Ive been to some fantastic museums all across the country. So I was a little disappointed in this one. But its quaint. There did in fact happen to be an overwhelming amount of references to Johnny Appleseed without any sort of explanation on why everyone is so obsessed and that got me in a tizzy, but there are in fact some cool exhibits about the more modern history of Fort Wayne, and there is a cool jail on the down stairs as well. It seemed like there might have been asbestos or something on the walls so be careful of that lol.Also it seemed like a lot of the paraphernalia in there was fake but the information seemed pretty legit. It was fun and I learned a bit from it. Still annoying though how a lot of whats in the museum doesnt really seem to he of anything or anyone important. Just people who lived their lives and were decent folk.Kinda puts things into perspective a little bit.

Great prices!! They have so many cool things to see. The jail was really cool and the gift shop had good prices as well!!

Had a HS reunion there. Good facilities. Interesting old building.

Very interesting museum to learn about Fort Wayne, IN. Enjoyed our walk thru museum and price was reasonable (less than $15 for us).

Visited for a wedding reception. Facility is decent in size and clean. Museum is kinda cool

This was an awesome place to visit. There is so much to see and read. The jail part in the basement was pretty wild! There is so much to see and so much to talk about, youll have to see it for yourself!

Nice area history museum including native American and industrial products history

Pretty cool place to visit once a year. Been to a wedding and reception there. The outside farmers market during the warmer months is a must visit.

This place is cool to go check out i swear its haunted tho bc the old jail in the basement

The museum looked interesting in TripAdvisor so we visited. I was surprised how much information there was. I enjoyed the information and how it was presented. I enjoyed the stories of Fort Wayne residents and their businesses and inventions. I liked the display on the W&D store, the display windows, and the Santa with sleigh and reindeer. I liked the jail area.

If you are a history lover this is a good place to visit. I remember entry is arround 6$/person. It has the history collection of fort wayne. Inventions, the electronic and other home appliences used by the people in Fort Wayne 100 years ago are found here. Mostly in historic meusems you find pictures and uninteresting products. But, here you can find the better interesting ones. I suggest this place. You can spend 1 hr here.

Another great experience to share with our two young grandkids

We were there for the Gingerbread House show which had a 45+minutes wait to get in, but while we waited, we saw some interesting pictures and items. We would like to go back sometime to see more when its not gingerbread week.

I love adventuring around here and learning about the local history. Sadly the second floor was holding a class and we couldnt view everything but I still had a wonderful time. As always I got some very dark feelings, and just as always the mannequin spooked me after already feeling that way. Be sure to look for the original writing in the womens cell, alot of great stuff in this building.

The History Center in Fort Wayne is an organized exhibit of the past. It makes you want to go again and again. So much to see and learn. Wish each town had their own history center like this one. Knowing the past we understand the present and make a better future. A+ for Fort Waynes History Center!

Oooky spooky basement jail! It has more artifacts than I expected, from many different periods of local history. The little gift shop is so cute and awesome. Many beautiful architectural features to take some bomb pictures with too!

My cousin had his wedding reception here thought it was a nice ideal and it has some very good historic information and sites inside, so if you’re ever in Fort Wayne Indiana this will be a nice place to stop in and visit

Loved the experience!! Wife was SO scared of the jail in the basement! LOL

Nice little museum of the fort dont forget to head to the basement and see the old jail cells

A nice Chunk of Fort nostalgia ... Always fun to go to

Super cute place we loved the gingerbread house

Extremely polite and helpful staff, calming environment, and of course, beautiful art. Great place to stop when youre in Fort Wayne.

My 13 year old loves history, recently got in free as a field trip type thing since schools had closed. We had a great time. Lots to see. Even the old jail cells are creepy fun.

Great fun for young and old. Ginger Bread Festival.

Very impressive stately building and historic....we went to see the gingerbread holiday display and was impressed with the artistic ability with gingerbread designs.

Pretty interesting micro museum. A local flavor to the venue.

We visited when an elementary field trip was there. Unfortunately this group wasnt as behaved as the other field trip students weve encountered. I am guessing they were in grade 4 working on their Indiana history. Way too old to crawl around on the floor. The admissions clerk suggested we start at the top as it was quieter. The layout of the displays flowed well - larger rooms to smaller areas and the hallways were utilized as well. My favorite area was the jail. The entry to the booking spot was in the basement. There were cells for men and one separated cell for women. The women even had a privacy wall for the bathroom. Original graffiti from prisoners is still on the walls. There is also a great police motorcycle on display. The model of original Fort Wayne was well done.

Kids were scared/in awe of the jail.

Ive been to the history center on two occasions, once as a child for the gingerbread festival they host every year, and more recently for a wedding reception. The staff is extremely kind and helpful in all matter of speaking. The exhibits themselves are fascinating, and truly are one of the best places to see the history of Fort Wayne and the Allen County area. Some exhibits are even interactive, which adds to the charm even more. Exhibits do go down, but their exclusion is overshadowed by just how good the rest of the exhibits are! Fantastic place, and i would give this a high recommendation to anyone interested in Allen county history.

Fantastic location for Wedding Reception 💒👍💃🥂🎹‼️This is the view as you look from the History Center window 🆒❕

Love this place. Step back in time.

Went during gingerbread festival a lot of great gingerbread houses. Friendly staff

Awsome

Beautiful Building. I attended Wedding Reception here. Excellent Venue. Will go back to check out all of the exhibits this cool place has on Display. At first glance, it appears this is an extensive collection of Fort Wayne history.

Watch out when parking. The City spots are not well marked and the History Center only has about 10 spots in the lot (they ARE well marked, but it seems like the whole lot is shared and its not). I went to drop off entry forms and saw a parking patrol officer handing out tickets left and right to people who didnt realize and had parked in the citys spots. Those spots should have permit only parking signs on each spot. Not the HC fault, but very confusing.

Nice. Good exhibits. Could use some guidance instead of random wandering.

Wanted to go there because it seemed like a cool place. But after arriving, the employee/volunteer there said the place was closed until the 20th for maintenance. Wish they wouldve mentioned that on their website - even their Facebook seems to fail to mention this. Two stars because it seems like a cool place, but they do a poor job letting the public know when theyre not accepting visitors.

Nice collaboration of history in fort wayne and beyond as well as a haunted jail in the basement

Spent a bit over an hour. Interesting Museum that does a great job showing the indigenous and settler roots in the area. Stuck in my mind was the particularly interesting history of industry in the area, with product samples on display from TVs, motors, radios, military gear, wash machines and much more. Second floor had a large HO scale train layout which my son also enjoyed. A history of the local police department includes early mobile radios, call boxes, motorcycles, details about the last local execution. The basement jail is preserved for guests to experience.

We love visiting here around Christmas time. Especially for the gingerbread house display. The jail is super cool as well.

Great way to experience a piece of Fort Wayne history! Fun, informative and a great place for adults and children.The History Center has an amazing collection of documents and artifacts that document the history of this geographical area. There is an array of material about the founding of the city. Worth the time and effort! Try it!

Wonderful museum, incredible hospitality. Plenty to see for both adults and young people. A very friendly and welcoming city.

Super cute spot. I wish that the ‘Hispanic’ element of the History Center was modified to ‘’Latinx,’ however. Nevertheless, had a great visit.

It is a great place. I was here for the Windsong Movie Festival. I would like to visit again sometime. I like the jail. I love seeing historical items. I think its a great way to learn about the world. I believe it affects future decisions.

The only times Ive been here is when the gingerbread festival is going on. They go all out for Christmas! The building inside looks absolutely beautiful and the gingerbread houses are so charming. If youve never been during the holidays I highly recommend it. Also, theres more to look at than just the gingerbread houses, theres so much history inside and you can go on a little tour of this building. And it also has information about Fort Waynes past. Its quite neat.

Great exhibit showcasing the past to the present Fort Wayne experience, and the icing on the cake (literally gingerbread) was the display of gingerbread houses! Some fantastic work, done by all ages. Very creative art form, and one that will make you a bit hungry!

I love going to the History Center, especially during the Festival of Gingerbread. Wonderful building and helpful staff and volunteers!

Loved the Ginger bread house display and the history of Fort Wayne and the Indians and infantry were fascinating stories! The old jail house use to be in the basement of this building and wow what history attached to it!

Great area displays

Kids love this place! It is the old police station and there is a cell they can enter and close the door ( no lock ). Lots of great exhibits.

Wedding was amazing. But I learned alot at the center. First time going

Beautiful for my sons wedding. Service was great

Gorgeous place for a wedding reception. Lots of historical artifacts. Staff was amazing, friendly helpful and gracious.

Awesome experience, if you love history! Good for the entire family!

Had our grandsons Wedding here beautiful and is good to visit for the history.

This place was really nice so interesting. Had no idea of all the people that had invented things that were from Fort Wayne. This city definitely added to the growth of the United States.

The kids always love the fesitval of gingerbread and the old jail in the basement.

Amazing place.

Came here with my family for the gingerbread house exhibit and loved it!

Checked out the gingerbread houses for the first time after living in FW my entire life. It was amazing to see the creativity of our community. I took my transplant (from Michigan) husband, and got to learn more about this city and area as we perused the 1st floor and basement. Even our baby seemed to have a nice time, especially looking at al the people in the gingerbread house line. Hope to go back soon and explore more, we left when the baby got hungry.

Surprisingly expansive collection. Amazing and an unexpected wedding venue. Very well curated museum with beautifully presented displays featuring the areas rich history.

Great finegingerbread display

Rather small, but still a nice place to visit with the kids. Takes no more than 30-45 min to see everything. The jail exhibit downstairs is kinda creepy. Im not sure if smaller kids would enjoy.

Had our class reunion there so didnt actually get to see the place, but I think it would be worth visiting

I had no idea how beautiful this would be. Well worth the visit.

Always a fun Christmas stop and learn Fort Wayne history. Gift shop has good items for the hard to buy for.

Its always a great visit when we come. The basement level is very interesting, showing the old cells of the jail. The upstairs has many items through out FWs History

If you want to learn the history of the area you should visit the center,all the displays are very well done

We had a great time with grandkids at Gingerbread festival and museum!!!

Very cool. Better than I had expected. So many cool experiences and objects to view.

Very interesting fascinating the building itself is wonderful too walk within.

Grew up in the Fort and finally made it here! Very cool!

Wonderful local treasure. Dont miss the ginger bread houses during the holidays!!

I love visiting with family. Really for all ages and the old jail is very unique and fun to see.

Prices were good and history downstairs was interesting.

I want to see the gingerbread houses with my grandson and my girlfriend had a good time my grandson made his own little gingerbread house and had fun doing it.

More than meets the eye! I was very impressed with the items they have preserved and displayed here! I will be stopping back soon to do a little more exploring!

I love the local history presented. It would have been better had it been larger.

We went there to see gingerbread houses and enjoyed the many great looking detailed, candy covered houses. They even had a senior entry fee.

Very underwhelming. Some decent stuff to look at but not much to it. The jail was probably the highlight. At least it wasnt too expensive to get in.

When I had went there, I could experience what it felt like for those people when they had previously entered the courtroom and the jail that people entered, of what used to be a courthouse/jail. I could experience what it felt like. The other thing is is that I had felt a presence beside me. It was really cool that I jad got to go there, it just when I had felt that presence, I had felt terrified. Its still a great museum to go to.

Bartended a wedding reception there. Its a great venue for a get together and very resonably priced. So much history of Ft Wayne laced around the walls of this place. Had a good time.

Must go. A fun visit. We always go for the gingerbread festival and stay for the museum.

I wish they had more historical information and less interactive stuff throughout.

Many events throughout the year had fun seeing the old jail and learning a little about the history of the area.

The event was great but being in a wheelchair I was disappointed to find the facility isnt accessible. The bathrooms are impossible to use if in a wheelchair. Handicap parking is far below what the ADA requires. To top everything off, I use a van with a side deploy ramp and someone parked in the hash marked area next to my van forcing me to ask someone to move my van out so I could access it. By the way, that was the only van accessible space. It was marked but the paint job was terrible so was hard to see especially in the dark.They need to get with the ADA and do things legally.

Fort Wayne Historical Museum. Very interesting facts and historical events from Fort Wayne. Very interesting and educational.

Had a great time learning about FW history

Very interesting artifacts from FORT WAYNE with a few thrown in from Chicago and San Francisco. Be sure to go down and check out the dungeon they called the jail !

Interesting facts about Fort Wayne. A hidden treasure.

Ginger house was nice to see.

Nice museum, very well curated exhibits!

Attended the Gingerbread Festival. Enjoyed it very much.

Interesting place with many well done displays.

A neat and unique experience

Great for history buffs! Wish the rooms were a little bit bigger.

Way larger and more extensive than we imagined.

Great fun. The basement is just as scary now as it was at 3rd grade

The Festival of gingerbread was so awesome this year!

Nice history of Fort Wayne. Plus, the old jail in the basement is super creepy.