DEFIANCE

city, seat (1845) of Defiance county, northwestern Ohio, U.S., where the Auglaize and Tiffin rivers meet the Maumee, 60 miles (97 km) southwest of Toledo. Laid out in 1822, Defiance became a market for the farm produce of the Maumee valley and developed industrially after the completion of the Miami and Erie Canal (1845). Manufactures now include screw machine products, hand tools, ferrous castings, and glass fibre. Defiance City Park marks the site of Fort Defiance, built in 1794 by General Mad Anthony Wayne for operations against the Indians. Fort Winchester Memorial Bridge (1936), which spans the Auglaize, commemorates the fort built in 1812 by General William Henry Harrison (later U.S. president). The probable birthplace (c. 1720) of the Indian chief Pontiac is nearby on the north bank of the Maumee. John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed), the orchardist, established a nursery (1811) in Defiance. Defiance College (1850) is affiliated with the United Church of Christ. Inc. 1836. Pop. (1990) 16,768.