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Defiance, Ohio

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1907 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Defiance Township. It lies in ZIP code area 43512. It stands on Auglaize River. The Survey maps it on the Defiance East quadrangle. 17,066 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 676 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Defiance within Defiance County

Then and now

1907 to 1986

The same ground, surveyed 79 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Defiance, surveyed 1986
Topographic sheet of Defiance, surveyed 1907

On record in Defiance

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 9 records

Businesses named in the fire insurance atlases 12 of 17 shown

Every atlas business in Defiance County

Population over time

3 figures

Defiance grew from 800 to 17,066 between 1850 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
1850800
201016,494
202017,066+572 (+3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 12 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

In the county-history sources

75,327 words on this township

History of Defiance County, Ohio, published 1883 names this settlement in its chapter on Defiance Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

EFIANCE was laid out in November, 1822, by Benjamin Leavell, of Piqua, and Horatio G. Phillips, of Dayton. The plat was acknowledged April 18, 1823, and reeorded April 28, 18238, by Thomas R.MeKnight, Recorder of Wood County. The original plat embraced 150 lots, and was located at the confluence of the Maumee and Auglaize, with Jackson street on the west and Fourth street on the south. The square in which the court house now stands was reserved by the proprietors to be laid out into town lots, unless the town became a county seat, "and forever continue to be," when it was to be used for public buildings. 'The " Old Fort Grounds" was a public donation on the same condition. The square between Jackson and* Perry streets, and south of Fourth was a donation for a Methodist Church and burying-ground, and the square betweeu Washington street and the Auglaize River, and south of Fourth, for a Presbyterian Church. H. G. Phillips, one of the proprietors, never resided at Defiance. He was a son of a Revolutionary officer, and one of the earliest settlers of Dayton, Ohio, an extensive land-holder and & man of unblemished character. He died at his home in Dayton, November 10, 1859. Benjamin Leavell became a resident of Defiance, and wus its first innkeeper; he also kept the first store to supply white settlers. The store was located on the banks of the Maumee, at the foot of Jefferson street. His dwelliny, the first frame building in the village, was a one and a half story, erected in December, 1822, on the northwest corner of Water and Jefferson streets opposite the fort grounds. The lumber for it was sawed at the Brunersburg Mill, which had been built the winter previous. : Mr. Leavell's residence is still standing. In a few years, he sold his interest in the town to Curtis Holgate, of Utica, N. Y., and returned

Passage source: History of Defiance County, Ohio, published 1883.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Defiance Township - it names this place 3 more 3 times.

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 392 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 392 specimens collected within 10 miles of Defiance between 1858 and 1974: 379 Animalia, 9 Plantae, 4 Fungi. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by Angle, E. (Eric) & Trautman, M. B. (Milton Bernard), Angle, E. (Eric), Trautman, M. B. (Milton Bernard) & Hoschak, J. (John), Athearn, Herbert D. and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Cyclonaias tuberculata (Rafinesque, 1820)Cyclonaias tuberculata (Rafinesque, 1820)1908not recordedAuglaize River, Defiance
Specimen of Gomphus spicatus Hagen, 1854Gomphus spicatus Hagen, 18541945H. PriceKrill's Lake
A photograph of the species Trifolium subcaulescens, not of this specimenTrifolium subcaulescens A.Gray1858J. S. NewberryFort Defiance
A photograph of the species Moxostoma anisurum, not of this specimenMoxostoma anisurum (Rafinesque, 1820)1860unknownBrunersburg
A photograph of the species Moxostoma erythrurum, not of this specimenMoxostoma erythrurum (Rafinesque, 1818)1860unknownBrunersburg
A photograph of the species Megascops asio, not of this specimenMegascops asio naevius1891J. O. Snyderunspecified
A photograph of the species Accipiter cooperii, not of this specimenAccipiter cooperii (Bonaparte, 1828)1892J. O. Snyderunspecified
A photograph of the species Cardinalis cardinalis, not of this specimenCardinalis cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758)1892J. O. Snyderunspecified
A photograph of the species Colinus virginianus, not of this specimenColinus virginianus virginianus (Linnaeus, 1758)1892J. O. Snyderunspecified
A photograph of the species Dipsacus fullonum, not of this specimenDipsacus fullonum L.1892Collector(s): William Sayer MoffattDefiance
A photograph of the species Ammocrypta pellucida, not of this specimenAmmocrypta pellucida (Putnam, 1863)1893not recordedDefiance, Ohio
A photograph of the species Aplodinotus grunniens, not of this specimenAplodinotus grunniens Rafinesque, 18191893U.S. Fish CommissionDEFIANCE, OHIO

All 392 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Defiance: 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Iron. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Indiana Briquetting/ Defiance, OhioIronUnknown

Every working recorded in Defiance County

Storms near this place

53 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Defiance in 53 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 37 thunderstorm wind, 15 hail, 1 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2008Thunderstorm WindDefiance$125,000Emergency management officials reported several large trees were either uprooted or snapped in the city of Defiance. One of these trees fell onto a house on Washington Street, reportedly destroying the house. Another tree fell onto at least two parked car on Jefferson Avenue. No injuries were reported. Damage is estimated at $125,000.
June 2003Flash FloodDefiance$100,000A narrow band of thunderstorms continuously regenerated over parts of Defiance county during the morning. Estimates of 8 to 10 inches of rain fell in a 3 hour period. Emergency management reported flash flooding was most serious around Sherwood where roads were closed with 3 to 4 feet of water along Ohio Route 18 in and around Sherwood. Nearly 30 businesses and homes had some water into the first floor.
August 2000Thunderstorm WindDefiance$50,000Several barns destroyed.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindDefiance$30,000A barn in the Defiance area suffered roof damage, with another barn southeast of Defiance being destroyed. Damage values estimated.
December 1998Thunderstorm WindDefiance$30,000BARN ROOF BLOWN OFF AND BOAT WAS KNOCKED OVER BY THE STRONG WINDS.
November 1998Thunderstorm WindDefiance$25,000SEVERAL TREES AND POWER LINES WERE BLOWN DOWN. ONE CAR WAS HEAVILY DAMAGED BY A LARGE TREE LIMB.
August 2022Thunderstorm WindDefiance$20,000The emergency manager reported that multiple trees and power poles were down in the city.
August 2022Thunderstorm WindDefiance$20,000Several trees and tree limbs were down in and around Defiance.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindDefiance$10,000Law enforcement officials reported a few trees were down onto power lines.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindDefiance$10,000Emergency management reported minor roof damage to 7 homes in Defiance.
May 1999Thunderstorm WindDefiance$10,000Power lines blown down.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindDefiance$5,000Trees and power lines were reported down.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindDefiance$5,000Defiance County sheriff reported a few downed trees and power lines.
July 1994Thunderstorm WindDefiance$5,000Trees were downed in Defaince. Large hail was reported in Hicksville.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindDefiance$5,000Minor structural damage occurred to a home.
June 1995Thunderstorm WindDefiance$3,000Trees and limbs were downed, some on power lines.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindDefiance$2,000Emergency management reported 2 barns with roofs partially taken off as well as trees down west of Defiance.
April 2026HailDefiance$1,000no account filed
July 2020Thunderstorm WindDefiance-A couple of large limbs down on Seneca Street. One fell onto a power line.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindDefiance-A large tree limb downed across Euclid Avenue. Gas pump blew over on East 2nd Street.
May 2019Thunderstorm WindDefiance-Local law enforcement reported a tree was blown down onto Harding Road, between the city limits and Watson Road.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindDefiance-Emergency management officials reported some tree and power line damage. A light pole was snapped in half on East Second Street.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindDefiance-Multiple reports of trees down as well as power outages in Defiance with estimated wind speeds of 60 to 65 mph.
July 2013Thunderstorm WindDefiance-County dispatch reported tree and power line damage across much of the county.
July 2013Thunderstorm WindDefiance-Emergency management officials reported a power pole was blown down onto a home on Adams Street. No injuries were reported.
July 2013Thunderstorm WindDefiance-A trained spotter reported two inch diameter tree branches down onto two vehicles.
July 2013Thunderstorm WindDefiance-County dispatch reported numerous trees were blown down in the city of Defiance.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindDefiance-Emergency management officials reported a few larger tree branches down throughout portions of the county.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindDefiance-Multiple trees downed.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindDefiance-Emergency management officials reported numerous trees and tree limbs were down in and around Defiance.
June 2004Thunderstorm WindDefiance-Emergency management reported numerous trees down in the city of Defiance.
August 2003Thunderstorm WindDefiance-Several large tree branches were blown down, blocking some roads.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindDefiance-Emergency management reported power lines down west of Defiance.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindDefiance-Law enforcement reported trees and power lines down in Defiance.
August 2000Thunderstorm WindDefiance-Trees down.
June 2000Thunderstorm WindDefiance-One tree down.
June 1994HailDefiance-Large hails damaged some crops.
June 2017HailDefiance-no account filed
July 2013HailDefiance-no account filed
November 2011HailDefiance-no account filed
May 2007HailDefiance-no account filed
May 2007HailDefiance-no account filed
May 2007HailDefiance-no account filed
June 2006HailDefiance-no account filed
July 2006HailDefiance-no account filed
May 2005HailDefiance-no account filed
May 2003HailDefiance-no account filed
May 2003HailDefiance-no account filed
July 2000HailDefiance-no account filed
May 1998HailDefiance-no account filed
August 1997Thunderstorm WindDefiance-no account filed
July 1996Thunderstorm WindDefiance-no account filed
October 1996Thunderstorm WindDefiance-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Defiance County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Williamstown0.6 miles12
North Town Estates1.1 miles12
Spring Meadows1.5 miles12
Millers Rolling Hills Estates1.7 miles12
Cooks Rolling Hills1.7 miles12
Brunersburg2.3 miles12
Independence3.1 miles12
Countryside Estates3.5 miles12

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on DefianceAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q651108The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1064519. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.