1894-1903

City Council Chambers and Courtroom: City Council Members Collage

After the Indiana state legislature approved a charter on 22 February 1840 for Fort Wayne's incorporation as a city, the town had its first formal government, providing for both a mayor and a city council of six aldermen. In addition to the authority to tax for civil improvements, the Council had the power to enact, amend, and repeal city ordinances "for the good government and order of the City and the trade and commerce thereof." It is the legislative branch of city government, as well as its policy-making body, focusing on the city's goals, major projects, and infrastructure improvements. The city council met in their Chamber in the City Building from 1893 until city government moved to the City-County building in 1971.

On 7 March 1901, the Indiana legislature passed a bill that provided the elective officers of the city shall be a municipal judge and city clerk in addition to a mayor and councilmen. The bill vested the judicial power of the city in a city court, which was established in May 1901. Fort Wayne City Court met six days a week, starting at 8:00 A.M. until it concluded its business, usually about mid morning. Open to the public, these court sessions were a source of entertainment for many Fort Wayne citizens. Using the Council Chamber as a courtroom in the City Building, the court operated until 1971 when it was abolished by legislation reorganizing the Allen Superior Court.

In February 2011 the History Center dedicated the former City Chambers and Courtroom as the newly restored Shields Room. The earliest photograph of the room, taken in May 1901 to commemorate the installation of a new City Council, shows the room's walls and ceiling decorated with the design it has today. The restoration, named after James and Margaret Shields, major supporters of the project, was begun in 2003 and completed in 2010.

The collage displays the photographs of Fort Wayne City Council members from 1894, 1898, and 1903.