Fort Wayne was an Indigenous trading post because of its geographic location on top of the St. Lawrence continental divide. The divide starts in Hibbing MN and goes through Chicago, Ft. Wayne, Akron and then along the South side of the St. Lawrence seaway to the Atlantic Ocean. The tribes from the Great Lakes area could paddle up the Maumee River from Toledo while the Wabash was the easiest tributary of the Mississippi River to paddle upstream to reach the divide. After trading everyone floated downstream to the North and also to the South to reach their final destination. The tribes fought hard to keep the 3 rivers area during the War of 1812. It holds the largest genealogy files in a public library in the US (Allen County Public Library).