[citation needed] Auburn's site on Cedar Creek was chosen by Wesley Park and John Badlam Howe at the intersection of two major trails, Goshen-Defiance Road and Coldwater Road, and next to the land of John Houlton.

[6] The name for the community likely came from "The Deserted Village" by Oliver Goldsmith, that begins "Sweet Auburn!

"[7] The plat of the Village of Auburn is dated April 21, 1836, but it was held by Howe and not recorded until March 12, 1879.

The first store was built at Park's corners by Thomas Freeman, applying for a license on March 5, 1838, and bringing supplies by horseback from Fort Wayne.

[8] In 1841, malaria ran through the town, and in 1843 a terrible storm wreaked havoc on cabins and crops.

The Village of Auburn was incorporated in 1849, divided into wards, and governed under a town board and constable.

The storm of September 29, 1872, destroyed Odd Fellow's Hall and damaged the Methodist Episcopal church.

Notable citizen Charles Eckhart erected a public library and a YMCA building.

[10] William Wrigley, Jr. and Errett Lobban Cord controlled interests in the company, which eventually acquired Duesenberg, Lexington, and Lycoming Engines, and started Cord Car Company.

Bank robber John Dillinger and some accomplices raided Auburn's police station on October 14, 1933, stealing a submachine gun, two steel vests, three rifles, six pistols and over 1000 rounds of ammunition.

[11] The acts that led to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Stump v. Sparkman, 435 U.S. 349 (1978), the leading American case on judicial immunity, took place in Auburn in 1971.

On June 28, 1988, four workers were asphyxiated at a local metal-plating plant in the worst confined-space industrial accident in U.S. history; a fifth victim died two days later.

[13][14] Auburn is located 20 mi (32 km) north of Fort Wayne in Northern Indiana.

Portions of Jackson and Keyser civil townships are also within the city limits.

Auburn has typical continental weather with very warm summers and very cold winters.

[21] These automotive-related events are the legacy of the Auburn Automobile Company, which closed in the late 1930s.

[citation needed] Most of Auburn lies in the DeKalb County Central United School District.

It consists of one mile of track servicing two industries on the former Fort Wayne and Jackson Railroad.

[25] The Port Authority owns no locomotives or rolling stock, and the only employees are the five-member volunteer board of directors.