only visible to existing members on Facebook.
Citizens Square Officially Open at City of Fort Wayne. All the older buildings were razed and a new builiding opened in 1959 as the new Wolf & Dessauer department store building bounded by Clinton, Wayne, Barr and Berry Streets. Ownership changed hands in the 1960s and a couple more times before the City of Fort Wayne purchased the empty building in 2009 and after renovation dedicated it in 2011 as Citizens Square. For more details read Citizens Square Block – 1957 with photo of the older buildings by Randy Harter, Fort Wayne historian and authorpublished December 9, 2018 in Fort Wayne Reader. Also posted and discussed December 9, 2018 in You are positively from Fort Wayne, if you remember... Archived group only visible to existing members on Facebook. Citizens Square is a building in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It houses Fort Wayne's municipal government. In 2011, the building attracted media attention when it was almost named the "Harry Baals Government Center" after its former mayor. From Citizens Square on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Citilink
Citizens Street Railroad Co (1872) - Fort Wayne Transit Co (1950s-60s) - PTC (Public Transportation Corp - 1968) - The Bus Company - was discussed in A look at our public transportation past by Betty Cackmar published December 7, 2015 in The News-Sentinel newspaper.
City Building - Old City Hall
The City Building was built in 1840 on land donated to the city by Samuel Hanna at Barr and Berry Streets. The Fort Wayne Old City Hall is a castle-like building located at 308 East Berry Street in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Built in 1893 the Fort Wayne Old City Hall Castle served as the city hall for the city of Fort Wayne until 1971. Today is a museum known as the Fort Wayne History Center which houses over 23,000 artifacts and is open to the public daily. Photo by Great Memories and History of Fort Wayne. In 1977, the city of Fort Wayne committed a Federal Grant to rehabilitate the Old City Hall for use as a historical museum that is now the home of the Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society known as the History Center . City Building (The History Center) is Stop #7 on the ARCH ( Architecture and Community Heritage) Central Downtown Trail.
For "Throwback Thursday" we share this picture of the Northeast corner of Calhoun and Main Streets, the Riegel's Pipe and Tobacco Shop before it became the City County Building, now known as the Rousseau Centre. BTW...Hofer and Davis prepared the Boundary and Topographical for the Board of Public Works in 1966.
For "Throwback Thursday" we share this picture of The City County Building (Now known as The Rousseau Centre) under construction. BTW...Hofer and Davis, Inc. did boundary and topographical surveys for The Board of Public Works in 1966.
The City of Fort Wayne made enormous strides in providing public utility service to residents at the beginning of the twentieth century. The City first declared the need for a municipal light and power plant in 1898 and voters approved the construction of a structure in 1906. By September 1908, City Light and Power was generating power, and the first service meter was set on Christmas Eve of the same year. City Light and Power was later enlarged and modernized from 1929 to 1934. The improvements included a new turbine room building, station switchboard, boiler plant, and a 15,000 kW turbo-generator. The improved municipal plant served residents for nearly forty years. The iconic stacks and lighted signs of the expanded City Light and Power Building permeate the memory of those who can remember this Summit City icon. The sale of City Light Utility to Indiana & Michigan Electric Company came after a referendum in the May 1974 primary. In September of that year, Mayor Ivan Lebamoff signed a thirty-five-year lease of the municipal operation to I & M. Since 1995 the Old City Light and Power Building has been home to Science Central. #sociallyhistory
Desciption: One of the major responsibilities of City Council is to maintain or improve the quality of life for the citi-zens of Fort Wayne. Major public service projects serve this end. By the mid 1850s, a sewer system had become critically necessary, spurred both by the fear of disease and the need for flood control. In 1858 the first sewer line in Fort Wayne was completed. The first waterworks in Fort Wayne was built in 1880, drawing the water from deep wells and distributed from pumping stations. By the early 1930s, it became apparent that there were limitations on the capacity from the underground water supply. A twenty-five-acre tract of land east of Spy Run was chosen for the new water filtration plant, at the point where the St. Mary's River and the St. Joseph River come together. It opened in 1933.
A new municipal power plant, City Light and Power, opened in 1934 and served Fort Wayne for nearly forty years. The sale of City Light Utility to Indiana & Michigan Electric Company came after a referendum in the May 1974 primary. In September of that year, Mayor Ivan Lebamoff signed a thirty-five-year lease of the municipal operation to Indiana & Michigan Electric. Since 1995 the old City Light and Power Building has been home to Science Central.
City Light and Power used metal tags to identify each of the power poles to facilitate any repair that might be needed. I & M took over operations on 1 March 1975, and as a result this city light pole identification tag became obsolete.
Library of Congress drawing
12 drawings plus this text: For approximately 50 years, from 1929-1978, the City Light and Power Works building, designed by Froehlich & Emery Engineering Company, served as the chief power producer for the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana. During this time period the building underwent several alterations and additions, most notably the 1932 and 1936 bay additions. The City Light and Power building obtains style characteristics similar to typical nineteenth century buildings, by way of the limestone relief detailing and masonry detailing in both limestone and brick. The building's key features are the large industrial windows which enhance the original utilitarian purpose of the plant. Plans are already being made to transform the building into Science Central, a science museum for children. By documenting this building, it is hoped that the memory of the old City Light and Power Works can be preserved. From Notes: 1993 Charles E. Peterson Prize, Entry Significance: City Light & Power, 1950 North Clinton Street, Fort Wayne, Allen County, IN at the Historic American Buildings Survey, Engineering Record, Landscapes Survey and City Light & Power, 1950 North Clinton Street, Fort Wayne, Allen County, IN Drawings from Survey HABS IN-251 at The Library of Congress. Lots of photos are posted in Fort Wayne, IN: Power Companies by Dennis DeBruler published April 22, 2016 on Town and Nature blog.
For "Throwback Thursday" we share this picture of a City Light manhole cover we ran across a few weeks ago! I'm sure many of you remember the old City Light Power Plant on Clinton Street. It is now home to Science Central, and BTW...... Hofer and Davis, Inc. provided the survey for Indiana and Michigan Power Company for the transfer in 1990!
For "Throwback Thursday" we share this article written for the PEOPLE SOUTHWEST through The Journal-Gazette by Tracy Warner on February 11, 1988. Tracy later became Journal-Gazette writer and Editorial Editor, and now works for Indiana and Michigan Power (AEP). We shared pictures before on the McCulloch House on Superior Street, when Tom and Kris Bireley had restored it and we surveyed for them. This article is on the flip side, and mentions one of our long-time clients Bud Hall. It also talks about the City Light property before it became Science Central. BTW....Hofer and Davis, Inc. provided the survey when Science Central took over! It shows an image of the PEOPLE SOUTHWEST a
The Journal Gazette newspaper article by Tracy Warner on February 11, 1988 discussing six old buildings he wrote about four years earlier in 1983, four were vital to Fort Wayne heritage, that were wasting away. Two were still empty in 1988. They were the McCulloch House, the Centlivre Brewery site still standing in 1988 but later demolished, The Edsall House, the Baker Street Train Depot, the Hanna School built in 1905, closed in 1977, city bought in 1979, sold in 1984, bought again in 1986 then demolished in 1987 saving only the arched doorways, a gable, the cornerstone and balustrade; and City Light now Science Central. At the end he mentioned car phones a new technology in 1988!
The history section of the web site of the Fort Wayne Civic Theatre says that the company was founded in 1927 as the Fort Wayne Community Theatre Guild, changed its name to Old Fort Players in 1931, moved into the Majestic Theatre that same year, changed its name to Fort Wayne Civic Theatre in 1940, and moved their operations to the Palace Theatre on East Washington Boulevard in 1957. The Civic Theatre company mounted 231 productions at the Majestic over the years. While at the Palace it was renamed the Civic Playhouse. The Civic Theatre left the Palace Theatre in 1969 and briefly set up shop in another location before moving to its current home on the downtown Arts Campus in 1973. From June 27, 2012 Capital Theater comment on cinema Treasures and Sept 22, 1967: Civic Theatre installs sign with photo by Corey McMaken published February 21, 2019 in The Journal Gazette newspaper from a post on Twitter.
Clinton Street
Is named for DeWitt Clinton (1769-1828), who is often called the “Father of the Erie Canal.” While serving in various official capacities he advocated building a canal through upstate New York into the Midwest. The resulting Wabash-Erie Canal led to the growth of the city at its highest elevation and gave Fort Wayne the nickname it has kept to this day: “Summit City.” from MLK name-change request pits the present against the past Group wants Clinton Street renamed for Martin Luther King Jr. by Kevin Leininger published March 31, 2012 in The News-Sentinel newspaper.
Cloverleaf
Dedicated May 27, 1958, the first in Fort Wayne at Coliseum Blvd. then U.S. 24 and 30, now 930, to help trafic flow near the east end industries, photo at Great Memories and History of Fort Wayne.
Club Olympia
At the intersection of Harris and Goshen Roads, opened March 21, 1963. One of only 4 Olympic size pools in Indiana. 1968 Olympic Gold medalist swimmer Sharon Wichman practiced at Club O. The leaking pool closed April 28, 2009 when the struggling American Legion Post 82 filled it in with dirt to expand their floor space to use for meetings and conventions.
Designed by Alvin M. Strauss. Originally opening in 1951, as a movie theatre, the Clyde underwent a $9 Million renovation in 2017-18. With most of the original art deco style of the original building preserved, this treasured venue is now a state-of-the-art mixed-use concert hall and event center. Powered by Sweetwater and featuring cutting-edge sound and lighting, world-class acoustics, and impeccable customer service, The Clyde delivers a live music experience unlike any other. From free convenient parking, to fast and friendly bar service, absolutely no detail has been overlooked. With national touring artists from a wide variety of genres, The Clyde truly does have something for everyone. Copied from a former page titled Clyde Theatre at Visit Fort Wayne.
Here's some fun history about us: In 1949, Clyde Quimby commissioned architect A.M. Strauss to draw up plans for The Clyde Theatre at Quimby Village in Fort Wayne, Indiana. On April 19, 1951, the theater began its life as a 1,782-seat movie house, bringing in patrons from all over the region for first dates, family outings, and a glimpse of Hollywood glamour here in Fort Wayne.
W. Clyde Quimby at Find A Grave has his Birth: 12 Dec 1880, and Death: 24 Jan 1935 (aged 54). So is not likely he commissioned a theater in 1949 unless the plans were done before his death and not implemented until 14 years later?
The Historic 07 is a massive fan of the south side of Fort Wayne. It has more to offer from our schools, neighborhoods, churches, parks, and history than any other place in Northeast Indiana. One of those special places is the Clyde. Today is the story of the Lincoln Assassination and what eventually became the Clyde Theater.
The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln occurred on April 14, 1865, when Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth shot him at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, was attending a play when Booth entered the presidential box. In the audience that evening was a 21-year-old Union Army soldier named Charles. Charles was born in Steubenville but found himself witnessing the first American President to be assassinated.
During the play Our American Cousin, Booth fired a single shot into the back of Lincoln's head with a .44 Derringer pistol. Lincoln was immediately taken to a nearby boarding house, where he died the following day, making him the first American President to be assassinated. The assassination shocked the nation just days after General Robert E. Lee's surrender, effectively ending the American Civil War.
Charles eventually returned to Steubenville, Ohio, where he became a lifelong firefighter. Although his career was in Ohio, at 88, Charles lived in Fort Wayne with his son on Fairfield Avenue. Unfortunately, Charles passed away on a November evening in 1932 during the height of the Great Depression. He was one of the last surviving witnesses of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. His son, Clyde Quimby, was a Fort Wayne veteran theatre owner and operator. His wife, Helen, would be responsible for what eventually became the Clyde Theatre.
The Clyde is a state-of-the-art music, performance and arts venue in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Clyde is host to live concerts and entertainment, private events, community gatherings, and more. Since our doors opened in early 2018, we’ve quickly earned a reputation with concertgoers, award-winning artists and their crews, members of the community, and visitors from all over as one of the top venues of its kind in the region. We owe it all to the fact that we’ve made it our mission to provide incredible entertainment — that sounds better than ever before — in a welcoming atmosphere that celebrates the arts and our community in every possible way. Copied from Clyde Theatre on Facebook.
"The Clyde Theatre was a glamorous theatre that opened on April 19, 1951 on the outskirts of Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was very tastefully moderne. The circular lobby defined the semi-circular foyer that led to the 1,790-seat single level auditorium. The concession stand was upholstered in turquoise leather. There were colorful murals throughout. The murals by interior designer Hanns Teichert in the main auditorium were lit with black-light… They fascinated me as a child. This was my favorite theatre. It was later twinned and renamed Quimby Village I & II after the shopping centre it was located in. It has been in use as a church since closing and has been de-twinned. In 2017 there were plans to convert the building into a concert/entertainment venue and to renamed it Clyde Theatre once again. Renovations began in July 2017 and were completed in April 2018." Copied from Cinema Treasures Quimby Theater contributed by Patrick Kage.
Clyde Theatre at cinematour.com has March 2004 photos from the Walter Kussmaul collection.
CNN's first broadcast: June 1, 1980, by CNN June 1, 2011 on YouTube. On June 1, 1980, CNN aired its first news broadcast anchored by the husband and wife team of David Walker and Lois Hart.
The first CNN broadcast June 1, 1980 was at 6 p.m. shown live in about a million and a half U.S. households. The top news story of the night was then-President Carter’s arrival in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he was visiting civil rights leader-turned-adviser to Bill Clinton Vernon Jordan, who was “in serious but stable condition” following an assassination attempt on May 29. Jordon was at the Fort Wayne Marriott Hotel for his May 29, 1980 address to the Fort Wayne Urban League Equal Opportunity Dinner. Briefly discussed in A Brief History of CNN’s First Day on the Air, 35 Years Ago by Jennifer M. Wood published June 1, 2015 on MentalFloss.com. See our Vernon Jordan page.
CNN First Hour: June 1, 1980 - two minutes of blank space at the beginning - Fort Wayne is mentioned at the 8 minute mark.
The Cable News Network was launched at 5:00 p.m. EST on Sunday June 1, 1980. After an introduction by Ted Turner, the husband and wife team of David Walker and Lois Hart anchored the first newscast.
CNN First Hour: June 1, 1980 by Brandon Millman on YouTube says: The Cable News Network was launched at 5:00 p.m. EST on Sunday June 1, 1980. After an introduction by Ted Turner, the husband and wife team of David Walker and Lois Hart anchored the first newscast. This is the complete hour, including all commercials.
(Incidentally, CNN had paid for a satellite link until 6:30 p.m. Mr. Carter departed the hospital at 6:22 p.m. Had he left Vernon Jordan's room eight minutes later, CNN would have lost its satellite link and the story.) from page 33 in the book The Art of Business Warfare: Outmaneuvering Your Competition with Military ... by David Leppanen.
It's #waybackwednesday! Take a look at the Fort Wayne Coca-Cola bottling plant, pictured circa 1941! The plant was located at 1631 E. Pontiac St. The plant had a bottling capacity of 276,480 bottles per day! This image is courtesy of the Harter Postcard Collection in our Community Album.
Built in 1940, the Art Deco Coca-Cola building was designed by the architectural firm of Pohlmeyer & Pohlmeyer who also designed the Hattersley House at 1925 Kensington Boulevard, the Bayer House at 1512 Forest Park Boulevard, and the St. Joseph's Nurses Home on the St. Joseph Hospital Broadway campus.
March 27, 2018 post by ARCH, Inc. on Facebook:
Bottle Works Lofts will be a great re-use project when it's finished. It's no surprise people are interested!
We are happy to announce that the c.1940 Coca-Cola Bottling Plant (now Bottle Works Lofts) at 1631 East Pontiac is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Congratulations!
5910 Maples Road is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The nomination was prepared by ARCH ( Architecture and Community Heritage). The 44-page National Register of Historic Places Registration Form includes an extensive history, maps, and several exterior and interior photos including the three photos.
Colonial Theatre
Was located at 1003 South Calhoun Street, SE corner at Washington where a parking garage is located in 2018. A 1911 glass plate negative by Norman Standish was posted August 22, 2018 by ARCH ( Architecture and Community Heritage) on Facebook. "His Friends Wife" and "Indian Maiden’s Lesson" were playing at the time. A building to the right of the theater was the Shining Parlor. Craig Berndt provided the photo. Images posted and discussed September 18, 2018 on You are positively from Fort Wayne, if you remember... Archived group only visible to existing members on Facebook.
Columbia Street
Now known as The Landing which has been a prime location downtown off and on since the beginning of Fort Wayne. Renovations are in the works for future developments as of 2017.
Community Harvest Food Bank - the food bank was formed after International Harvester left Fort Wayne in 1983 leaving hundreds jobless devastating the community. It is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the alleviation of hunger through the full use of donated food and other resources. See 30 years for food bank Community Harvest lauded for aiding area by Vivian Sade published September 17, 2013 on The Journal Gazette newspaper.
For "Throwback Thursday" we share this picture taken by Dailey Fogle from the SHAMBAUGH, KAST, BECK & WILLIAMS building at 229 W. Berry Street as featured in the April 14, 1975 edition of The Fort Wayne Journal - Gazette. This is looking North from said building at the "proposed " and now the site of the SENIOR CITIZEN'S RECREATION CENTER. Oh and by the way...Hofer and Davis provided the surveys in 1974!
It's #waybackwednesday! Take a look at this 1909 view of Concordia College in Fort Wayne. This image comes from the Harter Postcard Collection in our Community Album.
It's #waybackwednesday! Take a look at this aerial view of Concordia College, circa 1910! This image comes from the Harter Postcard Collection in our Community Album.
The visionary for Concordia’s grounds was landscape architect Dan Kiley. And today, says Julie Donnell, a founder of non-profit Friends of the Parks, the Boston-born practitioner of Modernism is probably the pre-eminent American landscape architect of the last century. From Place for reflection 'Sacred groves' products offamed designer by Rosa Salter Rodriguez published August 9, 2014 in The Journal Gazette newspaper. God and Grace video about the architect Eero Saarinen by Eric Olson, 21Country Featured Reporterpublished June 1, 2017. See over a dozen photos posted August 9, 2017 and was one of 5 local archetectural monuments shown in photos August 9, 2017 on You are positively from Fort Wayne, if you remember... Archived group only visible to existing members on Facebook
There are several factors that can draw a community together; one of the most powerful is food. One of the oldest restaurants in Allen County was started in 1913 on Calhoun Street by Greek immigrants and since 1914 Coney Island has been a fixture at 131 West Main Street. Vasil Eshcoff, a Macedonian immigrant, purchased an interest in the restaurant in 1916, from one of the three original Greek owners. In 1958 Russ Choka, Eshcoff’s son-in-law, began working on his behalf at Coney Island, taking over in 1961. By then the restaurant had already weathered decades of local and national ups and downs, retaining stability through it all. Elements that contribute to the now over 100 year tradition for this remarkable restaurant are the servers who take orders without writing them down, kid-favorite stools that spin, no-nonsense signs, hand chopping 75 pounds of onions daily, and cases of Cokes “in the little bottle” in the corner. Jimmy Todoran started working at Coney Island at just 15 years old. Russ Choka was like a second father to Jimmy and he worked alongside of Russ, literally 7 days a week. Today, you'll still find Jimmy working 7 days a week, overseeing the operation, chatting with customers and still serving dogs during the busier lunch rushes. Todoran runs Coney Island with his business partner Kathy Choka. Notable as the atmosphere, tradition and service are, most people love the hot dogs at Coney Island. The famous coney sauce is still made from the original recipe concocted in 1913, and today the spices are mixed by only Jimmy himself. The neighborhood has had a multitude of businesses: shoeshine stands, rough bars, candy stores and, at one time, at least ten or twelve other hot dog stands. For 106 years Coney Island remained opened, it was even the only downtown business to stay open during the Blizzard of 1978; however, in November 2020 the restaurant closed for the first time in its history to allow several days of cleaning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Coney Island has long stood the test of time and looks to a bright future. #sociallyhistory
Was founded in 1913 by Swiss immigrant Fred Marolf, Sr. in Indiana and remained private until it was acquired by Beatrice Foods in 1971. It was later acquired by ConAgra Foods, Inc. in 1990. The Indiana location was closed by ConAgra in 1991 and the label relocated to New Berlin, Wisconsin. The company was named for the location of its plant on the County Line Road dividing Allen and DeKalb counties in Indiana. The County Line cheese plant was on the DeKalb County side of the road, just north of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Throwback Thursday: County Line Cheese by Jenny posted March 19, 2015 on Eckhart Public Library blog. April 24, 2016 and November 24, 2017 discussions on You know you've lived in Fort Wayne too long when... Private Facebook group. County Line (brand) on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopediastated: "is a brand of cheese owned by ConAgra Foods, Inc. and marketed primarily to delicatessens. " See a plant photo January 2, 2012 on Great Memories and History of Fort Wayne and again July 20, 2012. The brand County Line Cheese is now sold by DCI Cheese Company of Richfield, Wisconsin.
One of the oldest standing homes in Allen County is for sale. WANE 15 Taylor Williams WANE 15 takes you on a tour of the property and shows you what life was like when the house was first built.
Fort Wayne home built in 1852 up for auction, mystery includedOctober 15, 2019 on CBS WANE-TV NewsChannel 15 with several photos states: The homestead, though not on the historical registry, is one of the oldest still standing in Allen County. Historical experts have told Sowers that part of the smaller portion of the house was built in the 1820s while the larger section was built in 1852. Several places, streets, and buildings in the area are named after Covington Homestead. However, not much is known about the original owners of the Covingtons’. The Allen County History Center has a few newspaper articles from the 1950s on the house and then owners at the time, the Cronin family. [included in the online article] Other than the articles nothing else is known about the family or the home.
For "Throwback Thursday" we stick to our theme of COVINGTON MANOR FARMS. The first is some promotional material from the time it was platted in 1993. The second is an old picture taken on the estate. The 3rd is a picture of the old Berghoff Estate taken from the Assessors Office. Anyone remember the Charity Horse Show? BTW... Hofer and Davis, Inc. did the survey for the Berghoff's in 1964, the Perrey's in 1981 and the plat in 1993.
C & P Machine
Fort Wayne's engine experts 48th anniversary on January 1, 2013
Crossroad Child & Family Services, Inc. is at 1825 Beacon Street. Their Facebook page states: In 1883, The Reformed Church in the United States established “The Reformed Orphan’s Home of Fort Wayne, IN.” In October 1883, nine-year-old Hermann Leisering came to live with our first Superintendent, Rev. John Rettig, and his wife. Over many decades, hundreds of orphans and other children in need of a home came here to live on the land on which we were founded and still stand on today. As the need for orphanages began to diminish after World War II, we adapted by providing a home for unwed mothers known as Woodhaven and services for emotionally troubled children. More than 1,000 unwed mothers came to Woodhaven from 1959 to 1973 to live until giving birth. Members of supporting churches adopted most of the infants. The need for these services diminished in the early 1970s as it became acceptable for unwed mothers to remain in their family homes. However, we continued to work with troubled children, expanding our services and making a name for ourselves in the Midwest as one of the finest treatment providers for emotionally troubled young people. For many years we were known as The Fort Wayne Children’s Home. We started using the name Crossroad in 1975. In 2010 our legal name became Crossroad Child & Family Services, Inc. Today we provide a full spectrum of services in residential, outpatient, home-based, and community settings. David Mullins became our President and Chief Executive Officer in 2021. He is the thirteenth administrator of our agency.
#TBT From the #CrossroadArchives: We're throwing it all the way back to the very beginning. Pictured here is the last known surviving photograph of Sunrise Cottage. This building, for the first several years of our existence, was the entirety of what came to be known as the Reformed Orphans Home of Fort Wayne, Indiana.
In 1883, nine-year-old Hermann Leisering came to live with our first Superintendent, Rev. John Rettig and his wife in this very building. Over many decades, hundreds of orphans and other children in need of a home came here to live on the land on which we were founded and still stand on today. Originally sitting on 200 acres, much of the land has been sold off and now contains Parkview Hospital Randallia, Parkview Behavioral Health, Byron Wellness Center, the Fort Wayne VA Hospital, and dozens of other businesses, nonprofits, and private residences.
In the modern era, we provide a full spectrum of services in residential, outpatient, home-based, and community settings.
#TBT from the #crossroadarchives: Here is an aerial view of our campus from the early 1950s looking north/northwest, featuring the brand new Westminster Administration Building and 3 new dormitories. 3 of these 4 buildings are still standing - the living unit on the far right was demolished to make room for the new Rider Administration Building, completed in 2021.
The large fields to the south were sold off and is now occupied by Byron Health Center. As the real estate surrounding what was at the time known as the Fort Wayne Childrens Home became more urbanized, our board of directors decided that if land was to be sold off, it would need to be used for public health purposes - specifically for mental health and well-being. Now, Parkview Hospital, the VA Hospital, Parkview Behavioral Health, Byron Health, Park Center, Early Childhood Alliance, and more all sit on land that was, at one time, farmland that belonged to the Fort Wayne Children's Home.
There have been so many incredible stories pass through our campus over the last 140 years. Stories of triumph, of resilience, of trauma, heartbreak, and loss. In this picture you see here, there would've been children who were abandoned by their parents, children who were born into families that didn't have the ability to take care of them, children who's parents died in an accident, or war, or domestic violence, or sickness, or......
But if you look closely, you'll also see the adults here who cared for them. The all-too-often thankless job of caring for those who would otherwise be forgotten by society. The long, grueling hours and the heartbreaking responsibility of showing these children that there is indeed some good in this world. It's them that we honor and remember as we approach this milestone 140th anniversary.
But it's not just these adults who make it possible. It's the adults (and sometimes even other kids) who make the choice to donate their time and treasure to ensure these children are taken care of. It's adults like you, reading this social media post right now.
You can be a part of our story. We'd love for you to join us.
#TBT from the #CrossroadArchive: Our campus and our community sure looked a lot different 123 years ago! In this postcard image from 1900, you can see the drive that for the majority of our history, welcomed visitors to our campus.
Nothing in this picture exists any longer. We've evolved, torn down and built up so much since the photographer snapped this photograph. That was all made possible through the generosity of those who care about the well being of children and families in our community.
You can help ensure that our campus can continue to evolve for the next 140 years by visiting our website! www.crossroadcares.org/anniversary
Crossroad was established 140 years ago as The Reformed Orphans’ Home of Fort Wayne Indiana on the land where we still sit today. For more than half a century, the land was cultivated by the staff and boys of the Home who were big enough to handle the work.
The Home also rented and worked neighboring farms as well. They raised the grain, fruits, vegetables, and meat for the home and sold extra crops, saving and making money for the Home. They learned the skills needed to farm the land, raise livestock, and repair machinery.
One visiting minister wrote, “All of the children are put to work, and thus are they taught the valuable and indispensable lesson of industry.”
The Home was a self-sufficient farm. In 1904, the farm was, “yielding better results from year to year. Our wheat harvest yielded 350 bushels. We expect a yield of 1000 bushels of oats. We have hay sufficient for our cattle. The harvest of early potatoes was satisfactory and also enough berries. We have always had enough vegetables for our large family. Our stock consists of 9 horses, 15 calves, 30 – 75 pigs and 150 poultry. During the last winter we killed 31 pigs and several heifers for home use.” (Superintendent, Rev. Winter)
Former male residents remember husking corn, digging peanuts, potatoes and horseradish, picking fruit, rendering lard, butchering and salting meat, bailing hay, hoeing weeds, cleaning stalls, grinding the grain, lugging big crates of vegetables, hitching the horses to the implements, using that first gasoline tractor, snitching a few bites of fresh food while picking, cutting fire wood, and celebrating the end of harvest with a bon-fire. And they love to talk about the old thrashing machines!
Children continued to work the farm well into the 1950s. For many years, boys who were then attending North Side High School had to leave school early in order to walk back to the Home in time to milk cows, gather eggs, feed stock, and tend the fields while there was still light.
No more farm work these days! But our children are certainly taught valuable skills that will benefit once they are successfully discharged from our care.
Paul "Curly" Armstrong, a retired Indiana basketball legend and Ft. Wayne celebrity, along with his wife Mary Armstrong, founded Curly's Village Inn in 1969. They have their history on their About web page.
from Camp Scott housing German prisoners 12 Nov 1944 in The Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis, Indiana, Sunday, November 12, 1944, page 15 on Newspapers.com.
This image comes from the Harter Postcard Collection in our Community Album.
www.crossroadcares.org/anniversary