Charles R. Poinsatte

Charles R. Poinsatte was an American historian best known for his studies of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and the wider history of the Old Northwest. In the foreword to Outpost in the Wilderness: Fort Wayne, 1706-1828, he is described as one of the early historians to connect academic scholarship with local history in a vivid, accessible way.

Poinsatte studied at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend for both his undergraduate and graduate education. That same foreword says he was influenced by historians Thomas T. McAvoy and Aaron I. Abell, and that Abell helped spark his interest in urban history.

Born in Fort Wayne in 1925, he drew lasting inspiration from the region he wrote about. His known books include Fort Wayne during the Canal Era, 1828-1855, Outpost in the Wilderness: Fort Wayne, 1706-1828, and, with Bernard Norling, Understanding History Through the American Experience.