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Ohio County
Defiance County, Ohio
Fort Defiance and the Maumee River's strategic confluence - from the strategic importance of the Maumee-Auglaize confluence (General Anthony Wayne built Fort Defiance here in 1794 - "I defy the British, the Indians, and all the devils in hell to take it" - before his decisive victory at Fallen Timbers that ended the Northwest Indian War) to General Motors' Defiance Operations casting plant (one of the region's major industrial employers, producing aluminum and iron castings) and a northwest Ohio river county defined by its military history and manufacturing economy.
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Office: Defiance County Emergency Management Agency – 22491 Mill Street, Defiance, OH 43512 (Brunersburg) | (419) 782-1130 | [email protected]; Public Safety Coordinator/EMA Director Julie A. Rittenhouse; established 1989 under ORC 5502; also serves as the coordinating agency for the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), which oversees hazardous materials laws, records, and training.
911: Defiance County 911 Center – built onto the Sheriff’s Office in 1996, funded entirely by a local tax levy; dispatches for the Sheriff’s Office, Defiance and Hicksville Police Departments, and 11 fire departments; staffed by 1 director, 12 full-time, and 1 part-time dispatcher.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-24 and US-6/127 serve Defiance, the county seat, at the confluence of the Auglaize and Maumee Rivers in Ohio’s northwestern corner
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Defiance County was founded April 7, 1845, named for Fort Defiance.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Defiance County Building/Permits – confirm current contact via defiance-county.com.
Notes: Defiance County and its county seat are genuinely named for a remarkable, documented act of frontier bravado. In August 1794, General “Mad” Anthony Wayne built Fort Defiance at the confluence of the Auglaize and Maumee Rivers during the Northwest Indian War. After surveying the completed fortification, Wayne declared to General Charles Scott, “I defy the English, Indians, and all the devils of hell to take it” – giving both the fort and, eventually, the city and county their name. The city’s nickname today is “Shell Town.” Separately, the Defiance Public Library, 320 Fort St., is a genuine 1904 Carnegie library (funded by Andrew Carnegie, designed by architects Wing & Mahurin), listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Defiance County Veterans Office and Veterans Service Commission – 1300 E. [Second St., confirm suite] Defiance, OH; confirm current phone via defiance-county.com/veterans-affairs; maintains a searchable database (housed at the Defiance County Library) documenting the service history of veterans of all eras who were born in, lived in, died in, or are buried in Defiance County.
State: Ohio Department of Veterans Services – dvs.ohio.gov
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Defiance Public Library System – Main Library, 320 Fort St., Defiance, OH 43512; confirm current phone via defiancelibrary.org; the historic 1904 Carnegie building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The site of Fort Defiance and the historic Defiance Public Library are the county’s signature heritage attractions.
Notes: The genuine “I defy the English, Indians, and all the devils of hell to take it” origin story for both the fort and the county’s name is one of the most distinctive, checkable facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Defiance County Auditor – confirm current phone via defiance-county.com.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Defiance County Dog Warden – (419) 784-2335; reports of missing/found dogs handled here.
Nonprofit: Fort Defiance Humane Society (FDHS) – 7169 State Route 15, PO Box 2, Defiance, OH 43512 | (419) 658-2298; established 1966, an independent 501(c)(3) providing rescue, rehabilitation, and rehoming, and employing the area’s only Humane Agent for cruelty/neglect investigations. To report animal cruelty, call (419) 658-2298.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Defiance County Environmental Services – (419) 782-5442.
NOTES: Defiance County is the sixth county in this batch (Columbiana, Coshocton, Crawford, Cuyahoga, Darke, Defiance, Delaware) of the Ohio v2 redo. The genuine “Mad” Anthony Wayne origin story for Fort Defiance – and the county/city name it produced – is one of the most distinctive, checkable facts covered anywhere in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Defiance County
Defiance County occupies a strategically significant position in northwest Ohio – the confluence of the Maumee and Auglaize rivers that General Anthony Wayne recognized as the key to controlling the Northwest Territory.
Defiance (the county seat, population ~16,000) takes its name and identity from Wayne’s 1794 fort. The Defiance College (United Church of Christ-affiliated, enrollment ~1,000) provides higher education in a community whose manufacturing economy centers on metal casting, automotive components, and food processing.
The Maumee River – one of the Great Lakes’ most significant tributaries – provides fishing, canoeing, and the annual walleye run that makes it one of the most productive warm-water fisheries in Ohio. The Maumee River corridor between Defiance and Toledo is one of Ohio’s most important migratory bird corridors.
Auglaize-Defiance County Road provides scenic access to the river confluence and several state nature preserves protecting native prairie remnants.
All Services
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Defiance County Auditor at 500 Court Street, Defiance, OH 43512, phone 419-782-1989. Appeal to County Board of Revision by April 1.
Courts & Legal
Defiance County Probate Court at 500 Court Street, Defiance, OH 43512, phone 419-782-2024, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
PROBATE COURT
500 Court St, Defiance, OH 43512
(419) 782-4741
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Defiance County Probate Court, Defiance (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Defiance County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Defiance County Probate Court 221 Clinton Street, Third Floor, Defiance, OH 43512 (419) 782-4181
Defiance County is in northwestern Ohio, seated in Defiance, at the confluence of the Maumee and Auglaize Rivers.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Ohio has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code, but has incorporated some streamlined concepts into its own system under Title 21 of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC Chapters 2101-2131).
Summary Release from Administration (ORC § 2113.03) – available for very small estates valued at $5,000 or less. Lets the court release assets quickly, often to cover funeral expenses and support the surviving family, without a fiduciary being appointed.
Release from Administration (ORC § 2113.03) – Ohio’s broader small-estate shortcut. Available when the gross probate estate is $35,000 or less, OR up to $100,000 if the entire estate passes to a surviving spouse (by will or by Ohio’s intestacy law). No executor/administrator is appointed; the court releases the estate directly to the person(s) entitled to it.
Full Estate Administration – required when the estate exceeds these thresholds or the situation is otherwise contested or complex. The court appoints a fiduciary (Ohio’s term for executor/administrator), issues a Certificate of Appointment once any will is admitted, and the fiduciary inventories assets, publishes notice to creditors, pays debts, and distributes what remains under ongoing court supervision.
Step 2: filing for administration
File the will (if any) and an application with the Probate Court in the county where the decedent resided.
If pursuing Release from Administration or Summary Release, complete the applicable court forms (Form 5.0 for standard Release, Form 5.10 for Summary Release) along with a complete asset inventory and supporting documents.
For full administration, the court issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration to the appointed fiduciary.
The fiduciary publishes notice to creditors; claims generally must be presented within 6 months of the date of death.
The fiduciary inventories and manages estate assets, pays valid debts and expenses, and distributes what remains according to the will or Ohio’s intestacy law, reporting to the court along the way.
The estate is closed once a final account is filed and approved by the court.
What it costs
Filing fees vary by county – check with Defiance County directly for current fees.
No state estate tax, no state inheritance tax (repealed effective January 1, 2013). Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates ($15,000,000 per individual as of 2026).
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
PROBATE COURT
500 Court St, Defiance, OH 43512
(419) 782-4741
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
1300 East 2nd St, Defiance, OH 43512
(419) 782-2951
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
300 Island Park Ave, Defiance, OH 43512
(419) 782-2966
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
1300 East 2nd St, Defiance, OH 43512
(419) 784-3818
Job and Family Services
1300 East 2nd St, Defiance, OH 43512
(419) 784-1055
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Defiance County Health Department – (419) 784-3818.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Defiance
Population: 38,000
Established: 1845
Tier: 3
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Defiance County residents.
