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History · Defiance

Defiance’s post office opened in 1893, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Defiance was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Its Register listing is the Isaac McCormick House. Below: 5 old photos and papers and maps from 1948 on.

1893first post office
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Defiance’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Defiance began, and where its name came from

When was Defiance founded?

1893

The Defiance post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 159133 years

How did Defiance get its name?

The community was named in the late 1800s when the Katy Railroad arrived.

Founding year: the first Defiance post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Defiance’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Mystery photos5 old photos have no date. Neighbors can guess the decade.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Defiance’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Defiance’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo5 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewParson's House: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Defiance came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Defiance.

Read it all →

Defiance was struck hard in the Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021, by a tornado rated EF3. One person was killed.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Defiance, 1893 to 1978

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1893Born hereOscar Fuhr is born here
  3. 1893Post officeThe Defiance post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1978Born hereDanielle Nierenberg is born here
By decade

Defiance, decade by decade

Date unknown5 to date
Parson's HouseDate?Parson's HouseJonathan Brien HouseDate?Jonathan Brien HouseBuckner Fant HouseDate?Buckner Fant HouseDaniel Hays Stone HouseDate?Daniel Hays Stone HouseNathan Boone House, Femme Osage ValleyDate?Nathan Boone House, Femme Osage Valley
Today6 recent
Defiance, Missouri2026Defiance, MissouriEF3 damage Defiance, Missouri 20212021EF3 damage Defiance, Missouri 2021Standard Oil Station2020Standard Oil StationWestern Kingbird near Darst Bottom Road2013Western Kingbird near Darst Bottom RoadScissor-tailed Flycatcher near Darst Bottom Road2013Scissor-tailed Flycatcher near Darst Bottom RoadBoonesfield Village panorama2011Boonesfield Village panorama
On the map

Defiance on the map, 1948 to 2000

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Defiance. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Defiance on the 1948 USGS mapDefiance on the 1972 USGS mapDefiance on the 2000 USGS map1948Augusta sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Defiance.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Parson's House
Retake this viewParson's House

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Defiance’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Defiance

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2004
Isaac McCormick House
Isaac McCormick House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Hewn-Log House1
Isaac McCormick HouseHewn-Log House

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Defiance

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
D
Danielle NierenbergAmerican activist, author, and journalist · b. 1978
Oscar FuhrAmerican baseball player · b. 1893

Questions about Defiance’s history

What year was Defiance founded?

The Defiance post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Defiance?

One place: the Isaac McCormick House (listed 2004).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.