Past & Present

The city of Defiance was named for Fort Defiance, which once stood in the confines of the city. In August 1794, General Anthony Wayne ordered the construction of Fort Defiance at the confluence of the Auglaize and Maumee Rivers. Wayne built the fort during his campaign against the Indians of Ohio to provide his men with protection and a staging ground for their operations.

Defiance grew slowly, having approximately seven hundred residents in 1846. Over the next thirty-four years, Defiance's population increased dramatically to 5,907 residents in 1880. This growth resulted from two railroads passing through the town, as well as the need for businesses to meet the needs of farmers living in the surrounding countryside.

Ohio residents advocated the building of railroads to speed travel time and to make it easier to ship products. Those in favor of railroads lived in communities without access to canals. Most Ohio canals connected Lake Erie with the Ohio River, providing Ohioans with a relatively cheap means of transporting people and products from the northern part to the southern part of the state and vice versa.

Railroads dominated Ohio's transportation infrastructure until after World War II, when the trucking industry experienced tremendous growth and took away much of the railroads' business. Automobiles also became more accessible for the American people, taking large numbers of railroad passengers off of the trains. Passenger airplanes also removed people from the trains. Since World War II, many railroad companies have cut back service in Ohio and major highways are being built to accompany the increasing traffic.

Construction of U.S. Route 24, which connects Defiance with Toledo, Ohio, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, has been underway since the end of 2006. The highway has been expanded to a four-lane, 65 mph, expressway. This creates the opportunity to attract distribution centers, manufacturers that need interstate access, and individuals who work in large cities but seek small town living. The infrastructure project is expected to create $430 million of investment in Northwest Ohio. The Defiance County portion of this project is complete and the remaining sections are scheduled to be complete in 2012.

Earlier this year, the city of Defiance was ranked among Site Selection Magazine’s “Top 100 U.S. Small Towns for Corporate Facilities.” This is the tenth consecutive year that Defiance County has been ranked on the list. Defiance County is gaining a national reputation due to the amount of economic activity throughout the region. There are numerous projects that have been or are being completed in Defiance County. Defiance has widened the North Clinton St. / State Route 66 Retail and business corridor. General Motors Corp. has recently invested nearly $200 million in its local auto parts foundry, which is located on State Route 281.