The flag of

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

, was adopted as the city's official flag by City Council on June 26, 1934. The pall design includes two diagonal white stripes (from the bottom left and top left corners) converging in the circular center to form a horizontal white stripe. Red silhouettes of a

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

Native American head (center left), a French

fleur-de-lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

(top right), and a British lion (bottom right) grace a navy blue field. A red blockhouse is located at the center of the converging stripes, with the settlement's founding date and city name.

History

In commemoration of

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

's centennial festivities in 1916, the ''

Journal Gazette ''The Journal Gazette'' is the morning newspaper in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It publishes seven days a week, and contends for circulation and advertising in a 15-county area. History ''The Journal Gazette'' traces its origins to 1863 when ''The For ...

'' sponsored a contest to design a flag for the city of Fort Wayne. Guy Drewett's original winning design included the current white 'Y' stripes on a blue field, but also included two white stars. Each star was located where the fleur-de-lis and lion are on the current design. Drewett redesigned the flag in 1934 under the guidance of veteran and historian Col. Clyde Dreisbach. The new design discarded the two white stars (symbolizing Fort Wayne's status as the state's second largest city) for icons specific to its history. This current design was officially adopted by City Council on June 26, 1934. A survey of flag design quality by the

North American Vexillological Association The North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) is a membership organization devoted to vexillology, the scientific and scholarly study of flags. It was founded in 1967 by American vexillologist Whitney Smith (1940–2016), and others. It ...

ranked Fort Wayne's flag 52nd of 150 American city flags. It earned a score 4.62 out of 10.

Symbolism

*Blockhouse: Symbolizes pioneer days of settlement *Miami Indian head: Representing the Miami tribe (native inhabitants to the area) *French fleur-de-lis: Represents former French control and influence on the area *British lion: Represents former British control and influence on the area *Three stripes: Symbolizing confluence of the three rivers in the city; Maumee River, St. Joseph River, and St. Marys River *Colors: Red, white, and blue, identical to the colors represented on the flag of the United States *1794: Founding of Fort Wayne

References

External links

City of Fort Wayne Code §1-11
Government of Fort Wayne, Indiana Culture of Fort Wayne, Indiana History of Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne Fort Wayne 1934 establishments in Indiana Flags displaying animals {{US-flag-stub