Fort Wayne is a city in northeastern Indiana, USA and the county seat of Allen County. As of 2005, an estimated 248,341 lived in the city proper. The Fort Wayne Metropolitan Statistical Area has a population of 502,141, as of the 2004 update of the 2000 census. Nearly equidistant from Detroit, Michigan, Chicago, Illinois and Cincinnati, Ohio, it has historically served as a transportation and communications center for the region, and an incubator for many products and companies, much more so than its size might suggest. Fort Wayne is Indiana's second largest city after Indianapolis, the state's capital. Fort Wayne is named after Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne. The United States Army built this last of a series of forts near the community of Kekionga, the largest of all Miami villages, located where the St. Joseph River and St. Marys River join to form the Maumee River.

Modern Fort Wayne is set in a productive agricultural area, but has always been an important transportation hub, even though it is served by only one interstate highway. The city straddles Interstate 69, and is served by Norfolk Southern, Conrail and CSX rail lines as well as Fort Wayne International Airport and Smith Field regional airport.