The old Firehouse # 5 is looking like new. The oak doors have been striped and re-varnished and the 114 year-old bricks look like they were just laid yesterday.
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At the turn of the 20th century all segments of Indiana’s economy rapidly expanded because of the interurban! The copper, steel and heavy metal industries especially benefited from the construction and maintenance of interurban lines. . . Read More
The last Interurban run out of Fort Wayne took place on January 18, 1941. This magnificent, unique, transportation system, for more than four decades, had accommodated countless millions of men, women and children from all walks of life and with equal . . . Read More
The USS Indianapolis (CA 35) Gallery at the Indiana War Memorial will be permanently opened to the public in a ceremony organized by the USS Indianapolis Navy Club beginning Monday, August 20 as part of Indianapolis Navy Week. . . Read More
Henry Ford had produced ten million Model “T” Fords by 1924 and with Indiana’s improving road system the electric Interurban was nearing its end. The motor bus was the next major competitor to make the scene and it was independent . . . Read More
Waynedale resident, Donald W. Waldron, was born August 21, 1925 in Hazelton, Pennsylvania and graduated from high school when he was seventeen. The year was 1943 and WWII was in full swing. . . Read More
By 1914 interurban lines in Indiana totaled more than 2,318 miles of track. Indianapolis’ Traction Terminal building was on the corner of Illinois and Market Street and that was its hub. . . Read More
The greatest early impetus to the Interurban industry came in 1895 when Henry A. Everett and Edward W. Moore built the Akron, Bedford and Cleveland, OH, A.B.C. line. It served a large populous area and became instantly profitable. . . Read More
A timber and debris dam had been constructed on the St. Joe River about 7 miles northeast of Fort Wayne to collect feed water for the Wabash and Erie Canal. The reservoir resulted in a beautiful lagoon surrounded by trees. . . Read More
In 1887 ‘at the courthouse door’ the assets of the Citizen’s Street Railroad (CSR) were sold to John Bass, Steven Bond and Frank DeHaas Robinson who reorganized the company as the Fort Wayne Street Railroad. . . Read More
The following story, “The Interurban-Its Boom and Bust”, was presented by Jack F. Stark for the Fort Wayne Quest Club on February 17, 1984. Members of Fort Wayne’s Quest Club gave many witty, informative and colorful lectures between . . . Read More
CIVIL WAR MEDICINE INVITES YOU
The friends of The Lincoln Museum and Dupont Hospital invite you to discover a highly visual exhibition, Bleeding Blue and Gray: Civil War Medicine at The Lincoln Museum now through September 23, 2007. . . Read More
Dr. Gordon E. Damman, D.D.S., opened his lecture Civil War Medicine: An Overview, Tuesday, April 17th at The Lincoln Museum with the humorous proposal that bitten bullets collected from the Civil War were not, in fact bitten by soldiers for anesthetic . . . Read More
On May 5, The History Center opened a new season of programs at the Chief Richardville House, 5705 Bluffton Road. The first Saturdays of each month, May through November, have been designated as “Miami Indian Heritage Days.” . . Read More
courtesy of History.com
People have been making jack o’lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed “Stingy Jack.” According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to . . . Read More
“Helping America Get In Touch With Its Feminine Side”
The tragedy at Pearl Harbor impacted America far beyond the strike of Japanese bombs. Fathers, brothers, husbands, and lovers were being sent overseas leaving their country, and women, . . . Read More
To date the Mason family knew little about their early ancestors, other than that some of them were born in this home on Old Trail Road. Then one thing led to another and before you know it 95-year old Velma Mason Rorick, Velma’s daughter Jackie . . . Read More
1804…Under order of President Thomas Jefferson, the Lewis & Clark Expedition departs from St. Louis, Missouri, on May 14, to chart a course to the Pacific Ocean.
1841…First emigrant wagon train for California. . . Read More
POWER PLANT
The Power Plant building consisted of four rooms: boiler room, engine room, washing room and ironing room. My father was engineer and was assisted by William Mellinger who lived on Brooklyn Avenue near the Wabash Railroad. . . Read More
The following history of the Waynedale Fire Department, written in 1983, by Paul W. Fairfield, with assistance from James and Catherine Mason, Delmar Green, Mrs. George Prince and Kenneth McCague.
Around 1940 a number of people in the Waynedale area . . . Read More
Some 63 years ago on a bright sunny Sunday morning on the isles of Hawaii, a giant armada of aircraft blackened the skies. For the first time in our history a foreign power attacked our country on our soil and virtually destroyed our naval fleet in . . . Read More
HISTORY OF THE OKTOBERFEST
It’s that time of year again! Time to break out the lederhosen and dirndls, turn up the oom-pah band and get ready for the Oktoberfest. But before you head for the beer tent, here’s a little history about the . . . Read More
The Chief Richardville House at 5705 Bluffton Road (behind 1st Source Bank) is open for public tours starting Saturday, June 26 from 1-4PM. All media, city officials and History Center members were invited to attend the ribbon cutting and wine reception . . . Read More
The Fort Wayne Aviation Company
As you drive west from Waynedale to 5036 Lower Huntington Road, before you get to Smith Road, you come to what was once the Fort Wayne Aviation Company. . . Read More
The Tower and the Church
In the late 1920’s a first lone gasoline pump occupied the northwest corner of Old Trail and Lower Huntington Roads, where East of Chicago Pizza now resides. The sign at the corner often said: ‘Out of . . . Read More