The History of Ossian

The city of Ossian was named after the legendary Scottish poet of the third century, Ossian, son of Fingal. Ossian was credited with being the author of ancient lines handed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. In 1750, James MacPhearson traveled to the Scottish Highlands in search of Ossian’s lost and unrecorded poems. He published books of Ossian’s poetry that he claimed to have found and collected. This was the start of the Romantic Era. The word Ossian is interpreted Little Fawn. Levi Young was the first resident of what is now the Town site. In 1846, William Craig, John Ogden and Squire LaFever laid out the town of Ossian and held an auction for the sale of lots. The official incorporation date for the town was March 14, 1850. At that time, the town trustees officially named the town and the post office was changed from Bee Creek to Ossian.
In 1843, Highway 1 (Bluffton Road) was made serviceable from Fort Wayne to Bluffton. On January 25, 1850, the Fort Wayne and Bluffton Plank Road Company was organized. The plank road was a toll road; any horse or horse-drawn vehicle had to pay a toll. Today, Ossian is served by Highway 1. Four miles north is Interstate 469, the loop for Interstate 69 around Fort Wayne. Also, Fort Wayne International Airport is just 7 miles north of Ossian.
The Fort Wayne, Cincinnati & Louisville Railroad was built through Ossian in 1869. It was not in complete operation until the following year. Today, the railroad is a main north south route for the Norfolk Southern Corporation. Ossian has spur access for shipment of rail freight.
  Ossian has always been an industrial town. The businesses of yesterday have given way to modern establishments. The modern industrial park is home to engineering and manufacturing companies for products such as tool and die, plastic gas tanks, seats for trucks and import of bath fixtures just to name a few.