Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana Places

Old Fort Park - Was the Site of the Second 1800 Fort Wayne

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.

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. Photo OLD FORT WALL (RESTORED). OLD FORT PARK, EAST MAIN STREET AT CLAY STREET. DEDICATED SEPTEMBER 12, 1960. MONUMENTS, PLAQUES, MARKERS IN CITY PARKS. at the Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library.

1875 - city council old fort clean old Gen. Wayne well

Article from Sep 8, 1875 Fort Wayne Weekly Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Indiana)

1875 - city council old fort clean old Gen. Wayne well Fort Wayne Weekly Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Wednesday, September 8, 1875, Page 1

It is hoped that the city council may conclude to put the old fort property, which belongs to the city, in good condition. It is asked of that body to have the well--which was dug under the direction of Gen. Wayne--cleaned out, and a pump put in, the property fenced, the grounds sodded, and graveled walks constructed, Mr. Isaac Bush will then construct, by the aid of private enterprise, an exact fort about eighty feet square and the whole would become probably the greatest curiosity and attraction in the city, both to citizens and strangers, and a credit to Fort Wayne.

[ Photos of this Old Fort model are shown and discussed on the 1895 Centennial page. ]

 

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.

The Wabash & Erie Canal built in the 1830s, was replaced in the 1850s with railroad tracks that ran along the north side of the park. The downtown Main Street Firestation # 1 is just west of this location. Last remant is the wishing well at Fire Station # 1 on Main Street. Read Fort Wayne’s First Park by Tom Castaldi published May 8, 2014 in History Center Notes & Queries blog.

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.

Page 225, NOTES ON CHAPTER XVII. (3) Me-te-a died in Fort Wayne in 1827. The late Louis Peltier made the casket in which the body was buried. Peltier, who was born within the walls of the old fort, in 1815, conceived brush to grain the coffin.' " the idea of his life work while assisting to remove the skeletons of the fort soldiers from the military cemetery which was situated in the region of the "junction of the present Berry and Clay streets. This was while Mr. Peltier still was in his teens, and was engaged in learning the carpenter and cabinet- making trade with James Wilcox, whose shop was also the first under-taking establishment in Fort Wayne. In the beginning the undertaker was also the coffinmaker. The first person whose body Louis Peltier made the burial casket was Chief Me-te-a, whose tragic death was the result of taking - poison while conversing with friends in the silversmith shop of "Father" Be- quette. From the January (1880) issue of "The Casket," an undertakers' Jour-nal Published at Rochester, N. Y., the following interesting additional Infor-mation is taken:

"The coffine was of poplar and, as staing material was scarce at that time, Dr. Cushman furnished Venetian red. 'To gain the dark colr', said Mr. Petier, 'we burned oat straw and then secured General Tipton's whitewash brush to grain the coffin.'"

Soon after the burial of Me-te-a, Dr. Lewis G. Thompson had the body ex-humed in order to make an examination of the remains. "A noise was heard." says the late John W. Dawson, "which the company thought to be Indians: and. as they knew the savages were greatly hostile to such disinterments, they were at once panic stricken, and, quickly blowing out their lights, fled to the brush to await the denouement. False as the alarm proved to be. they were nevertheless suspicious of the nearness of danger. So, returning to the grave, they re-buried the body."

From 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 Page 223 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.

1913 postcar Old Fort Park

Old Fort Park (located next to Firehouse #1 on Main Street), c1900

May 17, 2022 post by The History Center on Facebook:

As Fort Wayne grew in the mid-1800s, the dwindling amount of green space for relaxation and recreation became apparent to city officials and citizens. In response, the first city park, Old Fort Park, was established in 1863, through the gift of land from Henry Williams. An urban park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation. Parks may consist of grassy areas, rocks, soil and trees, but may also contain buildings, monuments, fountains or playgrounds.

Fort Wayne’s oldest park, Old Fort Park (1863), is on Main at Clay Street. The cannon that once sat there has since been moved. #fortwaynehistory #fortwayne #dtfw

Posted by Fort Wayne Food Tours on Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Tuesday, November 28, 2017 post by the Fort Wayne Food Tours on Facebook:

FortWayne’s oldest park, Old Fort Park (1863), is on Main at Clay Street.The cannon that once sat there has since been moved. #fortwaynehistory #fortwayne #dtfw

[ Comments say the cannon is no longer on this base and is now at the Swinney Homestead. The Perry cannon is at The History Center. Also mentions Tom Castaldi and B. J. Griswold 1914 Guide to Fort Wayne with a photo. See our Wabash and Erie Canal page. ]

Activities of 1900 Page 542 of Griswold's 1917 Pictorial.

During the national encampment of the Union Veteran Legion a captured Spanish cannon, mounted on a stone pedestal in Old Fort park, was dedicated. Prominent participants in the event were Governor James A. Mount, National Commander W. R. Wooster, of Philadelphia, Corporal James Tanner and William J. Bryan, of Nebraska

Old Fort Place

Was the block between Lafayette and Clay Street that began disappearing with the Nickel Plate Elevation in early 1950s.

1889 site of second American Fort - Old Fort Park

Site of second American Fort Wayne (1889) showing park with cannon and large flagpole, with neighboring house, street, railway and industrial buildings on other side. Reproduced from a published source in the Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library.

1889 Old Fort Park with fountain and cannon

Site of Second American Fort Wayne (1800) as it was in 1898, as a city park with fountain and cannon. View shows iron fence and boys sitting within. House next door visible, including awning on window and small tent in back yard. in the Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library.

What is the published source? Is that where the Getty Image below came from?

February 19, 2024 discussion of these photos on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook

Notice the street curbs and newly planted trees in these photos not shown in ACPL photos above, so was likely taken at a later date?

Embed from Getty Images"

Antique photograph: Fort Wayne, Indiana - stock illustration at GettyImages.

Embed from Getty Images

Same image darker Antique photograph of World's famous sites: Site of the old Fort Wayne, Indiana

1920s battle monument Old Fort Park

Unidentified battle monument, in Old Fort Park, Fort Wayne, IN, circa 1920s in the Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library.

1899 - Old Gun Is On Its Way - Captured Spanish Gun For Fort Wayne - Will Be Placed in Old Fort Park The Fort Wayne Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Wednesday, December 13, 1899, Page 8

Spanish Cannon in snow Old Fort Park

Spanish cannon in Old Fort Park in snow in the Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library.

Spanish Cannon Old Fort Park

SPANISH CANNON ORIGINAL SITE - CLAY AND MAIN (OLD FORT PARK) in the Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library.

Spanish Cannon Old Fort now at the History Center

SPANISH CANNON. ORIGINAL SITE AT CLAY AND MAIN STREETS (NOW AT HISTORICAL MUSEUM). in the Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library.

1907 - Found Cannon Ball - Shell Fired From Old Fort Park July 4 Turns Up in Coal Bin

Article from Aug 12, 1907 The Fort Wayne Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Indiana) 1907, Old fort park
1907 - Found Cannon Ball - Shell Fired From Old Fort Park July 4 Turns Up in Coal Bin The Fort Wayne Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Monday, August 12, 1907, Page 4
1941 Old Fort Park

Old Fort Park, 1941 in the Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library.

1953-1955 Monument Park prior to grading

1953-1955 Monument Park area prior to grading, looking west on Main St. Fire Station #1 now stands where houses are. Tall building at right was Pettit Warehouse [ raising the tracks for the Nickel Plate RR ] in the Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library.

1953-1955 after Monument Park prior to grading

After Monument Park was dug out. View is at Main & Clay, looking south on Clay in the Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library.

1960 Old Fort Well in Old Fort Park

OLD FORT WALL (RESTORED). OLD FORT PARK, EAST MAIN STREET AT CLAY STREET. DEDICATED SEPTEMBER 12, 1960. MONUMENTS, PLAQUES, MARKERS IN CITY PARKS in the Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library. [ Notice the raised Nickel Plate Railroad tracks between the park and the multi-story Three Rivers Apartments building ]

  1. Railroads, Fort Wayne IN: looking west from Old Fort Park, showing Union Pacific car, piles of culverts inside in the Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library.
  2. Railroads, Fort WayneIN: looking west from Clay Street next ot Old Fort Park, showing tracks, cars, switch in the Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library.

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