The 40,000 Germans who settled in Fort Wayne in the 1800s brought with them the customs of their native land, including a strong ethnic identity, and the German language. So many came from Germany that the Chicago newspapers had to preface a news story about Fort Wayne by describing the community as "a most German town."
And, indeed, by the 1880s, nearly 80 percent of the population was German or very closely related, among them were the Rudisill's and the Thieme's. German was spoken everywhere; indeed, shopkeepers who did not employ at least one German-speaking employee were likely to be boycotted. At one time three German language newspapers were hawked on the streets of Fort Wayne. The mayor who held the office more times than any other was Charles Zollinger, a first-generation immigrant.
German clubs, ranging from singing societies (the Mannerchor) and athletic groups (the Turnverien) to organizations of veterans of German wars (the Landwehr Verein), flourished.
The oldest financial institution in Fort Wayne, the Home Loan Bank (now Fifth-Third Bank), is also tied to the German traditions of the city.
The German customs would face significant challenges from 1914 to 1919 as Fort Wayne dealt with questions of national loyalty during World War I. The most visible actions taken against local residents of German descent were the registration of "enemy aliens" and the banning of the German language in schools, churches, and on the streets.
Today, Fort Wayne speaks English, but fully 50% of the people in Fort Wayne call themselves German descendents. Listen to the names around you and you will hear Schmidt, Moellering, Miller, Hagerman, Franke, Freimann, Foellinger, Hoffman and a thousand more names that are German.
However, Fort Wayne is still a German town. We celebrate German traditions and use German patterns of speech. Our politics, our schools and our churches are all founded on German models. If you want to understand Fort Wayne, study the Germans.
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