Defiance, Ohio

For the band of the same name, see Defiance, Ohio (band).

Defiance is a city located in northwestern Ohio, in Defiance County, about 55 miles southwest of Toledo. The population was 16,465 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Defiance CountyTemplate:GR. The city was the location of Fort Defiance, built by General "Mad" Anthony Wayne in August 1794 at the confluence of the Auglaize and Maumee rivers. Today a lone pair of cannons outside the city library overlooks the confluence and marks the site of the original Fort Defiance, which over looks the historic Maumee River. Fort Defiance.

Geography

Location of Defiance, Ohio

Defiance is located at 41°16′55″N 84°21′46″W (41.281891, -84.362856)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.6 km² (11.0 mi²). 27.3 km² (10.5 mi²) of it is land and 1.3 km² (0.5 mi²) of it (4.44%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 16,465 people, 6,572 households, and 4,422 families residing in the city. The population density was 603.1/km² (1,562.4/mi²). There were 7,061 housing units at an average density of 258.7/km² (670.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.15% White, 3.44% African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 6.50% from other races, and 2.15% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.75% of the population.

There were 6,572 households out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $41,670, and the median income for a family was $49,599. Males had a median income of $37,322 versus $23,938 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,790. About 7.4% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.0% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Defiance's economy is based on the manufacturing of a variety of goods. The biggest employer is General Motors Powertrain division. Other manufactures include fiberglass (Johns Manville), auto parts, and farming food products.

Education

Defiance City Schools provide public K-12 education. Schools maintained by local Lutheran and Catholic Churches also provide K-8 education.

Defiance College is a small liberal arts college affiliated with the United Church of Christ and has an enrollment of about 1,000 students. The presence of the college in Defiance provides the community with many sports, cultural, and entertainment events (i.e. plays, concerts, lectures, etc.) that many similar-sized towns lack.

Parks and recreation

Defiance has several city parks that offer a variety of recreational activities, including baseball and softball diamonds and playground equipment. Kingsbury and Bronson Parks have public swimming pools.

Independence Dam State Park, 4 miles east of the city on State Highway 424 along the Maumee River, is also a popular recreational site for area residents. The park provides picnic facilities, nature trails, and fishing.

Famous residents

• The humorist H. Allen Smith lived in Defiance when he was a child.
• Defiance is the hometown of 2006 Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar champion Sam Hornish, Jr.
• Defiance is also the hometown of Major League Baseball star pitcher Chad Billingsley of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
• Defiance is the birthplace of writer Terry Ryan. She made her childhood the subject of the book The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, which describes her mother's remarkable ability to write contest-winning sweepstakes entries. The book was made into a movie in 2005 starring Woody Harrelson and Julianne Moore. It should be noted that while the book is based on Terry's actual family and growing up in Defiance, the movie was not filmed there. It was filmed in a small town near Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
• Defiance is the birthplace of Don Miller, a member of the legendary Four Horsemen backfield of Notre Dame in the 1920's. (source: http://und.cstv.com/trads/horse.html)
• It is also the 1906 birthplace of jazz cornet player, Wild Bill Davison.
• Defiance is the birthplace of Thomas "Harvey" Thompson, who led the discovery of the SS Central America, otherwise known as the 'Ship of Gold', in October 1989 off the coast of South Carolina. At the time Life Magazine called it, 'the greatest treasure ever found."

Trivia

• The General Motors Powertrain plant is the largest automotive iron foundry in North America. Aluminum casings are also produced there.
• Arby's Restaurant in Defiance Ohio claims to boast the record for highest first day sales, as well as highest first week sales of any restaurant.
• Defiance is portrayed on the television show "Prison Break", Season 2, Episode 3 "Scan". Fernando Sucre makes a telephone call and hotwires a Chevrolet El Camino pickup at a Defiance roadside.
• At the beginning of the movie version of M*A*S*H, there is a "miles to" signpost on which Defiance, Ohio is listed.

There is a notable folk-punk band by the same name (Defiance, Ohio) who take the name of this town as a tongue-in-cheek reference to their respective ideologies.

See also

• Alliance, Ohio
• Defiance College

External links

• City of Defiance
• Greater Defiance Area Tourism and Visitors Bureau
• Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor