ALLEN COUNTY

Allen County is the third most populous county, and home to the second most populous city in Indiana - Fort Wayne.  Before Fort Wayne, Kekionga, the capital of the Miami tribe of native americans was located here, a popular portage that allowed traders to move from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.  It was through Fort Wayne that the Wabash and Erie Canal was built, further allowing the movement of trade and bulk freight into and from the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico.  Railroads replaced the canal system, and allowed for more generalized transportation of people and goods - Fort Wayne was a hub for several railroads.  Later, the Lincoln Highway, one of the first coast-to-coast routes designed specifically for automobiles, ran through Fort Wayne.  The route was created by Carl Fisher who was a principal investor in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and named after Fisher’s hero, Abraham Lincoln.  The Fort Wayne Pistons, a professional basketball team, were named by Fred Zollner who manufactured pistons for car, truck, and locomotive engines and moved from Fort Wayne in 1957 to become the Detroit Pistons.

Below is a list of trails and routes in Allen County