Defiance

Defiance, Ohio
—  City  —
Location of Defiance, Ohio
Coordinates: 41°16′55″N 84°21′46″W / 41.28194°N 84.36278°W / 41.28194; -84.36278
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Defiance
Government
- Mayor	Robert Armstrong
Area
- Total	11.0 sq mi (28.6 km2)
- Land	10.5 sq mi (27.3 km2)
- Water	0.5 sq mi (1.3 km2)
Elevation [1][page needed]	676 ft (206 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	16,465
- Density	1,562.4/sq mi (603.3/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	43512
Area code(s)	419
FIPS code	39-21308[2][page needed]
GNIS feature ID	1064519[1][page needed]
Website	http://www.cityofdefiance.com/

Defiance is a city in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of 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 County^{[3][page needed]}. The city is on the site 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 overlook the confluence and mark the location of Fort Defiance, which faced the Maumee River.

Geography

Defiance is located at 41°16′55″N 84°21′46″W / 41.28194°N 84.36278°W / 41.28194; -84.36278 (41.281891, -84.362856)^{[4][page needed]}.

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

Demographics

As of the census^{[2][page needed]} of 2000, there were 16,465 people, 6,572 households, and 4,422 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,562.4 people per square mile (603.1/km²). There were 7,061 housing units at an average density of 670.0/sq mi (258.7/km²). 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 composed of 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% 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 households was $41,670, and the median income for a family was $49,599. Males had a median income of $37,322, compared to $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 manufacturing a variety of products. The largest employer is the General Motors Powertrain division, which is the largest automotive iron foundry in North America. In the wake of General Motors filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 1, 2009, GM announced that it will continue operating the Defiance facility, thus sparing Defiance the hardship that closing the facility would bring.

Other manufactures include fiberglass (Johns Manville), SK Hand Tools, electrical control equipment (Koester Corporation), 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. Northeastern Local Schools and Ayersville Local Schools also serve rural Defiance, but is a smaller school district.

There are three high schools in Defiance: Defiance High School, Tinora High School (Northeastern), and Ayersville High School

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 provides the community with many sports, cultural, and entertainment events that other 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.

Notable natives

• Sarah Kurtz, who--along with Jerry Olson--was awarded the 2007 Dan David Future Prize for their work in the development of high-efficiency solar cells, grew up in Defiance.
• The humorist H. Allen Smith lived in Defiance when he was a child.
• Alaskan wildlife painter Bruce Shingledecker was born and raised in Defiance.
• Defiance is the hometown of 2006 Indianapolis 500, 3-time IndyCar champion, and current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Sam Hornish, Jr.
• Defiance is the hometown of Major League Baseball star pitcher Chad Billingsley of the Los Angeles Dodgers, as well as rising young pitchers Chad Reineke of the Oakland Athletics and Jon Niese of the New York Mets.
• Defiance was the birthplace of writer Terry "Tuff" Ryan (1946-2007). She made her childhood the subject of The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, which describes her mother's remarkable ability to write contest-winning sweepstakes entries. It was made into a movie in 2005, starring Woody Harrelson and Julianne Moore. Though the book is based on Ryan's family and growing up in Defiance, the movie was filmed in Paris, Ontario, a small town near Brantford, Ontario, Canada.
• Michelle Burke, actress from film/TV was born and raised in Defiance. Some of her biggest movies are Coneheads, Dazed and Confused, and Major League II.
• Don Miller, a member of the legendary Four Horsemen backfield of Notre Dame in the 1920s, was born in Defiance. (source: http://und.cstv.com/trads/horse.html)
• Jazz cornet player, Wild Bill Davison was born in Defiance.
• 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."
• Ben Davis, a defensive back with the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions, attended Defiance College.
• William Strickland, conductor, was a native of Defiance.
• Defiance is the birthplace of actor Izaya Mackenzie
• Joshua Ankney of Yenkna Computers CO was a native of Defiance. (http://www.sullens.net/~jankney/cins257/project/)
• Steve Olson of SportSims.net is a native of Defiance. (http://www.sportsims.net)
• Noted fandom comic-book illustrator and celebrated comic writer Ronn Foss.

References

External links

• City of Defiance
• Defiance Development & Visitors Bureau
• Defiance Public Library
• Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor
• Defiance, Ohio (Band)

• Defiance, Ohio is at coordinates 41°16′55″N 84°21′46″W / 41.281891°N 84.362856°W / 41.281891; -84.362856 (Defiance, Ohio)Coordinates: 41°16′55″N 84°21′46″W / 41.281891°N 84.362856°W / 41.281891; -84.362856 (Defiance, Ohio)
• USS Defiance (PG-95)