On October 15, 1790, Colonel Hardin and a detachment of six hundred of
General Harmar’s men reached the Indian towns at the forks of the Maumee
River. The destruction of these towns was the object of General Harmar’s
expedition. When Colonel Hardin’s command arrived at the towns, they
found them abandoned by the Indians. The principal one, called Omee
Town, had been burned. On the seventeenth, General Harmar and the
remainder of the army joined Colonel Hardin.
Most readers know that there were a number of Indian villages at and
near the junction of the St. Mary’s and St. Joseph rivers, but few
persons know the exact location of these towns. To add to the general
information which we have heretofore given on Fort Wayne’s early
history, we present the testimony of a writer who wrote a supplement to
the official account sent to the War Department. That writer included
some details which could not go into the official report. The supplement
was written in 1791 and was published in the PHILADELPHIA DAILY GENERAL
ADVERTIZER of that year; hence, it may be considered accurate. It was
read in 1840 by the late John W. Vancleve of Dayton, Ohio, who knew much
of the report to be true. With reference to the towns at the forks of
the Maumee, we quote as follows:
“There were at that time seven towns on the three rivers in the vicinity
of the confluence of the St. Joseph and St. Mary’s rivers. The principal
Miami village was called Omee Town, and among its inhabitants were a
considerable number of French traders. Omee Town stood upon the east
bank of the St. Joseph, or north side of the Maumee, directly opposite
the mouth of the St. Mary’s; it had been burned before Colonel Hardin’s
arrival. Another Miami village of thirty houses stood on the bank
opposite Omee Town. The Delawares had three villages. Two were on the
St. Mary’s about three miles from its mouth, with forty-five houses in
all; the other village was on the east bank of the St. Joseph two or
three miles from its mouth, with thirty-six houses. The Shawnee had two
villages about three miles down the Maumee. Chillicothe was on the north
bank with fifty-eight houses, and the other village of sixteen houses
was on the opposite side of the river. The army burned all the houses in
the different villages and destroyed about twenty thousand bushels of
corn which had been hidden by the Indians. Considerable property
belonging to the French traders was also destroyed.”
The above quotation contains the best information that we have found
concerning the Indian towns at this place. It locates the exact sites of
the Miami towns. The large village was built on the bottom land at the
junction of the Maumee and St. Joseph rivers, and the smaller one was on
the tract afterward called the Wells Pre-emption between Spy Run and the
St. Joseph River. It also ascertains that Chillicothe was a Shawnee town
three miles down the Maumee River. The spot is identified on which
General Harmar dated his orders on October 20, 1790, before starting his
return march to Fort Washington. The Piqua towns mentioned in some
accounts must have been the two Delaware towns located on the St. Mary’s
River which was once called the Pickaway Fork of the Maumee River.
In 1790 there were five hundred acres of cleared land at and around the
junction of the three rivers. Four years later, on the seventeenth of
September, 1794, General Wayne’s army reached the Maumee villages. The
next day that distinguished commander designated the spot on which to
build a fort. On October 22, the work was finished; and Colonel
Hamtramck, after fifteen rounds of cannon were fired, called it Fort
Wayne.