Defiance

[midwestmapper]

Defiance, OH

.......................................(looking north on clinton street)

Pop: 16,000+

Founded: 1796

Location: 45 miles east of Ft. Wayne, IN; 65 miles southwest of Toledo, OH

http://www.cityofdefiance.com -Mayors Page

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defiance,_Ohio -Defiance Wiki

http://www.defiance-online.com/ -Defiance Online

http://www.defiancechamber.com/ -Chamber of Commerce

Fast Facts

It was originaly settled as a fort in 1794.

It is home to the largest automotive Grey-Iron foundry in North America.

Has been the backdrop for some movies, TV shows, and books.

It has been experiencing strong economic growth in the past 2 decades.

Demographics

Defiance is the focal point of Ohio's extreme northwest. It is the largest town in the six surrounding counties, and is within 30 minutes driving distance from five area county seats.It is intersected by 6 state routes and 1 U.S. route. It is also intersected by three regional rivers: Maumee, Auglaize, and Tiffin. It is the home of Defiance College, and has one small-town suburb named Brunnersburg.

Visitors Info

There are several points of interest in Defiance:

1. The Independence Dam State Park located 2 miles east of town.

Independence Dam info: http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/parks/indpndam.htm

2. Fort Defiance site located on Fort St.

3. Fort Winchester site located on W. Second St.

4. Auglaize Historical Village located 2 miles west of town.

Auglaize Village info: http://www.defiance-online.com/auglaize/

5. Diehl Brewery (historical) renovated into a dairy processing plant during prohibition.

Read about Diehl: http://www.ohiobreweriana.com/library/holdings/diehl.shtml

6. Miami and Erie Canal reconstruction west of Clinton St., between Second and Third Streets.

7. Defiance is on the Buckeye Trail: http://www.buckeyetrail.org/sec-defiance.html

8. Headquarters of First Federal Bank of The Midwest (aka: First Defiance Financial) and The State Bank and Trust (aka: RURBAN Financial)

9. Annual General Motors Auto Show at the Northtowne Mall

10. Host of many fall and summer events such as hot air ballon fest, Fort Defiance Days, and Hispanic Awareness Parade and Fiesta. (see defiance online)

More history on Defiance, OH: http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1921

[midwestmapper]

US24 Expansion

The areas around Defiance that will be most affected are:

1. Switzer Rd/West High St. and US24 (new overpass)

2. Ralston Ave SR15 and US24 Interchange (reconstruction)

3. Introduction of Synchonized lights from the north end thru the east end (new curb construction)

4. Dommersville Rd/SR281 Intersection with US24 (new overpass/interchange widening & construction)

5. SR281 River Bridge (resurfacing)

6. Carpenter Rd. and US24(new overpass construction)

7. Four lane expansion 12 miles east to Napoleon (new construction)

8. Elliot Rd (widening and repavement)

9. New access roads between W. High St. and Ralston Ave, and Carpenter Rd. and SR281

10. SR66/N. Clinton St. Interchange and Bridge (widening and reconstruction)

US24 Fort to Port Project info: http://www.us24.org/

[midwestmapper]

Downtown (looking to the south)

[midwestmapper]

Elliot Rd Corridor

The new Elliot Rd area stretches 2 miles from N. Clinton St. to Dommersville Rd. I would expect to see many new businesses and industries moving into the Elliot Rd area during and after the US24 expansion. That is because it would be easily accessable from the new innerstate highway, and as the highway will direct more truck traffic off I80/90.

Current additions to the corridor are:

Stykemain Pontiac-Buick-GMC-Ltd. (relocation)

First Federal Bank Processing Center (in construction)