Our Stories
Behind every data point is a family, a home, a memory of the creek, a child at Lafayette Meadows. These are the voices of the people who live here — and of neighbors from other communities who have lived next to a quarry and know firsthand what it brings. In their own words.
6 stories shared — and growing.
My son was born premature. He is currently almost 3 years old and is diagnosed with broncho-pulmonary dysplasia. Essentially, he has chronic lung disease. In order to treat his lung disease, he has a tracheostomy tube placed. He cannot filter air through his mouth or nose like the rest of us.
We live within 3 miles of the proposed quarry and next year he will be attending Lafayette Meadows, which would be less than one mile away. He would be breathing in these harmful substances directly into his already weakened lungs, and this could have major consequences that would impact his lifelong health.
We’ve worked so hard to help him recover and gain strength to overcome and deal with his pulmonary weaknesses, and I fear the major setbacks he will endure because of the ill-advised placement of this quarry in a residential area.
We are two (2) miles, give or take, from the “planned” quarry on Homestead Road and beyond. We are celebrating our 52nd year at this location of peace and quiet away from the hustle and bustle of the big city (FW) where we both grew up.
Our concerns? We are both in our middle to upper 80s with various health issues, primarily heart & cancer (she) and CMT disease/neuropathy (me). We both use Walkers.
We have a 3/4-acre stocked pond among many others out this way. Our 10 + acres and pond have many visitors on an almost daily basis. Deer, ducks, herons, turkeys, bald eagles, hawks, you name it, we get them. Ours is a somewhat small Wildlife Habitat area. Directly across the road is a much larger one of many more acres which is owned by Acres.
We have a basement and are on a well and septic like all of our neighbors are. None of this is compatible with a quarry operation or any other industrial intrusion for that matter in this area.
Several years ago, a company by the name of Crown Trucking attempted to locate their facility out near the GM Plant. But it was north of a line which is reserved for residential and the like instead of south of that line which is reserved for industrial and the like. They lost their bid. Why should this quarry attempt be any different?
As a lifelong resident of Allen Co, a 24 year resident of SW Allen Co where I raised my children, and a real estate agent serving Allen Co and the surrounding areas for the past 28 years, I strongly oppose the Heritage Group’s proposal to convert 710 acres in the Little River Valley area into heavy industrial use, including a limestone quarry, asphalt plant, concrete batch plant, and rail spur.
Many have spoken about the potential health risks, and I share those concerns. This is not theoretical for me. My husband suffers from asthma, and living within a three-mile radius of heavy industrial activity would directly impact our daily quality of life, especially as homeowners who value fresh air and regularly keep our windows open.
I also share concerns related to increased traffic and noise. Having raised my children in this area, I understand firsthand the importance of safe, efficient travel for school, extra-curricular activities, and daily life. Increased congestion and noise pollution do not just affect convenience, they impact learning environments, patient recovery in nearby healthcare facilities, and the ability for residents to navigate work and medical commitments across a county commute.
What is not being discussed enough is the impact on property values. After nearly three decades of selling homes in this market, I can say with certainty that this type of development will have a negative effect. Real estate values are driven by location, and when you introduce heavy industrial use, along with environmental concerns, traffic, and noise, you create what is known in our industry as external obsolescence, a loss in value caused by factors outside the homeowner’s control.
To suggest that property values will not be affected is simply not accurate. These external influences reduce buyer demand, limit marketability, and ultimately lower home values in the surrounding area. At the same time, the current character of the Little River Valley, including residential communities, schools, healthcare facilities, and natural assets such as Fox Island and Eagle Marsh wetlands, has helped strengthen property values over time. These features support flood control, water quality, and wildlife habitat, while also making the area desirable for homeowners, supporting strong schools, and attracting businesses and healthcare services. This proposed use is fundamentally incompatible with those existing conditions and long-standing economic drivers.
This is not just a development decision. It is a long-term quality of life, environmental, and economic impact decision for the residents of SW Allen Co, and one that cannot be easily reversed.
In 1993, a one-room schoolhouse shared the northwest corner of Homestead and Aboite Center Roads with a small electrical substation. Insightful leadership prevailed when substation expansion threatened; the schoolhouse was relocated. Today, shade trees embrace Center School, an endearing monument to the enduring importance of education. Southwest Allen County Schools (SACS) has since blossomed into one of the finest school districts in the state, if not the entire country.
But, all that conscientious long-term thinking can be undone in a moment. Before the Allen County government lies a choice to ruin one of Fort Wayne’s best communities. The proposed rezoning along Homestead Road for a limestone quarry, asphalt mill, and concrete facility would be an environmental travesty, destroy neighborhoods, and measurably worsen the local economy.
I could list all the ecological, geological, and sociological reasons why this proposal is an unfathomably stupid idea, but, instead, I’ll focus strictly on the money. Let’s say that a quarry only ruins home values (it’ll do many more terrible things, but bear with me). Assuming an average property value reduction of 15% across all properties within 5 miles of the quarry (which is best-case, many houses within a mile of the quarry will become essentially unsellable), the county, schools, and other collectively-funded entities will, together, lose at least $15 million each year. For sake of comparison, the quarry on Ardmore, according to public records, paid just over $226,000 in property taxes in 2025. You know how much money you have if you subtract $226,000 from $15 million? About $15 million. In other words, taxes paid by the new quarry will completely fail to offset losses in property value.
Insultingly, taking on this economic penalty doesn’t even benefit an Allen County company. Rather, The Heritage Group, a raw materials company based out of Indianapolis, will be the owner. Why would Allen County sell out one of the best communities in the state to a bunch of Indy suits? Come on! Allen County is best when innovation and a “who cares about Indy” attitude prevail, for example: the Lincoln Bank Tower, the Allen County Courthouse, the incredible Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, Science Central, Headwaters Park, the Embassy Theater, the Botanical Gardens, the Civic Theater, the architecture of Fort Wayne’s water treatment facilities, local schools going up against the big Indy schools and bringing back state titles…the list goes on and on. Allen County doesn’t grow stronger by kowtowing to some businessmen in Indy; strength happens when the people of my hometown believe in themselves.
The aggregates industry will trot out tired old statistics about creating BIG numbers of local jobs. They simply don’t: mines are largely automated. A few dozen jobs just doesn’t move the needle in a county with more than 400,000 people. Rather, the biggest impact of this surface mine will be an outsized reduction in quality of life for thousands of households.
The courts have held, maybe forever, that the operations that are in place first in an area have precedence. In this case, the homeowners were here first by decades. Their right to quiet nights, stars, no bright lights, no loud explosions, unbroken windows, undisturbed building foundations, and clean water has obvious precedence over this quarry. Shouldn’t the homeowners and schools be allowed to continue to practice their quiet activities just as the quarry would be allowed to practice loud activities were the situation reversed? At least in terms of common sense and decency, if not strictly-speaking the legal framework, this community should be allowed to continue to live peacefully without the interference brought about by an unforced error in judgement of local leadership.
Digging a big hole in the ground in the middle of one of Fort Wayne’s best communities would be an abjectly brainless decision. I urge those in authority, seek not to destroy, but to preserve and protect our communities, just as those kind people did who chose to preserve, rather than destroy, Center School. Vote down this myopic rezoning proposal; a quarry next to houses and schools is definitely, categorically, unforgivably wrong.
My family purchased our home just seven months ago, investing not only financially, but emotionally, in an area of Allen County that is safe, peaceful, and thriving. We chose this community because of its quality of life, proximity to excellent schools and healthcare, abundant wildlife, and quiet surroundings. Had we known this project was being considered nearby, we would have chosen to purchase elsewhere in the community.
This proposed quarry and industrial site would fundamentally change the character of this area. There are serious long-term concerns regarding air pollution, water contamination, silica dust exposure, blasting vibrations, increased heavy equipment traffic, noise, and light pollution — all of which carry significant potential health impacts.
I currently work in a local cancer center and care directly for lung cancer patients. The concerns surrounding radon exposure in this area are already significant, with an estimated one out of every three homes in Indiana testing above 4.0 picocuries per liter. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers in the United States. Placing this type of industrial operation within just a few miles of homes, schools, and medical facilities could further increase environmental and health risks for nearby residents.
In addition to the environmental and health concerns, this project would negatively impact property values and diminish the sense of peace and safety that homeowners expected when investing in this community. If approved, the effects on the surrounding area could be irreversible for generations.
I urge you to carefully consider the long-term consequences of this project. The voices, safety, property values, and health of this community deserve to be heard and should carry substantial weight in your decision-making process. Say No to the Quarry on Homestead!
Proposed quarry brings hazards to children, lives
I am writing because the Heritage Group out of Indianapolis is proposing to put a quarry, rail yard and asphalt plant in on Homestead Road just past the railroad tracks on the east side. This would be right behind IU Hospital, The Hamlets and across the street from Lafayette Meadows Elementary school and Prairie Meadows housing addition.
Quarries cause enormous amounts of destruction on our land and in humans. There will be water depletion of wells and waterways, contamination of waterways, and the silica dust is cancerous and stunts the lung growth in children. There are six or seven schools in the area, some of which are elementary, so children will be outside 20 to 30 minutes a day. In an area that is growing because of IU Hospital, I would think our city would make more money having retail and more housing out here. Instead, a quarry depreciates everything.
Lastly, my husband has a severe lung disease, and we built our retirement home seven years ago in Azbury Woods. If the quarry happens, my husband will never get to enjoy the fruits of his labor. This makes me so sad. It seems as though our county and its officials may care more about wealth than they do health. Wildlife, waterways, residents, wells, parks, schools. Look at what’s in a 2-mile radius.
Share Your Story
This page is open to anyone whose life has been touched by a quarry — neighbors here in Southwest Allen County and people from other towns who have lived next to one and want us to know what it was really like. Whether you’ve been here 40 years, 4 months, or you’re writing from another state with a warning to share, your experience matters.
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