Allen County, Indiana

Allen County Education, Geography, and History

Allen County is a county in the state of Indiana. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 355,329. Allen County was created on April 1, 1824. The county seat and largest city is Fort Wayne. The county is named for Colonel John Allen, Kentucky State Senator.

Allen County is included in the Fort Wayne Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Fort Wayne-Huntington-Auburn Combined Statistical Area. Allen County is the cultural and economic center of northeastern Indiana. The county is within a 200-mile (320 km) radius of major population centers, including Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Indianapolis, Louisville, Milwaukee, and Ontario, Canada, and within a one-day drive of one-third of the US population and one-fifth of Canadians.

Etymology - Origin of Allen County Name

The county is named for Colonel John Allen, an attorney and Kentucky state senator who was killed in the War of 1812.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Allen County History

Allen County was formed April 1, 1824. The county is named for Colonel John Allen, an attorney and Kentucky state senator who was killed in the War of 1812. Fort Wayne, founded at the Maumee River, St. Joseph River, and St. Marys River, was chosen as the county seat in May 1824.

Occupied for thousands of years by cultures of indigenous peoples, Allen County was organized by European Americans on December 17, 1823, from Delaware and Randolph counties; and formed April 1, 1824.

Allen County is divided into 20 Civil Townships as follows: Aboite, Adams, Cedar Creek, Eel River, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Madison, Marion, Maumee, Milan, Monroe, Perry, Pleasant, Scipio, Springfield, St. Joseph, Washington and Wayne.

Allen County is the largest county (by area) in the state of Indiana, United States. As of 2007, the population was 349,488. The county seat and largest city is Fort Wayne. Allen County is within a 250-mile (400 km) radius of 17 percent of the total United States population and within a day's drive of half of the nation's population, along with sitting nearly equidistant from Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbus, Detroit, and Indianapolis. Allen County's economy is based on insurance, manufacturing, healthcare, and agriculture.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 660 square miles (1,710 km²), of which 657 square miles (1,702 km²) is land and 3 square miles (7 km²) (0.43%) is water.

Allen county is located in northeast Indiana. The county is the largest county in Indiana, land-wise, but ranks as a small county in comparison with the western states.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• North: DeKalb County
• Northeast: Defiance County, Ohio
• East: Paulding County, Ohio
• Southeast: Van Wert County, Ohio; Adams County
• Southwest: Wells County; Huntington County
• West: Whitley County
• Northwest: Noble County

Education

Allen County is home of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), with an enrollment of 14,192, it is the fifth-largest public university campus in Indiana. The county also holds the main campus of the Northeast Region of Ivy Tech Community College, the second-largest public community college campus in Indiana. Indiana University maintains the third public higher educational facility in the city with the Fort Wayne Center for Medical Education, a branch of the IU School of Medicine.

Religious-affiliated schools in the county include the University of Saint Francis (Roman Catholic), Concordia Theological Seminary (Lutheran), and Indiana Wesleyan University (Wesleyan Church). Business and technical schools include Indiana Institute of Technology (IIT) as well as regional branches of Trine University, Brown Mackie College, Harrison College, ITT Technical Institute, and International Business College.

Public education is offered in the four districts of East Allen County Schools, Fort Wayne Community Schools, Northwest Allen County Schools, and Southwest Allen County Schools. By means of private education, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend operate 13 schools within Allen County, while Lutheran Schools of Indiana operate 14 schools within the county. In addition, Blackhawk Christian School and Canterbury School offer private K-12 education in Fort Wayne, while Amish Parochial Schools of Indiana has schools through eighth grade in rural eastern Allen County

Compare More Colleges and Universities

Find more schools to match to your needs.

Start Now