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Please add profiles of those who were born, lived or died in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Fort Wayne is the county seat of Allen County.
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Overview
Fort Wayne was built in 1794 by the United States Army under the direction of American Revolutionary War general Anthony Wayne, the last in a series of forts built near the Miami village of Kekionga. Named in Wayne's honor, the European-American settlement developed at the confluence of the St. Joseph, St. Marys, and Maumee rivers as a trading post for pioneers.
The Siege of Fort Wayne was a battle that took place Sept. 5 - 12, 1812 during the War of 1812, between the United States military garrison at Fort Wayne and Potawatomi and Miami Indians, within what is now the modern city of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Indians suffered a severe loss and withdrew on Sept. 12. A vast force under Gen. William Henry Harrison arrived later that day to relieve the fort, ending the siege. The victory was one of two (the other being the battle of Fort Harrison which ended on the same day) which secured Indiana Territory for the United States in the war.
The village was platted in 1823 and underwent tremendous growth after completion of the Wabash and Erie Canal and advent of the railroad. Once a booming manufacturing town located in what became known as the Rust Belt, Fort Wayne's economy in the 21st century is based upon distribution, transportation and logistics, healthcare, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and financial services. The city is a center for the defense industry which employs thousands.
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