Ossian

Ossian was incorporated in 1850 by a group of people of primarily Scottish ancestry, and the town was named after Ossian, a Scottish poet of the third century. At the beginning of the Romantic Era, a scholar named James MacPhearson traveled to Ossian in an effort to document the many unrecorded poems that had been passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth, and a plethora of books resulted.

Besides being known for its poetry, the town has long been a logistics gold mine as it is ideally located between major trade areas of the midwest. The town’s logistic advantage was born in 1843 when Indiana State Road 1 connected Ossian to Fort Wayne. Since that time, the town’s logistics have only improved with the addition of the Fort Wayne, Cincinnati and Louisville Railroad through Ossian in 1869.

Today, Ossian is situated on the main north south route for the Norfolk Southern Corporation and just 7 miles south of the Fort Wayne International Airport. Additionally, the town continues to benefit from its position just 14 miles south of Fort Wayne, Indiana, 110 miles from Indianapolis, Indiana, 180 miles from Chicago, Illinois, 180 miles from Detroit, Michigan, 120 miles from Toledo, Ohio, and 220 miles from Cleveland, Ohio.

With such a strong geographic position, Ossian has always been an industrial town, especially in recent years as their focus has been on engineering and manufacturing. This industrial focus led to the creation of the Ossian Development Corporation (ODC), a not-for-profit organization that manages the development for the Ossian Industrial Park. To date, the Ossian Industrial Park has been an extremely prosperous venture that employs over 1,000 workers in 11 different industries.

Logistics is not the only advantage of living and working in Ossian, though, as the town has a longstanding history of values and being a friendly, caring community. Despite being only 15 miles from the city of Fort Wayne, Ossian offers a small town atmosphere and a genuinely safe place to live for families. The town features: 9 church denominations within just 5 miles, a variety of parks, ball diamonds and tennis courts, a public library, and a high quality educational system, making Ossian an ideal place to live.

The town is led by an elected five-member Town Council and a clerk-treasurer.

Attractions include the: Ossian Ballpark, Lenny Gerber Walking Trail, Archbold-Wilson Memorial Park, and more. In addition to these attractions, the annual “Ossian Days” community celebration serves as an important connecting force among members of the Ossian and surrounding communities. This event features a parade, as well as local crafts and foods, and the fun festival atmosphere embodies the close-knit community feel of Ossian.