Born in Ashes: Indiana's Origins - Short Documentary about Indiana's Role in early U.S. History May 2, 2023 kennythenotsogreat on YouTube
While Indiana might not be the most well-known state today, it has played an integral role in the histories of both the (then) nascent United States and the various Native tribes that inhabited the region. What was referred to as the Northwestern Territory (Modern-day Midwestern U.S.) during the late 18th and early 19th century, would become the battleground of two major wars and Indiana would see a major part of those conflicts. Not only were there notable battles, but also exceptional people that took part on both sides of the conflict. From the Northwest Indian War to the War of 1812, Indiana's eventual statehood stemmed from these two conflicts, that finally paved the way for the United States to fully settle the Northwestern Territory. The Miami tribe, as well as other tribes such as the Shawnee, Lenape, Odawa, etc., would be either coerced or militarily forced to cede much of what used to be their lands and eventually be forced to move western across the Mississippi river. Find out in this short documentary about how all of this unfolded.
This production was possible due to the combined efforts of various organizations, all who were passionate about history and Indiana's history. We hope you find this video informative and enjoyable, as history is ever-changing, and the way we remember it shifts as well.
Organizations involved in this project:
Ball State University
The Society of the War of 1812 in Indiana: http://indiana1812.org/
Historic Old Fort in Fort Wayne, Indiana: https://oldfortwayne.org/
Title card: 0:00 Northwest Indian War: 0:09 William Wells: 6:10 Siege of Fort Wayne: 11:50 Credits, Sources, and Images Used: 17:18
Five forts were built all located within a square mile of the center of the current city of Fort Wayne. The current fort is a replica of the 1815 "Whistler's Fort." The reason for the first fort was to protect the fur trade.
Where the First French Forts Stood on page 34 of The pictorial history of Fort Wayne, Indiana : a review of two centuries of occupation of the region about the head of the Maumee River by Griswold, B. J. (Bert Joseph), 1873-1927; Taylor, Samuel R., Mrs, Publication date 1917 on Archive.org. A map drawn by Father Jean Bonnecamps while on the site of Fort Wayne in 1749 (forty-five years before the coming of General Wayne) shows that the French fort of that period (Post Miami) stood on a site which may now be described as a point on the right bank of the St. Mary's river, a short distance north of the Nickel Plate railroad tracks (see map). The commandants in succession appear to have been Jean Baptiste Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes (1697), Francois Morgane, Sieur de Vincennes (1725), Ensign Douville (1734), Ensign Dubuisson (1747), M. de Raimond (1748). Ralmond, in 1750, abandoned the place and erected the last French fort on a site at the junction of the present St. Joe boulevard and Delaware avenue, on the St. Joseph river, a point also within the present city of Fort Wayne.
Fort Wayne’s first fort was built as a dream of the French, and especially the renowned 17th century explorer Robert Sieur de La Salle, to create a wilderness empire that arced through the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River valley from Quebec to New Orleans. Is the first sentence of the First Fort of the Fort by Tom Castaldi, local historian posted October 9, 2014 on History Center Notes & Queries blog. Fort Miami (Indiana) at Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
French built a palisaded fort on this strategic site in 1722; named Fort Saint Philippe des Miamis. One of three French forts built in what is now Indiana to protect French fur trade from encroaching English. First of five forts built over time within a square mile of the center of present-day Fort Wayne.
Side two:
Nearby confluence of St. Mary's and St. Joseph's rivers forms Maumee River, a strategic central part of the waterways system connecting Great Lakes regions with Mississippi River Valley. Using a portage between Maumee and Wabash rivers, travelers could journey nearly 2,500 miles by water from French Canada to Louisiana.
Page 43 in Chapter V--1733-1749 The Last French Posts of the Site of Fort Wayne is WHERE THE LAST FRENCH FORT STOOD — SCENE OF THE HOLMES MURDER OF 1763 in The pictorial history of Fort Wayne, Indiana : a review of two centuries of occupation of the region about the head of the Maumee River by Griswold, B. J. (Bert Joseph), 1873-1927; Taylor, Samuel R., Mrs, Publication date 1917 on Archive.org. The landscape is a view looking up the St. Joseph river in Fort Wayne from a point near the junction of St. Joe boulevard and Delaware avenue. On the high ground at the right. M. de Raimond erected the last of the French forts in 1750. Raimond at that time abandoned the site on the St. Mary's river, near the present Nickel Plate railroad tracks. It was from the new fort that Raimond wrote in alarm to the French governor of Canada that "nobody wants to stay here and have his throat cut: if the English stay in this country we are lost — we must attack and drive them out." In 1760, the fort fell to the British. Ensign Robert Holmes, three years later, was murdered by the Indians and the men of the garrison were taken prisoners. The Murder of Holmes is discussed on page 60 .
Miamis, Shawnees, and Delawares camps shown in View of the Maumee Towns Destroyed by General Harmar October 1790 Map of Kekionga, before its destruction, drawn by Ebenezer Denny ,1761-1822, Osprey Publishing as File:Map of Kekionga.jpg from Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. See our page Indians - Native Americans of Allen County, Indiana.
An October 22, 2018 post by Indiana Historical Bureau on Facebookincluded this image that shows "A Reproduction of the Only Existing Original Drawing of Old Fort Wayne Made by Major Whistler in 1816" on page 156 in Griswold's book shown above. Their post states: October 22, 1794 Fort Wayne was dedicated. Following General Anthony Wayne's victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, the Legion of the United States under Wayne's command moved into present-day Indiana. Wayne selected a site for a fort at the Miami town of Kekionga. The site was strategically and militarily located at the confluence of the St. Joseph, St. Marys, and Maumee rivers. Wayne sought to exert American influence and control in the region over the claims of indigenous peoples and the British. Major John F. Hamtramck was placed in command of 100 soldiers stationed at the fort.
An 1852 daguerreotype photograph of a blockhouse from the old 1816-era fort is shown and discussed in A Daguerreotype of the Fort by John Beatty posted October 28, 2010 on the History Center Notes & Queries blog. Is also shown as a drawing in the pictorial history book below.
Page 235 of Griswold's 1917 Pictorial describes the status of the fort in the 1830s.
October 30, 2013 - Fort Wayne is the answer on the Jeopardy television show A log stockade made by a certain mad revolutionary war general in 1794 gave this city his name. See October 30, 2013 photo on Visit Fort Wayne Tweet on Twitter and Mitch Harper Tweet.
Street View photo from Google map shows the large rock with the marker on Clay Street at East Berry Street which is one block south from the last two forts (Stop #11) marker on Main Street just west of Clay Street. The History Centerbuilding is two blocks west on East Berry Street. Anthony Wayne’s Fort (Stop #10) by ARCH ( Architecture and Community Heritage) includes the Building and Dedication of Fort Wayne map image shown above. It states: Older Historical Marker reads: “The site of General Anthony Wayne’s fort dedicated Oct. 22, 1794. It was the first United States fort near “Three Rivers.” This fort commanded the shortest portage between the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi systems. A portage known to the Indians as “Glorious Gate,” and a strategic crossroads in early trade and exploration.” The Site of General Wayne's Fort Dedicated October 22nd 1794 is at The Historical Marker Datatbase HMdb.org.
Street View photo from Google map shows the plaque for the Old Fort Park location in front of the Old Fort Well by a large tree just east of Fire Station #1 on Main Street east from Clay Street looking north on Main Street at the overhead Nickel Plate railroad tracks. Last Two American Forts (Stop #11) with audio: “Last Two American Forts” featuring Tom Castaldi. Courtesy of WBNI-Fort Wayne on the ARCH ( Architecture and Community Heritage) Central Downtown Trail. The last paragraph states: The fort was built on the same location as the Hunt fort. In 1819, all troops were transferred to other posts, leaving Fort Wayne abandoned. Major Stuckney, the Native American agent, was in care of the fort; he leased some of the rooms to families or individuals who needed them. At one point Reverend Isaac McCoy, a Baptist missionary, held a school in some of the rooms of the fort. As the years went on, logs from the fort were removed by people for building purposes and in the 1830s the fort grounds were disturbed by the digging of the Wabash and Erie Canal bed which passed through the garrison. The fort remained at its location until it rotted down and in 1852 the last building was torn down; souvenir canes were made from some of its timbers. An 1852 daguerreotype photograph of a blockhouse from the old 1816-era fort is shown above. The Last Two American Forts / The Siege of 1812 is at The Historical Marker Datatbase HMdb.org. This location on Main Street just west of Clay Street is the same location as the Old Fort Wayne Well at Old Fort Park.
Old Fort Wayne Well
Old Fort Wayne Well with photos is at The Historical Marker Datatbase HMdb.org situated on the site of the second and third military fortifications that were named Fort Wayne, a block north of the historical marker for the first Fort Wayne (Stop #10). The Old Fort Well was dedicated September 12, 1960 on what was the location of Old Fort Park.
Old Fort Park
Page 139, shows the Cemetery near the current Lafayette and East Berry Streets and Old Fort Park, shown in Google Street View above, on the map Where the Two Stockaded Forts were Located, one of 12 Fort Park mentions in The pictorial history of Fort Wayne, Indiana : a review of two centuries of occupation of the region about the head of the Maumee River by Griswold, B. J. (Bert Joseph), 1873-1927; Taylor, Samuel R., Mrs, Publication date 1917 on Archive.org. WHERE THE TWO STOCKADED FORTS WERE LOCATED. From the most reliable sources of information it appears certain that the original stockade erected by General Wayne's troops in September and October, 1794, occupied a site which included a portion of lots 11, 12 and 13, Taber's addition to Fort Wayne, and that the new fort, erected in 1800 by Colonel Thomas Hunt and rebuilt by Majors Whistler and Vose. included lot 40 — the present Old Fort Park. (See Chapter XIX).
Page 465, Old Fort Park, one of 12 Fort Park mentions in The pictorial history of Fort Wayne, Indiana : a review of two centuries of occupation of the region about the head of the Maumee River by Griswold, B. J. (Bert Joseph), 1873-1927; Taylor, Samuel R., Mrs, Publication date 1917 on Archive.org. OLD FORT PARK. The development of the present splendid park system of the city of Fort Wayne represents a continued and ofttimes discouraging effort extending over a half a century. The first piece of ground to be acquired for park purposes was the fractional lot No. 40, Taber's addition to Fort Wayne, purchased from Harry Seymour for $800. The little triangular spot — one-fifth of an acre — is the most treasured bit of ground in Fort Wayne, as it was a part of the site enclosed within the historic old Fort Wayne. Henry M. Williams later placed about the tract an iron fence and erected in the park a flagpole.
The fort at the three rivers by Snow, Dorothea J., 1909-, Publication date 1968, an Archive.org. FOREWORD In May, 1964, Pi Chapter of Psi Iota Xi Sorority made a challenge grant to the Allen County Fort Wayne Historical Society to research the historical data necessary to build an accurate reconstruction of the Old Fort. The grant was to be used, in part, to employ research scholars, to prepare and publish their findings and to bring to Fort Wayne for the first time a documented account of her earliest history. The resulting body of documents and source materials is now housed in the Historical Museum. It is on this Psi Ote Collection that Dorothea Snow has based her book, an accurate account of early Fort Wayne, written as a gift to the children of our city. Pi Chapter of Psi Iota Xi believes that bringing to life the story of the beginning of this community is as important a contribution as we could make to our fellow citizens. We are honored, therefore, to present Miss Snow's book to this and all future generations. We are proud to have had a part in preserving and bringing to our children their heritage.
Diary of Captain John Cooke, 1794 Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society, 1953, an Archive.org. The Foreword states: Primary source materials relating to General Wayne's sojourn at Fort Wayne are scarce. Extracts from the diary of one of his captains were published in the Fort Wayne Gazette eighty years ago.
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.
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.
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. See photos and discussion January 17, 2017 on You are positively from Fort Wayne, if you remember... Archived group only visible to existing members on Facebook. 360 virtual photo tour on vpix.net. Photos of Old Fort Wishing Well posted August 6, 2017 and 1896 Fort Wayne watch fob photo discussed August 7, 2017 on You are positively from Fort Wayne, if you remember... Archived group only visible to existing members on Facebook.
Merchant-Huxford House (520 Tennessee Ave.) is threatened with vacancy and decay. The house was the home of one of Fort Wayne's early mayors and legendarily contains timbers from the last fort in Fort Wayne. from Endangered structures, Archie winners named published November 15, 2012 in The Journal Gazette newspaper but no longer online.
The fort at the three rivers (1968) - Snow, Dorothea J., 1909-, "A project of Pi Chapter, Psi Iota Xi Sorority and the Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society in cooperation with the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County."
March 23, 2017 a post by Historic Fort Wayne on Facebook posted a television screen shot: Big Bang Theory held their version of March Madness, with a ‘Elite Eight’ bracket for best Fort. Looks like we lost out to Fort Knox. Fort Cozy McBlanket won. How is your bracket doing?
