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 Forklift Masts Fort Wayne - Fort Wayne, Indiana is the county seat of Allen County. In the year 2010, the Census recorded the population as 253, 691 and it came in as the 2nd largest city within the state of Indiana, and the 74th largest city in the USA. The municipality of Fort Wayne is situated in the northeastern portion of the state of Indiana and is around 80 km or 50 miles south of the border in the state of Michigan and 29 km or 18 miles west of the Ohio border.
The city is the main city in the Fort Wayne Metropolitan Statistical Area, that is an area which consists of the counties of Allen, Whitley and Wells. Their combined population is estimated at 414,315. Additionally, the Fort Wayne-Auburn-Huntington CSA is another combined statistical area that consists of Adams, Huntington, DeKalb and Noble counties for a combined population of about 610,000 residents.
The U.S. Army constructed the city of Fort Wayne in 1794, last in a series of forts located near the Miami Indian Village of Kekionga. It was constructed under the direction of American Revolutionary War statesman General "Mad" Anthony Wayne. The fort was named in Wayne's honor and was established at the confluence of the St. Joseph, St. Mary's and Maumee Rivers. Fort Wayne became a trading post for European settlers. During 1823, the village was platted and following the completion of the Erie and Wabash Canals, the area saw enormous growth.
During the middle part of the 17th century, the Miami first nation established a settlement known as Kekionga. This settlement was situated at the St. Mary's, Maumee and St. Joseph Rivers. The village became the traditional capital of the Miami nation and related Algonquian tribes. It is projected by historians that around the year 1676, French priests and missionaries visited the Miami people as they were returning from a mission at Lake Michigan. During 1680, a letter was sent to the Governor-General of Canada from Sieur de La Salle, Rene-Robert Cavelier, stating that he too had stopped there. The traders from France established a post during the 1680s, since it was the crucial portage between the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes.
The city of Fort Wayne developed into a major manufacturing center in the mid 20th century. Certain employers such as General Electric, Magnavox, International Harvester and Westinghouse were vital in the local economy. In addition, Phelps Dodge, Essex Wire and Rea Magnet Wire made the biggest concentration of copper wire production in the globe in the WWII. As soon as the century drew to a close, the reduction of manufacturing jobs nationally, along with improvements in technology led Fort Wayne to be counted among other cities situated in the Rust Belt.
The city's economy has begun to diversify over the past few decades into insurance, security and defense, education and health care. Recently, the hospitality and service sector has likewise grown. During 2006, there were 5.4 million visitors who visited and spent over $415 million within the city of Fort Wayne.
The city of Fort Wayne has become the headquarters for businesses including: Steel Dynamics, Do It Best, Medical Protective, North American Van Lines, Genteq, Vera Bradley, Sweetwater Sound and Rea Magnet Wire. Steel Dynamics is the only Fortune 500 Company.
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