Fort Wayne is located in the city of Detroit, Michigan, at the foot of Livernois Avenue, in the Delray neighborhood. The fort is located on the Detroit River, at a point where it is located less than half a mile off the coast of Ontario. The original limestone barracks from 1848 still stands, as does the fort from 1845. The original limestone barracks from 1848 (with later brick additions) still stands, as is the fort from 1845 (renovated in 1863 with external brick cladding). On the grounds, but outside the original fort, there are additional barracks, officer quarters, hospitals, shops, a recreational building, a police station, a guardhouse, a garage and a stable.
Built in 1842, Fort Wayne is perhaps best known for its role in major military conflicts. The fort served as a training ground for Michigan's volunteer infantry and artillery troops during the Civil War, and a garrison for 500 African-American soldiers segregated in World War I. Fort Wayne was home to Italian prisoners of war captured during the North African campaign, who worked as servants, cooks and janitors. Fort Wayne, named after Brigadier General Anthony Wayne, was Detroit's third fort, but the first one built by Americans.
Named after General Anthony Wayne, Fort Wayne is actually the third fort found along the Detroit River. When construction began on Fort Wayne in 1842, cedar-clad earth walls were used as part of the original fortifications. The Fort Wayne site originally consisted of a tall sand mound with freshwater springs along the swampy shoreline of the Detroit River; from this geography the municipality of Springwells (later annexed to the city of Detroit) took its name. Fort Wayne remained unused for a decade after its initial construction, with only one guard.
Before any cannon was installed in the newly built Fort Wayne, the United States and Great Britain peacefully resolved their differences, eliminating the need for a fort on the Detroit River. In 1875, the city of Detroit annexed part of the Springwells Township; in 1884, it annexed more of the Springwells Township east of Livernois Avenue, including all land adjacent to Fort Wayne. The first week of March, the Detroit City Council voted to approve a zoning change that will designate the development of Detroit's historic Fort Wayne as a regional park, allowing for the adaptive use of its buildings as a historic park environment. In 1876, Henry Gillman and the Detroit Scientific Association excavated the Fort Wayne mound.
During the red fear after World War I, citizens accused of being communists were detained in the fort before being tried, while during the Great Depression, homeless families also sought refuge in the fort and Italian prisoners of war were housed in the center during the campaign North African from the Second World War. Upon ceding control to the British, they soon built a second fort called and built the second fort, Fort Lernoult, located near present-day Fort and Shelby Streets. We are a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the history of Fort Wayne and the legacy of those who served here during its 128 years of operation. After the Civil War and until 1920, Fort Wayne served as a garrison post, with regiments rotating from the western border to rest.
All the tanks, trucks, jeeps, tires or spare parts that were shipped to the fronts of World War II from the Detroit factories passed through Fort Wayne.
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