Crossroads of History: Paving through Fort Wayne’s Streets

by Joshua Schipper

Every day we drive our cars through time. One minute we are traveling through the 18th century, then we veer into the era of the Civil War before merging into Prohibition. What if George Washington met John Calhoun? Or if Chief Pontiac had met the inventor of the gasoline pump? They meet on the map of the Summit City. Through simple asphalt and concrete, these figures converge in intercenturial intersections that we drive through to work each day. Not only does the map remember prominent Americans, but it also remembers a simple farmer who loved his three daughters. Join us as we embark on a journey through time to find out why the roads in Downtown Fort Wayne slant 15 degrees, why so many road names change as you drive to work, and why Arron’s Oriental Rug company sells rugs on a non-existent street!

169 pages, Paperback

Published November 25, 2020

Reviews

[Paul McAfee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book, if you live in Fort Wayne. Joshua Schipper has researched the names of all the streets in Fort Wayne and presents them in this book. Of course they are continuously making new streets, but most of the current ones are in there.

While a lot of the names are mundane, like Main Street or Cherry Street, a lot of them are named for people involved in the history of the city. He does a little blurb about each one of them.
This sort of book would have taken a lot of research, and it does capture a view of history that wouldn’t be completely captured anywhere else.

The one thing I didn’t like about the book were the maps. There are images of some old plat maps, but they are tiny and hard to see and without enough context to know where they are in the city. It would have been helpful and fun to have some larger maps so you could see where these roads are. I’m sure this was a conscious decision based on the cost of publication of the book, but I think it would have been much better with maps.

All in all, if you live in Fort Wayne, this is a fun book.

[Abi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is very simple and straightforward, as I suppose all books of this nature must be. That being said, I learned a lot and enjoyed thumbing through the pages of Fort Wayne's history as revealed through its street names. A fun little book.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick and interesting read, likely only to interest Fort Wayne residents or former residents. The origins of many street names were discussed; I could think of a few that were missed.

[Spencer Mize · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seems to be a work in progress and should probably have an editor take a pass. That said, some interesting nuggets.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much history about these parks that I didn’t know, but also includes some general history of Fort Wayne in general. I learned a lot!

[Andrew Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book