Stories Of Columbia Classic Reprint

Author : Roy M. Bates
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781330539255
Total Pages : 136 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (392 download)

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Download or read book The Columbia Street Story (Classic Reprint) written by Roy M. Bates and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-01 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from The Columbia Street Story The tri-state region, confined by lines drawn from Chicago to Grand Rapids, Lansing, Detroit, Toledo, Columbus, Dayton, and Indianapolis, comprises an area approximately the size of the state of Indiana. Fort Wayne has consistently through the years been this area's most populous city, challenged only occasionally by Gary, Indiana. Early in the aboriginal era, the portage at what is now Fort Wayne was found to be the shortest route between the Great Lakes and the inland waterways. Here a ten-mile overland trail connected the Maumee and Wabash rivers. As the French, the British, and later the Americans arrived, the importance of this portage was apparent, and forts were erected to complete control of this connecting link and area. General Anthony Wayne, after subjugating the confederated Indians at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, proceeded directly to the headwaters of the Maumee River. Here he erected a fortification, which was dedicated on October 22, 1794, and named Fort Wayne. At first the growth of the community around the fort was very slow but was greatly accelerated after the Wabash and Erie Canal came to the village. Columbia Street paralleled the canal one-half block to the south in the business district of the city and became the principal business street. The railroads later preempted the function of the canal and greatly intensified the streets activity. The coauthors of this publication have attempted to portray for the reader the considerable business activity which existed here and to point out the importance of the street to this area over a period of almost 140 years. With the advent of commercial motor vehicles, the decline of the street came rapidly. Merchants were no longer dependent on railroad sidings for receipt of merchandise and could locate and expand their establishments in outlying areas. Fort Wayne's recent redevelopment program absorbed four of the street's five blocks. The 100 block of West Columbia Street is now called "The Landing." About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.