Fort Wayne is a city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. With an estimated population of 256,496, Fort Wayne is the 76th most populous city in the United States and second largest in Indiana. It is the principal city of the Fort Wayne metropolitan area, consisting of Allen, Wells, and Whitley counties, for an estimated population of 419,453. In addition to those three core counties, the combined statistical area includes Adams, DeKalb, Huntington, Noble, and Steuben counties, for a population of about 615,077.Under the direction of American Revolutionary War statesman Anthony Wayne, the United States Army built Fort Wayne last in a series of forts near the Miami tribe village of Kekionga in 1794. Named in Wayne's honor, the settlement established itself at the confluence of the St. Joseph River, St. Marys River, and Maumee River as a trading post for European pioneers. The village was platted in 1823 and experienced tremendous growth after completion of the Wabash and Erie Canal and advent of the railroad. Once a booming manufacturing town located in the Rust Belt, Fort Wayne's economy has diversified to include distribution, transportation, and logistics, health care, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and financial services. The city is a center for the defense industry which employs thousands.