Barr and Columbia, where Allen County Began
N 41° 04.900 W 085° 08.228
16T E 656480 N 4549494
A sign telling of the history of Allen County.
Waymark Code: WMBKM1
Location: Indiana, United States
Date Posted: 05/30/2011
Views: 9
This is a sign at Friemann Square in downtown Fort Wayne.It is near a red abstract sculpture and reads"
"Barr and Columbia
Where Allen County Began
Allen county was created on April 1, 1824 by a December 1823 act of the Indiana general Assembly. The newly created county was named for Col. John Allen of the Kentucky Militia who helped relieve the siege of Fort Wayne in 1812 and who was killed in the River Raisin massacre near Detroit in 1813.
Four commissioners named by the General Assembly were in Fort Wayne in May 1824 to oversee the organization of the county. The governor named Allen Hamilton, an Irish immigrant, to be the first sheriff (until one could be elected). The first election of county officers took place in May 22, 1824. the newly elected commissioners then named the other officers of the county, set the tax rate, and established fares, licenses, and prices for hotel meals and rooms, stable rent and liquor sales.
The first meetings and elections were all held in Alexander's Ewing's log tavern, known as “Washington Hall”, located on the muddy intersection of Barr and Columbia streets. Ewing's Tavern was the first to br built in Fort Wayne, with a rival tavern being constructed shortly thereafter by William Suttenfield on the opposite corner. The first circuit courts in the county sat alternatively in each tavern until a courthouse could be built. The first grand jury was held at Ewing's Tavern in August, followed by the first circuit court and the first election of justices of the peace."
Group that erected the marker: Arch
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
Main and South Clinton
Fort Wayne, IN USA
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