Driving Around Fort Wayne, Indiana in 4k Video

Filmed on Sunday, August 25 2024, I drive around Fort Wayne, IN to see what's going on.

European presence in the area began in 1702 when France built a small trading outpost named Fort Miami. The first census in 1744 recorded a population of 40 Frenchmen and 1,000 Miami Native Americans.

France lost control of the fort to Great Britain in 1760. Britain was only able to control the area for 3 years, and lost control in 1763 due to multiple Native American rebellions. Nobody had firm control of the area for thirty years, until American General Anthony Wayne established Fort Wayne in 1794. Wayne ordered a fort that could withstand a British 24-pound cannon and any Native American attacks. He would die one year later.

The first civilian settlement began in 1815 and in 1819 the military detail abandoned the fort and moved to Detroit. The town's population was 300 in 1829, grew to 2,000 by 1840, and reached 50,000 by 1900.

The city's economy was substantially based on manufacturing and several innovations came out of Fort Wayne during this time, including gasoline pumps and the refrigerator. Manufacturing is still very important to Fort Wayne which represents 1/3rd of their economic output and employs 17% of their workforce. General Motors employs 4,320 in the city, manufacturing GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverado pickup trucks.

Despite having no big league professional sports teams, Fort Wayne has played a significant role in sports history. In 1883, Fort Wayne hosted one of the first lighted evening baseball games ever recorded. Fort Wayne is also credited as the birthplace of the NBA as the merger between the BAA and the NBL was brokered there. Formed in 1937, the Fort Wayne Pistons were a dominant team in the NBL and became an NBA team after the merger. The franchise would move to Detroit in 1957.

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