162-754: Gene Stratton-Porter (August 17, 1863 – December 6, 1924), born Geneva Grace Stratton, was an American writer, nature photographer, and naturalist from Wabash County, Indiana . In 1917 Stratton-Porter urged legislative support for the conservation of Limberlost Swamp and other wetlands in Indiana . She was also a silent film -era producer who founded her own production company, Gene Stratton Porter Productions, in 1924. Stratton-Porter wrote several best-selling novels in addition to columns for national magazines, such as McCall's and Good Housekeeping , among others. Her novels have been translated into more than twenty languages, including Braille , and at their peak in
324-590: A Native American tragedy, was the first of her long narrative poems to be published in book form. Its sales were weak and it was not well received by literary critics. In 1922 Good Housekeeping published Stratton-Porter's poem, "Euphorbia," in three installments and paid her $ 12,500, "the most she had ever received for her poetry." Jesus of the Emerald (1923), another of her long narrative poems, describes Tiberius Caesar's search for details of Jesus 's works and appearance. Stratton-Porter explains her religious beliefs in
486-546: A United States fur trade factory was established in Fort Wayne. It was burned by the local Indians at the beginning of the War of 1812 . The first settlement started in 1815. In 1819, the military garrison abandoned the fort and moved to Detroit. In 1822, a federal land office opened to sell land ceded by local Native Americans by the Treaty of St. Mary's in 1818. Platted in 1823 at
648-711: A lacustrine plain formed by Glacial Lake Maumee . The Little River flows southwest of Fort Wayne, a tributary of the Wabash River , and remnant of the Maumee Torrent . Fort Wayne is situated on the Saint Lawrence River Divide , a continental divide separating the Great Lakes Basin from the Gulf of Mexico watershed. The most important geographical feature of the area is the short distance over land between
810-401: A park and boulevard plan conceived by urban planner Charles Mulford Robinson in 1909 and finalized by landscape architect George Kessler in 1912. The master plan proposed a network of parkways and boulevards connecting the city's three rivers and Spy Run Creek to dozens of neighborhoods and parks. Several parks were designed by noted landscape architect Arthur Asahel Shurcliff . Much of
972-606: A Trenton Oil Company investor. At one time he had more than sixty oil wells drilled on his land. Gene and Charles Porter's only child, a daughter, named Jeannette, was born on August 27, 1887, when the Porters were living in Decatur, Indiana. The family moved to Geneva, in Adams County, Indiana , in 1888. Charles pursued various business interests and traveled extensively, while Gene stayed at home. Gene took pride in her family and maintaining
1134-798: A bestseller. The book's popularity among readers helped to launch her career as a successful novelist, despite its lackluster reviews from critics. A Girl of the Limberlost (1909), which was highly successful and her best-known work, brought her worldwide recognition. Its central character, Elnora Comstock, a lonely, poverty-stricken girl living on a farm in Adams County, goes to the Limberlost Swamp to escape from her troubles and earns money to pay for her education by collecting and selling moth specimens. The main character's strong, individualistic nature are similar to Stratton-Porter's. Literary critics called
1296-536: A camera as a Christmas gift in 1895. She submitted some of her early photographs to Recreation magazine in the late 1890s and wrote a regular camera column for the publication in 1901. Outing magazine hired her to do similar work in 1902. Unhappy with images the magazine editors suggested to accompany her writing, she began to submit her own photographs as illustrations for her articles. She also preferred to use her own photographs to illustrate her nature books. Thirteen of her wildlife photographs were published in 1900 in
1458-592: A collection of essays that had appeared in McCall's magazine, were published after her death. Morning Face (1916), a collection of children's stories that also included her photographs, was dedicated to her granddaughter, Jeannette Monroe, whom Stratton-Porter had nicknamed "Morning Face." "Symbols," her first poem to appear in a national magazine, was published in Good Housekeeping in January 1921. The Fire Bird (1922),
1620-434: A few weeks before the home was completed. Her daughter, Jeannette, was the sole heir of her mother's estate. While her marriage to Charles Porter provided financial security and personal independence, Gene sought additional roles beyond those of wife and mother. She took up writing in 1895 as an outlet for self-expression and as a means to earn her own income. Stratton-Porter felt that as long as her work did not interfere with
1782-517: A film producer, who was Stratton-Porter's business associate. Meehan attempted to help the daughter Gene Stratton Monroe find work in talking pictures by encouraging her to act on stage at Harold Lloyd's showcase, Beverly Hills Little Theatre for Professionals , and naming her in his column for the Motion Picture Herald called "From Hollywood," saying she wanted more film work, particularly in new films based on her grandmother's books. After
SECTION 10
#17328587840431944-572: A fountain constructed of local stone and seashells. Stratton-Porter moved into the wildlife haven in June 1924 and named it Singing Water because of the sounds emitting from the elaborate fountain. She completed her last novel, The Keeper of the Bees (1925) at Catalina Island in 1924. By March 1924 Stratton-Porter had selected a site for an estate home in southern California in an undeveloped area west of present-day Beverly Hills that became Bel Air. Stratton-Porter
2106-557: A home, but she opposed the restrictive, traditional marriages of her era and grew bored and restless. She maintained her independence through the pursuit of her lifelong interests in nature and birdlife, and began by writing about these subjects to earn her own income. In time, she became an independently wealthy novelist, nonfiction writer, and film producer. Stratton-Porter had four grandchildren, two granddaughters, and two grandsons. The Porters' daughter, Jeannette, married G. Blaine Monroe in 1909 and had two daughters: Jeannette Helen Monroe
2268-465: A larger home at the corner of Serrano and Fourth Street, while Charles remained at Geneva, still active in the town's bank. After the Porters sold the Limberlost Cabin in 1923, he stayed at a Geneva boardinghouse when he was not traveling. In early 1924 Stratton-Porter purchased two lots on Catalina Island to build a 14-room vacation retreat. The grounds of the 5-acre (2.0-hectare) property included
2430-496: A lawyer. Geneva's mother died on February 3, 1875, less than four months after the move to Wabash. Thereafter, Geneva boarded with various relatives in Wabash until her marriage to Charles Porter in 1886. Geneva, who was also called Geneve during her youth, shortened her name to Gene during her courtship with Porter. Gene received little formal schooling early in life; however, she developed a strong interest in nature, especially birds. As
2592-537: A local instructor. Gene finished all but the final term of her senior year at Wabash High School . Because she was failing her classes, she made the decision on her own to quit, later claiming that she had left school to care for Anastasia, who was terminally ill with cancer and receiving treatment in Illinois. In 1884 thirty-four-year-old Charles Dorwin Porter saw Gene Stratton during her trip to Sylvan Lake, Indiana, where she
2754-567: A long-term agreement with Doubleday, Page and Company to publish her books, she agreed to provide one manuscript each year, alternating between novels and nonfiction nature books. Stratton-Porter's next novel, Laddie: A True Blue Story (1913), another of her best-selling novels, included elements that corresponded to her early life. It was written while she supervised construction of her home at Sylvan Lake in Noble County, Indiana, and she described it as her most autobiographical novel. The narrative
2916-508: A male householder with no wife present, and 38.0% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.09. The median age in the city was 34.5 years. 26.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.5% were from 25 to 44; 24.9% were from 45 to 64; and 12% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of
3078-476: A naturalist, studies the world by observing plants and animals directly. Because organisms are functionally inseparable from the environment in which they live and because their structure and function cannot be adequately interpreted without knowing some of their evolutionary history, the study of natural history embraces the study of fossils as well as physiographic and other aspects of the physical environment". A common thread in many definitions of natural history
3240-606: A new home built there in 1913. Stratton-Porter named her new home the Cabin at Wildflower Woods, which she also called Limberlost Cabin because of its similarity to the Porters' home in Geneva. While her Sylvan Lake home was under construction, Stratton-Porter found time to write Laddie (1913), her sixth novel. She moved into the large, two-story, cedar-log cabin in February 1914; her husband, Charles, who remained at their home in Geneva, commuted to
3402-438: A number of locations, particularly during heavy rainfall events. However, as of 2023, a several million dollar citywide sewage overflow tunnel project is set to be completed, among additional efforts, such as a $ 135 million investment from the city into rain gardens , to prevent further discharge into the rivers. There has been growing investment and development along the riverfront since at least 2019. Fort Wayne lies in
SECTION 20
#17328587840433564-544: A part of science proper. In Victorian Scotland, the study of natural history was believed to contribute to good mental health. Particularly in Britain and the United States, this grew into specialist hobbies such as the study of birds , butterflies, seashells ( malacology / conchology ), beetles, and wildflowers; meanwhile, scientists tried to define a unified discipline of biology (though with only partial success, at least until
3726-727: A regular basis with increasing success. Her first short story, "Laddie, the Princess, and the Pie," was published in Metropolitan magazine in September 1901. To attract a wider audience Stratton Porter decided to include fictional elements in her nature writing and began writing novels. Stratton-Porter's writing also included poetry and children's stories, in addition to essays and editorials that were published in magazines with nationwide circulation such as McCall's and Good Housekeeping . Although it
3888-417: A screenplay of the novel shortly after Stratton-Porter had completed the manuscript. Millions of copies of Stratton-Porter's novels were sold and most of them became best sellers, but the literary establishment criticized them as "unrealistic," "too virtuous," and "idealistic." Despite the criticisms, she was popular among readers of her novels. Stratton-Porter once claimed, "Time, the hearts of my readers, and
4050-604: A series of forts built near the Miami village of Kekionga . Named in Wayne's honor, the European-American settlement developed at the confluence of the St. Joseph , St. Marys , and Maumee rivers, known originally as Fort Miami , a trading post constructed by Jean Baptiste Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes around 1706. The modern city was platted in 1823 following its revitalization after
4212-524: A small home between Second and Third Streets in Hollywood, not far from where her Stratton relatives lived. (Stratton-Porter's sister, Catherine, and two of Stratton-Porter's nieces were already living in southern California when she moved there. Her brother, Jerome, and his wife later retired nearby.) In 1920, when Stratton-Porter's recently divorced daughter, Jeannette, and Stratton-Porter's two granddaughters relocated to California to live with her, she purchased
4374-512: A small home within walking distance of his drugstore; however, when oil was discovered on his land, it provided the financial resources needed to build a larger home. The Limberlost Cabin at Geneva served as Stratton-Porter's home from 1895 to 1913. In 1912, with the profits she made from her best-selling novels and successful writing career, Stratton-Porter purchased property along Sylvan Lake, near Rome City in Noble County, Indiana , and built
4536-459: A small trading outpost. It was part of a group of forts and trading posts built between Quebec and St. Louis . The first census in 1744 recorded a population of approximately 40 Frenchmen and 1,000 Miamians. Increasing tension between France and Great Britain developed over control of the territory. In 1760, France ceded the area to Britain after its forces in North America surrendered during
4698-470: A type of observation and a subject of study, it can also be defined as a body of knowledge, and as a craft or a practice, in which the emphasis is placed more on the observer than on the observed. Definitions from biologists often focus on the scientific study of individual organisms in their environment, as seen in this definition by Marston Bates: "Natural history is the study of animals and Plants—of organisms. ... I like to think, then, of natural history as
4860-495: A visit from then president of the United States, Ronald Reagan. In the 1990s, the city began a turnaround. Local leaders focused on crime reduction, economic diversification, and downtown redevelopment. By 1999, Fort Wayne's crime rate decreased to the lowest levels since 1974, and the city's economy recovered, with the unemployment rate hovering at 2.4 percent in 1998. Clearing blighted buildings downtown resulted in new public greenspaces, including Headwaters Park, which has become
5022-571: A weak tornado formed on the city's west central side and moved northeast, striking the downtown area. On May 26, 2001, an EF1 tornado struck a shopping center on the city's northeast side, flipping cars and damaging roofs and windows on nearby residences and businesses. Three people were injured in the storm. The city experienced 91 mph (146 km/h) wind gusts in the June 2012 North American derecho , knocking out power to 78,000, uprooting approximately 500 trees, and costing $ 2.5 million. Fort Wayne
Gene Stratton-Porter - Misplaced Pages Continue
5184-584: A wealthy and successful businessman. Of Scots-Irish descent, he was the son and oldest child of Elizabeth and John P. Porter, a doctor. Charles owned an interest in a drugstore in Fort Wayne, Indiana , which he sold soon after his marriage, and also owned drugstores in Decatur and Geneva . He also owned and operated farms, a hotel, and a restaurant. Porter and other investors organized the Bank of Geneva in 1895. He also became
5346-454: A young age. Geneva's married sister, Mary Ann, died in an accident in February 1872; her teenaged brother, Leander, whom Geneva called Laddie, drowned in the Wabash River on July 6, 1872. In 1874 twelve-year-old Geneva moved to Wabash, Indiana , with her parents and three unmarried siblings. They initially lived in the home of Geneva's married sister, Anastasia, and her husband, Alvah Taylor,
5508-472: A young girl, Gene's father and her brother, Leander, taught her to appreciate nature as she roamed freely around the family farm, observing animals in their natural habitats and caring for various pets. When her father shot a red-tailed hawk, she rescued it and nursed it back to health. Her family nicknamed her “Little Bird Woman" and her father gave her “the personal and indisputable ownership of each bird of every description that made its home on his land.” It
5670-407: Is 29 percent, double the state average of 14.5 percent and above the national average of 27.1 percent. The canopy is decreasing, notably from development and the emerald ash borer infestation . Fort Wayne has been designated a Tree City USA since 1990. Historically, Fort Wayne has been divided into four unofficial quadrants: northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest. Calhoun Street divides
5832-598: Is a cross-discipline umbrella of many specialty sciences; e.g., geobiology has a strong multidisciplinary nature. The meaning of the English term "natural history" (a calque of the Latin historia naturalis ) has narrowed progressively with time, while, by contrast, the meaning of the related term "nature" has widened (see also History below). In antiquity , "natural history" covered essentially anything connected with nature , or used materials drawn from nature, such as Pliny
5994-508: Is a center for the defense industry which employs 1-2% of the population. Fort Wayne was an All-America City Award recipient in 1983, 1998, 2009, and 2021. The city also received an Outstanding Achievement City Livability Award by the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 1999. This area here on the river confluence was occupied by successive cultures of indigenous peoples for as long as 10,000 years. The Miami tribe would eventually establish its settlement of Kekionga at this confluence of
6156-500: Is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana , United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is 18 miles (29 km) west of the Ohio border and 50 miles (80 km) south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 census , making it the second-most populous city in Indiana after Indianapolis , and the 83rd-most populous city in
6318-460: Is also echoed by H.W. Greene and J.B. Losos: "Natural history focuses on where organisms are and what they do in their environment, including interactions with other organisms. It encompasses changes in internal states insofar as they pertain to what organisms do". Some definitions go further, focusing on direct observation of organisms in their environments, both past and present, such as this one by G.A. Bartholomew: "A student of natural history, or
6480-411: Is called a naturalist or natural historian . Natural history encompasses scientific research but is not limited to it. It involves the systematic study of any category of natural objects or organisms, so while it dates from studies in the ancient Greco-Roman world and the mediaeval Arabic world , through to European Renaissance naturalists working in near isolation, today's natural history
6642-592: Is especially biased against immigrants of Asian descent. Judith Reick Long, one of Stratton-Porter's biographers, stated that World War I -era racial prejudice and nativism were prevalent in the United States and it was not unusual to be anti-Asian in southern California at that time. Barbara Olenyik Morrow, another of her biographers, explained that the book was intentionally playing to the era's ethnic prejudices. The Literary Review , ignoring its anti-Asian content, noted its "wholesome charm." The White Flag (1923), criticized as an old-fashioned melodrama, failed to make
Gene Stratton-Porter - Misplaced Pages Continue
6804-445: Is not uncommon to the region, but usually appears in the form of light snow flurries. The National Weather Service reports the highest recorded temperature in the city at 106 °F (41 °C), most recently on June 28, 2012, and the lowest recorded temperature at −24 °F (−31 °C) on January 12, 1918. The wettest month on record was June 2015, with 11.98 in (304 mm) of precipitation. The greatest 24-hour rainfall
6966-399: Is the inclusion of a descriptive component, as seen in a recent definition by H.W. Greene: "Descriptive ecology and ethology". Several authors have argued for a more expansive view of natural history, including S. Herman, who defines the field as "the scientific study of plants and animals in their natural environments. It is concerned with levels of organization from the individual organism to
7128-460: Is the principal city of the Fort Wayne metropolitan area , consisting of Allen and Whitley counties in Indiana. It had an estimated population of 423,038 as of 2021. In addition to the two core counties, the greater Fort Wayne combined statistical area includes Adams , DeKalb , Huntington , Noble , Steuben , and Wells counties, with an estimated population of 649,105 in 2021. According to
7290-628: Is told in the first person by the twelfth child of the "Stanton" family. The title character is modeled after Stratton-Porter's deceased older brother, Leander, whom Stratton-Porter nicknamed Laddie. As in Stratton-Porter's own family, Laddie is connected with the land and identifies with their father's vocation of farming. Michael O'Halloran (1915), her seventh novel, was inspired by a newsboy she had encountered in Philadelphia , while visiting her daughter, Jeannette, and her family. A Daughter of
7452-436: The 2010 census , there were 253,691 people and 113,541 households. The racial makeup of the city is 73.62% White , 15.41% Black or African American , 0.37% Native American or Alaska Native , 3.3% Asian (1.4% Burmese , 0.4% Indian , 0.3% Vietnamese , 0.2% Chinese , 0.2% Filipino , 0.1% Korean , 0.1% Laotian , 0.1% Thai ), 0.06% Pacific Islander , 3.72% from other races , and 3.52% from two or more races . 7.96% of
7614-613: The American Annual of Photography , which also included her views on her fieldwork. Many of the photographs in Music of the Wild (1910) were taken at her Sylvan Lake home in northeastern Indiana. Stratton-Porter preferred to photograph wildlife in their natural environment. Although she hired men to help transport her cumbersome camera equipment into the field for photo shoots, she preferred to work alone. Occasionally, her husband accompanied her into
7776-546: The American Revolutionary War . In 1780, French Canadian soldiers coming to assist the U.S. with the revolution were slaughtered in several nearby locations in what is known as La Balme's Defeat . At the end of the Revolutionary War, in the Treaty of Paris in 1783, Britain ceded this area to the new United States, though they continued to maintain an influence on trading activity and the forts of Miami, with
7938-538: The American Society of Naturalists and Polish Copernicus Society of Naturalists . Professional societies have recognized the importance of natural history and have initiated new sections in their journals specifically for natural history observations to support the discipline. These include "Natural History Field Notes" of Biotropica , "The Scientific Naturalist" of Ecology , "From the Field" of Waterbirds , and
8100-605: The Appalachian Mountains , and refused to meet for negotiations over a possible treaty to instead cede land for white settlement. The growing violence led to the Northwest Indian War . In 1790, President George Washington ordered the U.S. Army to subdue and pacify the tribes. The first expedition, led by General Josiah Harmar reached Kekionga and exercised scorched earth tactics on the village and crops. Miami war chief Little Turtle , who had been long tracking
8262-500: The Arts United Center (1973) was inspired by a violin and its case. Other notable buildings include Indiana Michigan Power Center (1982), the tallest building in the city and tallest building in Indiana outside of Indianapolis, at 442 feet (135 m). The 1970s characterized an era in Fort Wayne that saw substantial changes to the downtown area in accommodation of increasing suburbanization and urban sprawl that began in
SECTION 50
#17328587840438424-588: The Battle of Fallen Timbers . The fort throughout this period was described as a, "Defiant mixture of Indian warriors and lawless renegades of the frontier, such as the Girties. It was also the home of a heterogeneous population of English and French traders and their families, French 'engages", and Miami, Delaware and Shawnee tribes." In 1772, the British regained influence over the village after Sir William Johnson suggested to
8586-579: The Cabin at Wildflower Woods estate, which eventually encompassed 150 acres (61 hectares). Both of these properties are preserved as state historic sites. Stratton-Porter moved to southern California in 1919 and made it her year-round residence. She purchased homes in Hollywood and built a vacation home that she named Singing Water on her property on Catalina Island . Floraves, her lavish mountaintop estate in Bel Air ,
8748-577: The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception , Saint Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church and Trinity Episcopal Church . Fort Wayne's Reform Judaism population is served by Congregation Achduth Vesholom , the oldest Jewish congregation in Indiana, founded in 1848. In 2013, construction began on the first Burmese Muslim mosque to be built worldwide since the mid-1970s. As of December 2012, four national Christian denominations were headquartered in
8910-469: The Dust Bowl of the 1930s and well in advance of present-day environmental concerns about climate change. Moths of the Limberlost (1912), the nature book of which Stratton-Porter was "most proud," was dedicated to Neltje Blanchan , a fellow nature writer and the wife of her publisher, Frank Nelson Doubleday . Prior to her move to California in 1919, Stratton-Porter completed the manuscript for Homing with
9072-667: The Ewing Tavern , the village became an important frontier outpost and was incorporated as the Town of Fort Wayne in 1829, with a population of 300. The Wabash and Erie Canal 's opening improved travel conditions to the Great Lakes and Mississippi River , exposing Fort Wayne to expanded economic opportunities. The population topped 2,000 when the town was incorporated as the City of Fort Wayne on February 22, 1840. Pioneer newspaperman George W. Wood
9234-468: The Industrial Revolution prompted the development of geology to help find useful mineral deposits. Modern definitions of natural history come from a variety of fields and sources, and many of the modern definitions emphasize a particular aspect of the field, creating a plurality of definitions with a number of common themes among them. For example, while natural history is most often defined as
9396-505: The Izaak Walton League 's publication, Outdoor America , and a thirteen-part series of nature articles for Good Housekeeping . She also agreed to write a series of editorials for McCall's magazine in a monthly column called the "Gene Stratton-Porter's Page," beginning in January 1922. Tales You Won't Believe (1925), a collection of articles that Stratton-Porter had written for Good Housekeeping , and Let Us Highly Resolve (1927),
9558-667: The Masonic Temple (1926) and North Side High School (1927). Beaux-Arts , an architectural style closely related to Neoclassical, gained popularity during the City Beautiful movement of the 1890s and early 1900s, which is reflected in the Allen County Courthouse (1902). The Pennsylvania Railroad Station , also known as Baker Street Station (1914), was designed in American Craftsman style. At 312 feet (95 m),
9720-583: The Maumee , St. Joseph , and St. Marys rivers in the late stages of the Beaver Wars in the 1690s. It was the capital of the Miami nation and related Algonquian tribes. In 1696, Comte de Frontenac appointed Jean Baptiste Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes , who began visiting Kekionga in 1702, and would later build the original Fort Miami here in the wilderness and pays d'en Haut of New France around 1706; Initially,
9882-476: The Natural History Society of Northumbria founded in 1829, London Natural History Society (1858), Birmingham Natural History Society (1859), British Entomological and Natural History Society founded in 1872, Glasgow Natural History Society, Manchester Microscopical and Natural History Society established in 1880, Whitby Naturalists' Club founded in 1913, Scarborough Field Naturalists' Society and
SECTION 60
#173285878404310044-651: The Ohio River into the area, leading to conflict with an alliance of native tribes known as the Western Confederacy . It was headquartered at Kekionga, where the Miami had permitted two refugee tribes dislodged by white homesteaders, the Delaware and the Shawnee, to resettle. The confederacy—which included other Great Lakes and Algonquin tribes as well—began sending war parties to raid settlers, hoping to drive them back across
10206-459: The Renaissance , and quickly became a third branch of academic knowledge, itself divided into descriptive natural history and natural philosophy , the analytical study of nature. In modern terms, natural philosophy roughly corresponded to modern physics and chemistry , while natural history included the biological and geological sciences. The two were strongly associated. During the heyday of
10368-472: The Renaissance , making it one of the longest-lasting of all natural history books. From the ancient Greeks until the work of Carl Linnaeus and other 18th-century naturalists, a major concept of natural history was the scala naturae or Great Chain of Being , an arrangement of minerals, vegetables, more primitive forms of animals, and more complex life forms on a linear scale of supposedly increasing perfection, culminating in our species. Natural history
10530-649: The Seven Years' War , known on the North American front as the French and Indian War . Managing to hold down the fort for only a mere couple of years, the British lost control of it in 1763 when various Native American nations rebelled against British rule and retook the fort as part of Pontiac's Rebellion . From this point forward in 1763, no active fort existed at Kekionga for the next three decades until American General Anthony Wayne established Fort Wayne in 1794, following
10692-728: The U.S. Army by Native Americans in history. This defeat left the US army crippled and borders open to attacks from the British and allied native tribes. General Anthony Wayne was recalled from civilian life to lead a third expedition, defeating the confederacy's warriors at the Battle of Fallen Timbers , near modern-day Toledo, Ohio on August 20, 1794. Wayne's men then marched up the Maumee River , systematically burning evacuated native towns, crops, and winter food stores, until they reached its headwaters, where Kekionga remained in ruins. Wayne then confronted
10854-532: The War of 1812 and its siege . It underwent tremendous growth after completion of the Wabash and Erie Canal and advent of the railroad. Once a booming manufacturing town located in what became known as the Rust Belt , Fort Wayne's economy in the 21st century is based upon distribution, transportation and logistics; healthcare, professional and business services; leisure and hospitality, and financial services. The city
11016-403: The gentleman scientists , many people contributed to both fields, and early papers in both were commonly read at professional science society meetings such as the Royal Society and the French Academy of Sciences —both founded during the 17th century. Natural history had been encouraged by practical motives, such as Linnaeus' aspiration to improve the economic condition of Sweden. Similarly,
11178-467: The humid continental climate zone ( Köppen : Dfa ), experiencing four distinct seasons. The city is located in USDA hardiness zones 5b and 6a. Typically, summers are hot, humid, and wet. Winters are generally cold with moderate snowfall. The average annual precipitation is 38.34 in (974 mm), recorded at Fort Wayne International Airport. During the winter season, snowfall accumulation averages 33.5 in (85 cm) per year. Lake-effect snow
11340-402: The last glacial period . The most distinguishable topographical feature is Cedar Creek Canyon , just north of the city proper near Huntertown . The Fort Wayne Moraine follows two of the city's three rivers: the St. Marys and St. Joseph . The two rivers converge to form the Maumee , which eventually empties into Lake Erie . Land east of the moraine includes the former Great Black Swamp ,
11502-590: The modern evolutionary synthesis ). Still, the traditions of natural history continue to play a part in the study of biology, especially ecology (the study of natural systems involving living organisms and the inorganic components of the Earth's biosphere that support them), ethology (the scientific study of animal behavior), and evolutionary biology (the study of the relationships between life forms over very long periods of time), and re-emerges today as integrative organismal biology. Amateur collectors and natural history entrepreneurs played an important role in building
11664-565: The "Natural History Miscellany section" of the American Naturalist . Natural history observations have contributed to scientific questioning and theory formation. In recent times such observations contribute to how conservation priorities are determined. Mental health benefits can ensue, as well, from regular and active observation of chosen components of nature, and these reach beyond the benefits derived from passively walking through natural areas. Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne
11826-603: The $ 130 million Harrison Square development was launched, creating Parkview Field . Suburban growth continued, with the opening of Fort Wayne's first lifestyle center , Jefferson Pointe , and the half-billion dollar Parkview Regional Medical Center in 2012. Fort Wayne is in the East North Central region of the Midwestern United States , in northeastern Indiana , 18 miles (29 km) west of Ohio and 50 miles (80 km) south of Michigan . According to
11988-722: The 1910s attracted an estimated 50 million readers. Eight of her novels, including A Girl of the Limberlost , were adapted into moving pictures. Stratton-Porter was also the subject of a one-woman play, A Song of the Wilderness . Two of her former homes in Indiana are state historic sites, the Limberlost State Historical Site in Geneva and the Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site on Sylvan Lake, near Rome City, Indiana . Geneva Grace Stratton,
12150-700: The 1960s. According to the Fort Wayne Home Builders Association estimates, more than 80 percent of new home construction occurred outside the city proper in the 1970s. Like many cities in the Rust Belt , deindustrialization in the 1980s brought urban blight , increased crime, and a decrease in blue-collar manufacturing jobs. Downtown and surrounding neighborhoods continued declining as residents and businesses sprawled further into rural Allen County. A 1982 flood forced an evacuation of 9,000 residents, damaging 2,000 buildings, and costing $ 56.1 million (1982 USD, $ 137 million 2015 USD), prompting
12312-517: The 2010 census, Fort Wayne has a total area of 110.834 square miles (287.06 km ), of which 110.62 square miles (286.50 km ) (or 99.81%) is land and 0.214 square miles (0.55 km ) (or 0.19%) is water. For a regional summit , the city is situated on flat land characterized by little topographical relief, a result of the Wisconsin glaciation episode . Receding glaciers eroded the land, depositing an evenly distributed layer of sediment during
12474-507: The American pioneer settlers who continued to develop the area as a transportation and communications center. Chief Little Turtle of the Miami Nation expressed its importance eloquently at the treaty of Greenville in 1795 when he called it "that glorious gate...through which all the words of our chiefs had to pass through from north to south and from east to west". Fort Wayne's urban tree canopy
12636-683: The Art Deco-style Lincoln Bank Tower was Fort Wayne's first high-rise and Indiana's tallest building from 1930 to 1962. The E. Ross Adair Federal Building and United States Courthouse (1932) is another example of Art Deco architecture. Williams–Woodland Park Historic District includes examples of Queen Anne and Colonial Revival residential homes, while the Forest Park Boulevard Historic District includes Tudor Revival homes. Modern and Postmodern architecture can be found in buildings constructed during
12798-481: The Bees is a story about a World War I veteran who regains his heath through the restorative "power and beauty of nature." The story was serialized in McCall's magazine from February through September 1925 and was published in book form later that year. The Magic Garden , about a girl of divorced parents, was written for her two granddaughters, whose parents divorced when they were young. Filmmaker James Leo Meehan, Stratton-Porter's business partner and son-in-law, wrote
12960-456: The Bible (1909), an illustrated reference book published by Jennings and Graham of Cincinnati , included eighty-one of Stratton-Porter's photographs. Both of these nature books were slow sellers. Music of the Wild (1910), also published by Jennings and Graham, warned of the adverse effects that the destruction of trees and swamps would have on rainfall. Her warnings appeared nearly two decades before
13122-474: The Birds (1919). Praised for its content, it described birdlife using easy-to-understand language for the general public. Wings (1923) was published a year before her death; Tales You Won't Believe (1925) was published posthumously. While literary critics called her novels overly sentimental, academics dismissed her nature writing because they felt that her research methods were unscientific. Stratton-Porter, who
13284-433: The British at Fort Miami, where the British debated an attack. Later, Wayne selected the site for construction of Fort Wayne , he ordered a fort that could withstand heavy British artillery, especially a 24-pound cannon, along with attacks from their army or native allies. The following year, Wayne negotiated a peace accord, the Treaty of Greenville with tribal leaders, in which they agreed to stop fighting, end support of
13446-456: The British, and ceded most of what is now Ohio along with certain tracts further west, including the area around Fort Wayne encompassing Kekionga and the land portage. Wayne promised the remainder would remain Indian lands, which is why the territory west of Ohio was named Indiana. Wayne would die one year later and a Spanish spy James Wilkinson would assume his role as General. In subsequent years,
13608-448: The Cabin at Wildflower Woods along Sylvan Lake. Through her writing and photography, Stratton-Porter demonstrated "her strong desire to instill her love of nature in others in order to improve their lives and preserve the natural world." She also opposed the destruction of wetlands developed for commercial use. After the turn of the twentieth century, when the Limberlost Swamp's trees were cut for timber and its shrubs and vines were killed,
13770-533: The Elder 's encyclopedia of this title , published c. 77 to 79 AD , which covers astronomy , geography , humans and their technology , medicine , and superstition , as well as animals and plants. Medieval European academics considered knowledge to have two main divisions: the humanities (primarily what is now known as classics ) and divinity , with science studied largely through texts rather than observation or experiment. The study of nature revived in
13932-479: The Land (1918), her next novel, did not sell as well as her earlier works. Over time, sales of Stratton-Porter's novels had slowly declined and by 1919 her status as a best-selling author began to fade. Undeterred, she continued to write until her death in 1924. Her Father's Daughter (1921), one of Stratton-Porter's last novels, was set in southern California, outside Los Angeles, where she had moved around 1920. The novel
14094-404: The Limberlost (1909), The Harvester (1911), Laddie (1913), and Michael O'Halloran (1915). Stratton-Porter incorporated everyday occurrences and acquaintances into her works of fiction. Many of her works delve into difficult subject matter such as themes of abuse, prostitution, and abandonment. In the case of Her Father's Daughter (1921), the anti-Asian sentiment that her writing reflected
14256-420: The Limberlost Swamp was drained and its natural resources developed for commercial purposes, Stratton-Porter sought alternate locations for inspiration. She initially purchased a small home on the north side of Sylvan Lake, near Rome City, in Noble County, Indiana, as a summer home while she looked for property to build a new residence. In 1912 she purchased lakeside property using her own funds and designed and had
14418-659: The Natural History Institute (Prescott, Arizona): Natural history – a practice of intentional focused attentiveness and receptivity to the more-than-human world, guided by honesty and accuracy – is the oldest continuous human endeavor. In the evolutionary past of our species, the practice of natural history was essential for our survival, imparting critical information on habits and chronologies of plants and animals that we could eat or that could eat us. Natural history continues to be critical to human survival and thriving. It contributes to our fundamental understanding of how
14580-539: The Sorby Natural History Society, Sheffield , founded in 1918. The growth of natural history societies was also spurred due to the growth of British colonies in tropical regions with numerous new species to be discovered. Many civil servants took an interest in their new surroundings, sending specimens back to museums in the Britain . (See also: Indian natural history ) Societies in other countries include
14742-561: The State of Indiana in 1923 to establish a state nature preserve, but representatives of the state government did not respond. She retained ownership of Wildflower Woods for the remainder of her life. Scenes from a movie based on Stratton-Porter's book, The Harvester , were filmed there in 1927. In 1940 the Gene Stratton-Porter Association purchased Wildflower Woods from Stratton-Porter's daughter, Jeannette Porter Meehan; in 1946
14904-662: The Three Rivers system, which eventually flows to the Atlantic, and the Wabash system, which eventually flows to the Gulf of Mexico. This came to be the "portage" or carrying place, over which travelers could transport their cargoes from one system to the next. This natural crossroads attracted the Native Americans for thousands of years. It later attracted the European explorers and traders and
15066-466: The United States. It is the principal city of the Fort Wayne metropolitan area , consisting of Allen and Whitley counties which had an estimated population of 423,038 as of 2021. Fort Wayne is the cultural and economic center of northeastern Indiana. Fort Wayne was built in 1794 by the United States Army under the direction of American Revolutionary War general Anthony Wayne , the last in
15228-552: The afterword of the book. In addition to writing, Stratton-Porter was an accomplished artist and wildlife photographer, specializing in the birds and moths that lived in the Limberlost Swamp , one of the last of the wetlands of the lower Great Lakes Basin . She also made sketches of her observations as part of her fieldwork. Stratton-Porter was especially noted for her close-up photographs of wildlife in their natural habitat. In one of her early photographic studies, she documented
15390-568: The association donated the 13-acre (5.3-hectare) property to the State of Indiana, including the cabin, its formal gardens, orchard, and pond. Designated as the Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site, the present-day 148-acre (60-hectare) property, including 20 acres (8.1 hectares) that were part of her original purchase, is operated by the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites and open to the public. The property
15552-548: The best-seller list in 1912. Freckles (1904), A Girl of the Limberlost (1909), and The Harvester (1911) are set in the wooded wetlands and swamps of northeast Indiana. Stratton-Porter loved the area and its wildlife and had documented them extensively. Inexpensive reprints of Freckles and A Girl of the Limberlost brought Stratton-Porter to the public's attention in the United States as well as abroad. Translations of her book into other languages also increased her international audience. In 1910, when Stratton-Porter reached
15714-464: The bestseller list; however, the story was serialized in Good Housekeeping magazine beginning in 1923, in advance of the book's release. By the time of its publication, Stratton-Porter's interests had shifted toward filmmaking. The Keeper of the Bees (1925) and The Magic Garden (1927) were the last of Stratton-Porter's novels completed before her death. Both of them were written at her home on Catalina Island and published posthumously. The Keeper of
15876-514: The city during the early 1950s, of which resulted in the demolition of several prominent and historical buildings and homes around the downtown area. This included several hotels, such as the historic thirteen-floor Hotel Anthony. Most of which, were demolished for surface-level parking lots . One example was the Ewing Homestead, built by William Ewing in 1838, it once stood at the northwest corner of Berry Street: This three-story brick mansion
16038-410: The city include Queen Anne , Richardsonian Romanesque , Neoclassical , Colonial Revival , Dutch Colonial Revival , Tudor Revival , Prairie , American Craftsman , American Foursquare , and Art Deco . Richardsonian Romanesque buildings include Fort Wayne City Hall (1893) and John H. Bass Mansion (1902), each designed by Wing & Mahurin . Notable examples of Neoclassical architecture include
16200-493: The city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female. Fort Wayne has one of the largest Burmese American population in the U.S., estimated at 8,000. Burmese refugee settlement and "secondary migrants" doubled the city's Asian population between 2000 and 2010. Fort Wayne is sometimes referred to as the "City of Churches", an unofficial moniker dating to the late-19th century when the city was the regional hub of Catholic , Lutheran , and Episcopal faiths. Today, there are 360 churches in
16362-682: The city's first skyscraper and Indiana's tallest building at the time, the Lincoln Bank Tower . By 1935, the New Deal 's WPA put over 7,000 residents back to work through local infrastructure improvements, including the construction of new parks, bridges, viaducts, and a $ 5.2 million sewage treatment facility. The post-World War II economic boom helped the city prosper once again. Between 1950 and 1955, more than 5,000 homes were built, many in large subdivisions in rural Allen County. In 1950, Fort Wayne's first bypass , Coliseum Boulevard , opened on
16524-501: The city, with one being the Richardville House (1827), a National Historic Landmark . Gothic and Gothic Revival architecture can be found in some of the city's most prominent churches, including Trinity English Lutheran Church (1846), Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (1860), Trinity Episcopal Church (1865), and Saint Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church (1889). Popular early 20th century architectural styles found in
16686-426: The city. 54 percent of Fort Wayne residents identify as religious, where 16 percent are Catholic, 9 percent are Lutheran, 6.5 percent are Baptist , 5 percent are Methodist , and 16.5 percent adhere to other Christian faiths. 0.14 percent of residents are Jewish . Increasing religious minorities are found among the city's immigrant communities, including Buddhism , Hinduism , and Islam . Major churches include
16848-948: The city: the American Association of Lutheran Churches , the Fundamental Baptist Fellowship Association , the Missionary Church and the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches . Fort Wayne is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend , covering 14 counties in Northern Indiana , and the Indiana District of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod , encompassing all of Indiana and north central Kentucky . In 2017,
17010-402: The death of her brother, Lemon Stratton, in late 1915, Stratton-Porter became the guardian of his daughter, Leah Mary Stratton. Leah lived with Stratton-Porter for several years after Leah's father's death. In 1888 Stratton-Porter persuaded her husband, Charles, to move their family from Decatur to Geneva in Adams County, Indiana, where he would be closer to his businesses. He initially purchased
17172-463: The development of a black vulture over a period of three months. Stratton-Porter reported in What I Have Done with Birds (1907) that the effort "yielded me the only complete series of Vulture studies ever made." Stratton-Porter began photographing birds in the Limberlost Swamp and along the Wabash River near her home in Geneva, Indiana, after her husband, Charles, and daughter, Jeannette, presented her with
17334-403: The diversity of the natural world. Natural history was understood by Pliny the Elder to cover anything that could be found in the world, including living things, geology, astronomy, technology, art, and humanity. De Materia Medica was written between 50 and 70 AD by Pedanius Dioscorides , a Roman physician of Greek origin. It was widely read for more than 1,500 years until supplanted in
17496-410: The ecosystem, and stresses identification, life history, distribution, abundance, and inter-relationships. It often and appropriately includes an esthetic component", and T. Fleischner, who defines the field even more broadly, as "A practice of intentional, focused attentiveness and receptivity to the more-than-human world, guided by honesty and accuracy". These definitions explicitly include the arts in
17658-710: The emergence of professional biological disciplines and research programs. Particularly in the 19th century, scientists began to use their natural history collections as teaching tools for advanced students and the basis for their own morphological research. The term "natural history" alone, or sometimes together with archaeology, forms the name of many national, regional, and local natural history societies that maintain records for animals (including birds (ornithology), insects ( entomology ) and mammals (mammalogy)), fungi ( mycology ), plants (botany), and other organisms. They may also have geological and microscopical sections. Examples of these societies in Britain include
17820-411: The field of botany, be it as authors, collectors, or illustrators. In modern Europe, professional disciplines such as botany, geology, mycology , palaeontology , physiology , and zoology were formed. Natural history , formerly the main subject taught by college science professors, was increasingly scorned by scientists of a more specialized manner and relegated to an "amateur" activity, rather than
17982-634: The field of natural history, and are aligned with the broad definition outlined by B. Lopez, who defines the field as the "Patient interrogation of a landscape" while referring to the natural history knowledge of the Eskimo ( Inuit ). A slightly different framework for natural history, covering a similar range of themes, is also implied in the scope of work encompassed by many leading natural history museums , which often include elements of anthropology, geology, paleontology, and astronomy along with botany and zoology, or include both cultural and natural components of
18144-462: The field. As Stratton-Porter gained more experience, she acquired better camera equipment, including a custom-made camera that used eight-by-ten-inch glass photographic plates . Stratton-Porter believed that the larger plates provided her with more detailed photographs of her subjects. She also developed her photographic plates in a darkroom she set up in the bathroom at Limberlost Cabin, her family's home in Geneva, Indiana, and later in her darkroom at
18306-510: The files of my publisher will find me my ultimate place." Stratton-Porter, a keen observer of nature, wrote eight nonfiction nature books that were moderate sellers compared to her novels. What I Have Done With Birds (1907) first appeared as a six-month illustrated series for the Ladies' Home Journal from April to August 1906. The Bobbs-Merrill Company published the material in book format that also includes Stratton-Porter's photographs. Birds of
18468-549: The government that the fort be reoccupied. The mixed population of the Kekionga area had moved past antipathy with the British by this point, and accepted their friendship. In 1776, Officer Jacques LaSalle moved into the village to conduct strict supervision on behalf of the British government, ensuring that the natives remained loyal to the British, and to check passports with travelers coming down from Fort Detroit . The British continued to monitor Kekionga and Fort Miami throughout
18630-470: The government used Fort Wayne to hand out annual payments under the treaty. But in a recurring cycle, the tribes ran up debts to white traders who came there to sell them alcohol and manufactured goods, and the government pushed tribal leaders—including through bribes—to sell more reservation land to pay off those debts and, when the land was gone, then to agree to have the tribe removed to the Far West. In 1802,
18792-419: The inspiration for her writing. Stratton-Porter lived in the cabin until 1913. While residing in Geneva, Stratton-Porter spent much time exploring, observing nature, sketching, and making photographs at the Limberlost Swamp. She also began writing nature stories and books. The nearby swamp was the setting for two of her most popular novels, Freckles (1904) and A Girl of the Limberlost (1909). In addition,
18954-507: The laboratories for her nature studies and the inspiration for her short stories, novels, essays, photography, and movies. Stratton-Porter wrote twenty-six books that included twelve novels, eight nature studies, two books of poetry, and four collections of stories and children's books. Of the fifty-five books selling one million or more copies between 1895 and 1945, five of them were novels written by Stratton-Porter. Among Stratton-Porter's best-selling novels were Freckles (1904), A Girl of
19116-456: The lakeside property on weekends. Stratton-Porter assisted in developing the grounds of Wildflower Woods into her private wildlife sanctuary. Its natural setting provided her with the privacy she desired, at least initially; however, her fame attracted too many unwanted visitors and trespassers. The property's increasing lack of privacy was one of the reasons that caused her move to California in 1919. Stratton-Porter offered to sell her property to
19278-486: The law that would lead to the destruction of wetlands in northeastern Indiana. Although the law was repealed in 1920, the area's swamps were eventually drained. In 1922 Stratton-Porter became a founding member of the Izaak Walton League, a national conservation group, and joined its efforts to save the wild elk at Jackson Hole , Wyoming , from extinction. Stratton-Porter called on the readers of Outdoor America ,
19440-615: The league's publication, to take prompt action. She was also a strong advocate of land and wetland conservation . As she wrote in an essay, "All Together, Heave," for Outdoor America in 1922, "If we do not want our land to dry up and blow away, we must replace at least part of our trees" and urged conservation of American waterways. Naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms , including animals , fungi , and plants , in their natural environment , leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history
19602-435: The needs of her family, she was free to pursue her own interests. She began her literary career by observing and writing about birdlife of the upper Wabash River valley and the nature she had seen during visits to the Limberlost Swamp, less than a mile from her home in Geneva, Indiana. The Limberlost Swamp, the Limberlost Cabin at Geneva, and after 1913, the Cabin at Wildflower Woods at Sylvan Lake in northeastern Indiana became
19764-452: The north side of the city, followed by the city's first arena, War Memorial Coliseum , bringing new opportunities for suburban expansion. The Coliseum was home to the NBA 's Fort Wayne Pistons from 1952 to 1957. The opening of enclosed shopping malls and the construction of Interstate 69 through rural areas north and west of the city proper further drove the exodus of retail from downtown through
19926-588: The novel a "well written" and "wholesome story." Initial sales of her third novel, At the Foot of the Rainbow (1907), about two friends who enjoy fishing and trapping, were "disappointing," but Stratton-Porter reached the peak of her popularity with the publication of her next novel, The Harvester (1911), which centers around David Langston, who harvests and in turn sells medicinal herbs, and his love interest, Ruth Jameson, who embodies his ideal partner. It reached number one on
20088-496: The opening of the city's first airport, Smith Field . The airport served as Fort Wayne's primary commercial airfield until Baer Field (now Fort Wayne International Airport ) was transferred to the city in 1947 after serving as a military base during World War II. Fort Wayne was hit by the Great Depression beginning in 1929, with most factories cutting their workforce. The stock market crash did not discourage plans to build
20250-541: The original plan was implemented by 1955. In 2010, the Fort Wayne Park and Boulevard System was listed on the National Register of Historic Places , consisting of 11 public parks, four parkways, and ten boulevards, covering 1,883 acres (762 ha). During the 19th century, Fort Wayne was dominated by Greek Revival , Gothic Revival , and Italianate architecture . Examples of Greek Revival architecture remain in
20412-496: The population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. Among the Hispanic population, 6.1% are Mexican , 0.4% Puerto Rican , and 0.3% Guatemalan . Non-Hispanic Whites were 70.3% of the population in 2010, down from 87.7% in 1970. There were 101,585 households, of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.3% were married couples living together, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had
20574-510: The premier community gathering space and centerpiece in the city's $ 50 million flood control project. Fort Wayne celebrated its bicentennial in 1994. The city continued to concentrate on downtown redevelopment and investment in the 2000s. The decade saw the beginnings of its transformation, with renovations and expansions of the Allen County Public Library , Grand Wayne Convention Center , and Fort Wayne Museum of Art . In 2007,
20736-472: The primary objective being to slow American expansion into the Great Lakes region . The young United States formally organized the region in the Land Ordinance of 1785 and negotiated treaties allowing settlement, but the Western Confederacy of Native American nations were not party to these treaties and did not cede their ownership of those lands. American land speculators and pioneers began flooding down
20898-422: The publication's February 1900 issue. The article described her concerns about harming birds in order to use their feathers as hat trims. At the magazine's request, Stratton-Porter also wrote a photography column called "Camera Notes." In July 1901 she switched to doing similar work for Outing , a natural history magazine. Stratton-Porter was soon submitting short stories and nature-related material to magazines on
21060-550: The reasons for Stratton-Porter's move to California. She arrived in southern California in the fall of 1919, intending to spend the winter months there, but enjoyed it so much that she decided to make it her year-round home. Stratton-Porter enjoyed an active social life in the Los Angeles area, made new friends, began to publish her poetry, and continued to write novels and magazine articles. In 1924 she also established her own film production company. Stratton-Porter initially purchased
21222-515: The resulting commercial development, which included oil drilling, destroyed its wildlife. The swamp was drained into the Wabash River. In 1917 Stratton-Porter became more active in the conservation movement when the Indiana General Assembly passed legislation to allow drainage of state-owned swamps in Noble and LaGrange Counties. She joined with others to urge the state legislature to repeal
21384-403: The second half of the 20th century in Fort Wayne. The John D. Haynes House (1952) was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright , while the campus of Concordia Theological Seminary (1953) was designed by Eero Saarinen . Postmodern architect Michael Graves ' first commissions were built in the city, including Hanselmann House (1967) and Snyderman House (1972, now demolished). Louis Kahn 's design for
21546-408: The southwest and southeast, while the St. Joseph River divides the northwest and northeast quadrants. The Maumee River separates the northeast and southeast, while portions of the St. Marys River and Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad separate the northwest and southwest quadrants. Fort Wayne's early 20th century development was influenced by the City Beautiful movement and centered on
21708-451: The study of life at the level of the individual—of what plants and animals do, how they react to each other and their environment, how they are organized into larger groupings like populations and communities" and this more recent definition by D.S. Wilcove and T. Eisner: "The close observation of organisms—their origins, their evolution, their behavior, and their relationships with other species". This focus on organisms in their environment
21870-411: The swamp was the locale for many of her works of natural history. Stratton-Porter became known as "The Bird Lady" and "The Lady of the Limberlost" to friends and readers. Between 1888 and 1910, the area's wetlands around Stratton-Porter's home were drained to reclaim the land for agricultural development and the Limberlost Swamp, along with the flora and fauna that Stratton-Porter documented in her books,
22032-515: The system of the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus . The British historian of Chinese science Joseph Needham calls Li Shizhen "the 'uncrowned king' of Chinese naturalists", and his Bencao gangmu "undoubtedly the greatest scientific achievement of the Ming". His works translated to many languages direct or influence many scholars and researchers. A significant contribution to English natural history
22194-404: The turn of the 20th century, the population of Fort Wayne nearly reached 50,000, attributed to a large influx of German and Irish immigrants . Fort Wayne's "urban working class" thrived in industrial and railroad-related jobs. The city's economy was substantially based on manufacturing, ushering in an era of innovation with several notable inventions and developments coming out of the city over
22356-705: The twelfth and last child of Mary (Shallenberger) and Mark Stratton, was born at the family's Hopewell Farm on August 17, 1863, near Lagro in Wabash County, Indiana . Mark Stratton, a Methodist minister and farmer of English descent, and Mary Stratton, a homemaker of German-Swiss ancestry, were married in Ohio on December 24, 1835, relocated to Wabash County, Indiana, in 1838, and settled at Hopewell Farm in 1848. Geneva's eleven siblings included Catherine, Mary Ann, Anastasia, Florence, Ada, Jerome, Irvin, Leander, and Lemon, in addition to two sisters, Samira and Louisa Jane, who died at
22518-401: The whereabouts of Harmar though the aid of various agents such as Simon Girty , would quickly drive Harmar and the US troops away. The confederacy warriors attacked the second invading force, led in 1791 by General Arthur St. Clair , before it could get that far and wiped it out, in a massacre known as St. Clair's Defeat at modern-day Fort Recovery, Ohio . It's known as the greatest defeat of
22680-402: The wild and also included her photographs. Although the novel was a modest commercial success and was warmly received by literary critics, Stratton-Porter's publisher believed that nature stories would not become as popular as romance novels. For her second novel, Stratton-Porter decided to combine nature and romance. Freckles (1904), which was published by Doubleday, Page and Company , became
22842-475: The world works by providing the empirical foundation of natural sciences, and it contributes directly and indirectly to human emotional and physical health, thereby fostering healthier human communities. It also serves as the basis for all conservation efforts, with natural history both informing the science and inspiring the values that drive these. As a precursor to Western science , natural history began with Aristotle and other ancient philosophers who analyzed
23004-664: The world's large natural history collections, such as the Natural History Museum, London , and the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. Three of the greatest English naturalists of the 19th century, Henry Walter Bates , Charles Darwin , and Alfred Russel Wallace —who knew each other—each made natural history travels that took years, collected thousands of specimens, many of them new to science, and by their writings both advanced knowledge of "remote" parts of
23166-564: The world. The plurality of definitions for this field has been recognized as both a weakness and a strength, and a range of definitions has recently been offered by practitioners in a recent collection of views on natural history. Prior to the advent of Western science humans were engaged and highly competent in indigenous ways of understanding the more-than-human world that are now referred to as traditional ecological knowledge . 21st century definitions of natural history are inclusive of this understanding, such as this by Thomas Fleischner of
23328-777: The world—the Amazon basin , the Galápagos Islands , and the Indonesian Archipelago , among others—and in so doing helped to transform biology from a descriptive to a theory-based science. The understanding of "Nature" as "an organism and not as a mechanism" can be traced to the writings of Alexander von Humboldt (Prussia, 1769–1859). Humboldt's copious writings and research were seminal influences for Charles Darwin, Simón Bolívar , Henry David Thoreau , Ernst Haeckel , and John Muir . Natural history museums , which evolved from cabinets of curiosities , played an important role in
23490-459: The years, such as gasoline pumps (1885), the refrigerator (1913), and in 1972, the first home video game console . The Great Flood of 1913 caused seven deaths, left 15,000 homeless, and damaged over 5,500 buildings in the worst natural disaster in the city's history. As the automobile's prevalence grew, Fort Wayne became a fixture on the Lincoln Highway . Aviation arrived in 1919 with
23652-508: Was 4.93 in (125 mm) on August 1, 1926. The snowiest month on record was January 2014, with 30.3 in (77 cm) of snowfall. The greatest calendar-day snowfall was 18.0 in (46 cm) on February 28, 1900. Severe weather is not uncommon in Fort Wayne, particularly in the spring and summer months; the city experiences an average of 39 thunderstorm days and about 10 severe weather days annually. The city has endured several tornadoes throughout its history. On July 19, 1950,
23814-621: Was attending the Island Park Assembly, a Chautauqua gathering. Porter, a druggist , was thirteen years older than Stratton, who was not yet twenty-one. After ten months of regularly exchanging letters, the couple met at another gathering at Sylvan Lake, during the summer of 1885. They became engaged in October 1885 and were married on August 21, 1886. Gene Stratton-Porter kept her family surname and added her husband's after her marriage. Charles Porter, who had numerous business interests, became
23976-785: Was basically static through the Middle Ages in Europe—although in the Arabic and Oriental world, it proceeded at a much brisker pace. From the 13th century, the work of Aristotle was adapted rather rigidly into Christian philosophy , particularly by Thomas Aquinas , forming the basis for natural theology . During the Renaissance, scholars (herbalists and humanists, particularly) returned to direct observation of plants and animals for natural history, and many began to accumulate large collections of exotic specimens and unusual monsters . Leonhart Fuchs
24138-430: Was born on November 27, 1911; Gene Stratton Monroe was born on March 22, 1914, and became a film actor under the stage name Gene Stratton, starring in silent films based on three of her grandmother's books. The Monroes divorced in 1920, and then Jeannette and her two daughters moved to Los Angeles , California, to live with Stratton-Porter, who had moved there in 1919. On June 6, 1923, Jeannette married James Leo Meehan ,
24300-714: Was destroyed. In 1912 she purchased property for a new home at Sylvan Lake in Noble County, Indiana. The Porters sold the Limberlost Cabin in 1923. In 1947 the Limberlost Conservation Association of Geneva donated it to the State of Indiana . Designated as the Limberlost State Historic Site, the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites operates the site as a house museum. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. After
24462-457: Was elected the city's first mayor. Fort Wayne's "Summit City" nickname dates from this period, referring to the city's position at the highest elevation along the canal's route. As influential as the canal was to the city's earliest development, it quickly became obsolete after briefly competing with the city's first railroad, the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway , completed in 1854. At
24624-582: Was for her as a child. These romantic novels generated the income that allowed her to pursue her nature studies. Her novels have been translated into twenty-three languages, as well as Braille . At its peak in the early 1910s, her readership was estimated at 50 million, with earnings from her literary works estimated at $ 2 million. Stratton-Porter began her career in 1895, when she sent nature photographs that she had made to Recreation magazine. Her first published article, "A New Experience in Millinery," appeared in
24786-546: Was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. In addition to the cabin, guests can explore a one-acre formal garden, wooded paths, and a 99-acre (40-hectare) wetland and prairie that is undergoing restoration. The Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site is supported by the Gene Stratton-Porter Memorial Society, Inc. Lack of privacy at her home on Sylvan Lake in Indiana was among
24948-402: Was made by parson-naturalists such as Gilbert White , William Kirby , John George Wood , and John Ray , who wrote about plants, animals, and other aspects of nature. Many of these men wrote about nature to make the natural theology argument for the existence or goodness of God. Since early modern times, however, a great number of women made contributions to natural history, particularly in
25110-402: Was nearly completed at the time of her death in 1924, but she never lived in it. Construction on a two-story, 14-room, cedar-log Queen Anne style rustic home in Geneva began in 1894 and was completed in 1895. The Porters named their new home the Limberlost Cabin in reference to its location near the 13,000-acre (5,300-hectare) Limberlost Swamp , where Stratton-Porter liked to explore and found
25272-633: Was not a trained scientist, centered her field research on her own interests in observing the domestic behavior of wild birds, such as their nest-building, diets, and social behavior. Her writing tried to explain nature in ways that her readers could understand and avoided scientific jargon and tedious, dry statistics. Stratton-Porter regularly contributed articles and photographs to magazines that included Metropolitan , Recreation , Outing , Country Life in America , and Ladies' Home Journal . After her move to California in 1919, Stratton-Porter wrote articles for
25434-441: Was one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in Fort Wayne until it was destroyed in 1970 to make way for a parking lot. Since at least the early 20th century, Fort Wayne has maintained a combined sewage overflow program, which has resulted in the city routinely discharging untreated human waste, raw sewage from businesses and homes, toxic waste from industrial sites, and agricultural runoff into all three rivers in
25596-405: Was one of the three founding fathers of botany, along with Otto Brunfels and Hieronymus Bock . Other important contributors to the field were Valerius Cordus , Konrad Gesner ( Historiae animalium ), Frederik Ruysch , and Gaspard Bauhin . The rapid increase in the number of known organisms prompted many attempts at classifying and organizing species into taxonomic groups , culminating in
25758-435: Was prevalent in the United States during that era. Her other writing also introduced the concept of land and wildlife conservation to her readers. Although Stratton-Porter preferred to focus on nature books, it was her romantic novels that gained her fame and wealth. Although, she often did create an irrefutable link between nature and romance in her plotlines; nature often represents a comfort for her characters, as she felt it
25920-472: Was published anonymously in 1893, circumstantial evidence suggests that Stratton-Porter's first book was The Strike at Shane's. However, Stratton-Porter never acknowledged that she had written it and its author was never revealed. Bobbs-Merrill published her first, full-length attributed novel, The Song of the Cardinal (1903), about a red bird living along the Wabash River. The book explained how birds lived in
26082-486: Was said of Stratton-Porter's childhood that she had been "reared by people who constantly pointed out every natural beauty, using it wherever possible to drive home a precept, the child [Stratton-Porter] lived out-of-doors with the wild almost entirely." After the family moved to Wabash in 1874, Gene attended school on a regular basis and became an avid reader. She also began music lessons in banjo, violin, and piano from her sister, Florence, and received private art lessons from
26244-444: Was the first to build a residence there. The 22-room, English Tudor-style mansion included approximately 11,000 square feet (1,000 m) of living space and was set on a small mountaintop. The property also included a 4-car garage with servants' quarters above it, a greenhouse, outdoor ponds, and a tennis court. Stratton-Porter named her estate Floraves for flora (meaning flowers) and aves (meaning birds). She died on December 6, 1924,
#42957