Anthony Wayne Area Council
Council History
Anthony Wayne Area Council
The Anthony Wayne Area Council has grown over the 100 years from a Fort Wayne City Council to the Anthony Wayne Area Council as we know it today. Originally, the Council included only Scout troops in Fort Wayne. In 1923 the Council Board invited the smaller towns in Allen County to affiliate with the Council. The Council name was then changed from the!'Fort Wayne Local Council" to the "Anthony Wayne Council." The Board selected this new name as more appropriate for all of Allen County and as a tribute to General Anthony Wayne of colonial Indiana.
In February 1926 the regional Scout office in Chicago recommended that the Council expand further to include the "six counties of the Indiana Twelfth Congressional District": Allen, DeKalb, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, and Whitley. Later that year, November 1926, the Council Board invited Adams, Wells, and Whitley counties to join the Council; Whitley being the only one recommended previously by the region. To reflect these additional counties, the Board voted on a revised Council name on May 3, 1927. "Anthony Wayne Area Council" was the winner, beating out "Limberlost Council," "Little Turtle Council" and the incumbent "Anthony Wayne Council."
In May 1928 the following four counties joined the council: DeKalb, Huntington, Noble, and Steuben. On April 1, 1929, the 8-county council, heretofore only an organization, was duly incorporated. Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, Noble, Steuben, Wells and Whitley counties became the "Anthony Wayne Area Council, Inc." In the fall of 1929 Jay County joined the Council, making it nine counties.
In 1948 the Council Board decided to organize all of Allen County into one central district with four subdivisions. This was the beginning of a trend, noted later in September 1952, "toward larger and more effective and efficient Districts." Effective January 1, 1953, all districts were reorganized into only four districts in the Council:
West - Huntington, Whitley
South-Adams, Jay, Wells
North - DeKalb, Noble, Steuben
East-Allen
In 1960 the districts were again restructured. Allen County was divided into two districts, separated by the east-west running Norfolk and Western Railroad. The rural counties retained their affiliations and Indian names were assigned each district according to the following structure:
Tomahawk: Huntington, Whitley
Limberlost: Adams, Jay, Wells
Pokagon:DeKalb, Noble, Steuben
Miami: South Allen
Thunderbird: North Allen
No territorial or name changes occurred again in the Council until February 1972. In that month, the neighboring council to the west, Pioneer Trails Council, disbanded. It had consisted of three counties: Elkhart, Kosciusko, LaGrange. Elkhart County was incorporated into the Northern Indiana Council, today the west neighboring council headquartered in South Bend, Indiana. Kosciusko and LaGrange counties were incorporated into the Anthony Wayne Area Council.
Kosciusko County remained its own district, titled "Kosciusko," already an Indian name. LaGrange County joined with Noble County to create the Shawnee district. In September 1984 the Shawnee District combined with the Pokagon district under the title "Pokagon."
In 1985, the Anthony Wayne Area Council consisted of 11 counties divided into six districts. In Allen County a separate division exists for the Exploring program. This seventh division of Exploring was thematic rather than territorial:
Tomahawk: Huntington, Whitley
Limberlost: Adams, Jay, Wells
Pokagon: DeKalb, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben
Miami: South Allen
Thunderbird: North Allen
Kosciusko: Kosciusko
Exploring: Allen
From 2004 - July 2020, the Anthony Wayne Area Council consists of 11 counties divided into six districts. The district structure is as follows:
Lincolnway: Kosciusko and Whitley
Wabash Valley: Adams, Huntington, Jay and Wells
Pokagon: DeKalb, LaGrange, Noble and Steuben
Miami: South Allen
Scout Reach: Three Rivers District (Fort Wayne)
Thunderbird: North Allen
Today, the Anthony Wayne Area Council consists of 11 counties divided into five districts. The current district structure is as follows:
Lincolnway: Kosciusko, Whitley, and Western Allen County
Wabash Valley: Adams, Huntington, Jay, Wells, and Southern Allen County
Pokagon: DeKalb, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, and Northern Allen County
Scout Reach: Three Rivers District (Fort Wayne)
Summit: Central Allen County