Editing Fort Wayne, Indiana (section)

====Settlement permitted by Treaty of St. Mary's====
[[File:Fort Wayne in 1812.gif|thumb|Illustration depicting the 1812 military garrison]]

The first settlement started in 1815.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pioneer Settlement in Indiana (1790-1849) |url=https://www.historymuseumsb.org/pioneer-settlement-in-indiana-1790-1849/ |access-date=July 29, 2023 |language=en}}</ref> In 1819, the military [[garrison]] abandoned the fort and moved to Detroit. In 1822, a federal land office opened to sell land ceded by local Native Americans by the [[Treaty of St. Mary's]] in 1818.<ref>{{cite book |last=Poinsatte |first=Charles R. |title=Fort Wayne During the Canal Era 1828–1855 |url=https://archive.org/details/fortwayneduringc0000poin |url-access=registration |year=1969 |publisher=Indiana Historic Bureau |location=Indianapolis, Indiana |pages=[https://archive.org/details/fortwayneduringc0000poin/page/2 2–4]}}</ref> [[Platted]] in 1823 at the [[Alexander Ewing (soldier)|Ewing Tavern]], the village became an important frontier outpost and was incorporated as the Town of Fort Wayne in 1829, with a population of 300.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Landing |url=https://archfw.org/heritagetrail/centraldowntown/the-landing/ |website=Architecture & Community Heritage · Fort Wayne, Indiana |date=October 28, 2014 |access-date=July 4, 2017}}</ref>{{Sfn|Beatty|2006|p = 28}} The [[Wabash and Erie Canal]]'s opening improved travel conditions to the [[Great Lakes]] and [[Mississippi River]], exposing Fort Wayne to expanded economic opportunities. The population topped 2,000 when the town was incorporated as the City of Fort Wayne on February 22, 1840.<ref>[http://www.answers.com/topic/fort-wayne-history?cat=travel Fort Wayne: History: County Seat Becomes Industrial Center]. Retrieved on May 4, 2008.</ref>

Pioneer newspaperman [[George W. Wood]] was elected the city's first mayor. Fort Wayne's "Summit City" nickname dates from this period, referring to the city's position at the highest elevation along the canal's route.<ref name="FWhistory"/> As influential as the canal was to the city's earliest development, it quickly became obsolete after briefly competing with the city's first railroad, the [[Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway]], completed in 1854.<ref>{{cite book |last=Stover |first=John F. |title=Transportation and the Early Nation |year=1982 |publisher=Indianapolis Historic Society |location=Indianapolis, Indiana |pages=141–142}}</ref>