Allen County, Indiana

Allen County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Fort Wayne
Year Organized: 1823
Square Miles: 657

Court House:

1 East Main Street
City-County Courthouse
Fort Wayne, IN 46802-1809

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Allen County was formed April 1, 1824. The county is named for Colonel John Allen, an attorney and Kentucky state senator who was killed in the War of 1812 at River Raisin.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Allen County was formed April 1, 1824. The county is named for Colonel John Allen, an attorney and Kentucky state senator who was killed in the War of 1812. Fort Wayne, founded at the Maumee River, St. Joseph River, and St. Marys River, was chosen as the county seat in May 1824.

Allen County is divided into 20 Civil Townships as follows: Aboite, Adams, Cedar Creek, Eel River, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Madison, Marion, Maumee, Milan, Monroe, Perry, Pleasant, Scipio, Springfield, St. Joseph, Washington and Wayne.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 660 square miles (1,710 km²), of which 657 square miles (1,702 km²) is land and 3 square miles (7 km²) (0.43%) is water. It is the largest county in Indiana, land-wise, but ranks as a 'small county' in comparison with the western states.

Allen County is the largest county (by area) in the state of Indiana, United States. As of 2007, the population was 349,488. The county seat and largest city is Fort Wayne. Allen County is within a 250-mile (400 km) radius of 17 percent of the total United States population and within a day's drive of half of the nation's population, along with sitting nearly equidistant from Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbus, Detroit, and Indianapolis. Allen County's economy is based on insurance, manufacturing, healthcare, and agriculture.

Neighboring Counties:

North: DeKalb County
Northeast: Defiance County, Ohio
East: Paulding County, Ohio
Southeast: Van Wert County, Ohio; Adams County
Southwest: Wells County; Huntington County
West: Whitley County
Northwest: Noble County

Cities and Towns:

- Aboite	township
- Fort Wayne (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Grabill	town	Incorporated Area
- Huntertown	town	Incorporated Area
- Jackson	township
- Jefferson	township
- Lake	township
- Leo-Cedarville	town	Incorporated Area
- Maumee	township
- Monroeville	town	Incorporated Area
- New Haven	city	Incorporated Area
- Perry	township
- Pleasant	township
- Springfield	township
- St. Joseph	township
- St. Marys	township
- Wayne	township
- Woodburn	city	Incorporated Area
- Zanesville	town	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

Penn Foster High School

Custom Search