From the United States centennial in 1876 to the Fort Wayne bicentennial in 1994, the Indiana bicentennial follows in a line of events honoring the 100, 150, and 200-year anniversaries of our nation, state, and city. The tradition of recognizing anniversaries of pivotal events in U.S. history is exemplified in the artifacts that were created to remember our origins and mark the passing of time.
Thanks for celebrating Indiana's 200th birthday with us and be sure to check out the preceding 11 installments of our bicentennial project, 200@200, if you haven't already!
What is 200@200?
As Indiana embarked on its bicentennial anniversary and reflected on past challenges, successes, and opportunities, we too reflected on 200 years of our part of Indiana. How had Fort Wayne changed? What had we discovered? What would we take with us into the next century?
The 200@200 project was a celebration of Fort Wayne's legacy of progress throughout Indiana's 200 years of history. Using artifacts from the museum's collection of 28,000 objects, the History Center told 200 unique stories of Fort Wayne's role in the 200 years of Indiana's statehood throughout the 2016 bicentennial year. Each month highlighted a different historical theme and presented a collective mosaic of the community's shared past and present, commemorating the progress, growth, and creativity of the "Summit City." Each month's theme was featured in a virtual exhibit and in person at the History Center.
The History Center was honored to share that 200@200 had been endorsed by the Indiana Bicentennial Commission as an official Legacy Project. WANE served as the project's media sponsor.
