October rolls around and it’s easy for thoughts of the spooky, the unsettling, the macabre to float through the pumpkin spice haze. Of course, it’s difficult to disentangle the eerie and odd from history and with this handy guide, you won’t have to.
Fort Wayne embraces its history and the many things that have happened here over the decades. ARCH Haunted Walking Tours Saturday, October 6, 2018 @ 7:00 pm- Downtown Walking Tour "One-mile walk lasting about an hour past locations of downtown Fort Wayne’s most gruesome events of legend, lore and actual historical fact. Meet your tour guide at Visit Fort Wayne, 927 S. Harrison St., at least 15 minutes before your tour is scheduled to begin." Tickets: $10.00 for adults, $5.00 for children 6 to 17, and children 5 and under are free. Only 100 tickets will be available for this date. Find more details and purchase tickets here. Saturday, October 13, 2018 @ 7:00 pm-West Central Walking Tour "One-mile walk lasting about an hour past locations of the West Central neighborhood’s best ghost sightings and stories, plus spooky additions of downtown legend, lore and actual historical fact. Meet your tour guide at Visit Fort Wayne, 927 S. Harrison St., at least 15 minutes before your tour is scheduled to begin." Tickets: $10.00 for adults, $5.00 for children 6 to 17, and children 5 and under are free. Only 100 tickets will be available for this date. Find more details and purchase tickets here. Saturday, October 20, 2018 Fright Night Walking & Bus Tour Walking Tour: "One-mile walk lasting about an hour past locations of downtown Fort Wayne’s most gruesome events of legend, lore and actual historical fact. Meet your tour guide in the lobby of the Grand Wayne Center at least 15 minutes before your tour is scheduled to begin." Tours leave every hour on the hour from 6-10pm. Tickets: $10.00 adults, $5.00 kids 6-17, & free for children 5 & under. Bus Tour "Ninety-minute bus tour of downtown Fort Wayne’s most gruesome events of legend, lore and actual historical fact, plus downtown’s and the West Central neighborhood’s best ghost sightings and stories. Meet your tour guide in the lobby of the Grand Wayne Center at least 15 minutes before your tour is scheduled to begin." Tours are at 6, 8 & 10pm. Tickets: $15.00 adults & $10.00 kids. Each bus tour is limited to 52 tickets. All Fright Night tours will meet in the lobby of the Grand Wayne Center where ARCH will have a ticket table set up. You can also purchase tickets online. For more information about ARCH, check out their website. A Night in the Old City Jail Saturday, October 20, 5:00 - 9:00 pm "The History Center, 302 E. Berry St., Fort Wayne, IN 46802 Dare to be scared at The History Center! Travel through the darker side of Fort Wayne’s past with a visit to the Old City Hall Building. Get goose bumps inside the iron cells that housed generations of inmates in the Old City Jail. Take your very own mug shot and discover the artifacts of those who broke and upheld the laws throughout Fort Wayne’s history. Glimpse the decayed remnants of General Wayne’s actual coffin fragments while enjoying Mad Anthony’s Monster Mix Candy Mashup. Stroll the creaking floors of the museum through our halls of hair-raising heritage. Are you brave enough to discover Fort Wayne’s frightening past? If so, enjoy Fright Night at The History Center." Fright Night Lantern Tours Saturday, October 20, 2018 You can't and shouldn't leave the Old Fort out of your plans for Fright Night 2018. "Tour the Old Fort at night. Your path lit only by a candle, you will be guided by a historic interpreter who will present the Old Fort as it was in the early 1800’s and share tales of encounters with the Fort’s resident ghosts." Admission is $5 per person. Tours run from 6:00 pm - 10:30 pm. Create your own tour... No time for the scheduled tour? Short on cash? Maybe your more of a lone wolf explorer. In that case, we found a list of the 12 most haunted places in and around Fort Wayne. Do you dare seek the ghosts out on your own? We would love to see how your adventures went! Feel free to share your comments and photos with us. Happy Halloween!
1 Comment
Photos and content by Traci Henning-Kolberg There's something undeniably alluring about old cemeteries. The mausoleums serving their function as elaborate little houses for the deceased, the marble tombstones with their tender epitaphs, the obelisks reaching to the sky, and trees that create vast areas of muted light, an ambience that feels appropriate to a park dedicated to the dearly departed. On a muggy July evening ARCH of Fort Wayne held their Dearly Departed Tour in the evocative Lindenwood cemetery. This isn't the first time they have done this tour, but rather than focusing on the people buried in the cemetery, the focus this time was on the craftsmanship, symbolism, and style of the monuments erected for those who have passed. The tour began with the Classic Revival Mausoleum. "This is architecture that looks back to a Classical past. The roots of Classicism are in ancient Greek and Roman architecture - in the temple architecture of ancient Greece and in the religious, military and civic architecture of the Roman Empire. The style comprises a range of conventional forms, notably columns (known as orders) each with fixed proportions and ornaments (especially Doric, Ionic and Corinthian)." Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Indeed, this is a lovely mausoleum, but it was it's Art Nouveau neighbor that stole the show for me. It seemed to curve and flow in a way that completely opposed it's more rigidly structured neighbor. "Art Nouveau was aimed at modernizing design, seeking to escape the eclectic historical styles that had previously been popular. Artists drew inspiration from both organic and geometric forms, evolving elegant designs that united flowing, natural forms resembling the stems and blossoms of plants. The emphasis on linear contours took precedence over color, which was usually represented with hues such as muted greens, browns, yellows, and blues. The movement was committed to abolishing the traditional hierarchy of the arts, which viewed the so-called liberal arts, such as painting and sculpture, as superior to craft-based decorative arts." is the definition given by The Art Story Foundation. The next monument was a step away from the mausoleums and was done in the Egyptian Obelisk style. This spire is supposed to make one think of a ray of sunlight and rises 25 feet into the sky. Unlike other obelisks in the cemetery that have the family members buried around it, this one has a vault underneath where the family was laid to rest together. Next to the obelisk and the mausoleums at the beginning of the tour, the next style was completely unexpected and decidedly enchanting. Tree stump tombstones were designed to show a life cut short. Unlike the popular choice of marble for tombstones, these monuments were carved from limestone. These stumps were also loaded with symbolism. Another way of showing a life cut short was represented in the unfinished monument. The people the tombstone was meant for actually sit behind it and not in front. It wouldn't be wrong to think that the stone mason was abruptly interrupted before he could finish his work as that is exactly what it is meant to represent. The last gravesite I visited was one that was added to the tour simply for the craftsmanship displayed in making it. The shrouded tomb shows off the skill of the stone mason in making stone look like drapes of fabric. The last two grave markers we were shown were not on the tour at all, but the nice man we were talking to explained that they were unique in the cemetery and we shouldn't miss them. The first was a simple, well worn gravestone with a weeping willow and a dove carved into the top. This is the only tombstone in the cemetery that has a weeping willow, a sign of sorrow and mourning. The dove is a Christian sign of the Holy Spirit, also interpreted as purity and devotion. The second one, called a crib, was perhaps the most heart stirring marker I had seen on the tour. This one was very well preserved for being over 150 years old, and held the small, beloved body of Anna Lydia Evans, aged four months, five days before she died. As a parent walking through this cemetery with my two sons, I could only imagine the grief her parents must have felt for her loss. Her marker is still here, her resting place protected from the view of the street by one of the many massive trees in Lindenwood Cemetery.
By Heather McGinnis
I enjoyed watching the video about recreating the Victorian Slums. I found it humbling that those people chose to live in hardship to have a better understanding of what their ancestors went through. I do not think that I would be so strong. I appreciate what my family has been through to provide for me. I know my parents sacrificed so that I could have a better life like their parents did for them. I however do not like to be hungry and get weak when I do not sleep well. I think I would be as ill as the older man who worked the full day in the bell foundry. I appreciate how the store owners worked with the people to give them the supplies they needed before they had earned any money. The “tick” was a very interesting form of credit. I can see how as store owners they would want to help others who have less than them, but at the same time they could not give so much that they put themselves in danger of losing it all. I think I would have had the hardest time as a store owner seeing children going hungry. The family that worked together to make enough to pay their rent and food bill was heartwarming. I worked when I was a child, but only to earn my own money to buy Christmas presents and new clothes. I guess I took for granted the roof over my head and the food in my belly. I had clothes from my parent, but they were hand-me-downs from my older sisters. I wanted better clothes, so I washed dishes until I was old enough to cut grass. I did not have to work to feed my family and keep a roof over our head. Now that I have a family of my own, I want my children to learn how to do chores. I think learning to work for things you want is an important lesson. I do not want them to feel that they must have to work for room and board. The former professional golfer that was amputated below the knee is also brave in my opinion. I appreciate how he wanted to know what it would have been like to lose part of a limb in the 1860’s. I could see how the old style of limb was not as comfortable and left him limping more than his new age prosthetics. I think he is sweet for trying to work with the single mom. The single mom with two children was the hardest for me to watch. She did not make enough to pay her tick or her rent. I’m sure that was almost unbearable for her to live with knowing that she had two small children that were depending on her. I never thought about how items like matchboxes were made, let alone that making them might have been someone’s only means of income. Overall, I enjoyed watching the show. It gave me a real appreciation for all that I have and what all my parents and grandparents did to give me a better life. My father’s family lived with a fear that they would be put back in the reservation, and I know they worked very hard to keep us out of that circle of poverty. It was better for us to live simple outside of the reservation than life on the reservation. By Traci Henning-Kolberg Tell the truth. How often have you walked around downtown or driven along Superior Street and never noticed this building? It's an unassuming building, a bit ramshackle with a smattering of vines along the side, the windows blocked to the view of curious passers by. And, like so much about Fort Wayne, it has a hidden history. This is The Canal House, part of the Heritage Trail of ARCH, and an intriguing little building. As the name indicates, when this house was built by John Brown in 1852 the Wabash and Eerie Canal that ran through Fort Wayne was directly behind it. While Brown owned the house he used it as his office and storehouse for materials, but it was later sold and turned into a residential property when the canal stopped being the bustling center for trade and transportation it had once been. Through transitions in ownership and the progression of time the building began to fall into disrepair. In 1974 Architecture & Community Heritage of Fort Wayne (ARCH) began the initiative to save and restore the Canal House. They were able to complete the restoration by 1976 in time to celebrate the country's bicentennial. Shortly after the building was brought back to life, the Fine Arts Foundation (now Arts United) used it for their offices from 1977 to 2010. Since then the building has sat empty and is beginning to slip into obscurity once again. One hopes that with the trend towards downtown revival that this building will become a thriving part of its community once again. Information gathered from ARCH's website and Randy Harter's article in the Fort Wayne Reader.
By Traci Henning-Kolberg I don't know about you, but I'm fascinated by the Old Fort that our city is named for. I'm sure most of us have driven or walked by it at some point, but we are also incredibly fortunate to have numerous people willing to recreate the past through living history events. This past spring I was able to stop by during one of these events and even had the pleasure to speak with some of the people who take an active hand in making local history come alive. If you're looking for a summer event with an historical aspect, the Old Fort has you covered. In early June come check out the Siege of Fort Wayne - 1812.
Date: June 9th thru June 10th, 2018 Hours: Saturday: 10:00am–6:00pm Sunday: 10:00am-4:00pm "The city of Fort Wayne played a critical role in our country’s history. This weekend, the Old Fort will recreate the events of the historic Siege of Fort Wayne during the War of 1812. The clash of American forces against the Natives, sponsored by the British, decided the fate of the last US outpost on the frontier. Had Fort Wayne fallen, Great Britain would have controlled the entire western border of the United States. The weekend will include battle reenactments, period artisans, demonstrations, and children’s activities." I know I'll be there! By Traci Henning-Kolberg When you love history and are asked if you want to be part of a panel to discuss the first Public History course offered at IPFW, it's hard to say no. Especially if you've been bit by the Public History bug and can see the possibilities available in this field. And that's how four History undergrads found themselves giving a presentation at the 10th Annual Undergraduate History Conference, Spring 2018. The panelists were given a chance to introduce what they had learned as well as answer some important, albeit, basic questions about Public History. |
Voices from Purdue university Fort Wayne StudentsThe hope is to gather many voices, perspectives and styles on where and how Public History works locally. More information about Public History at Purdue Fort Wayne. Archives
October 2018
Categories |