The Defiance County Courthouse is located at 221 Clinton Street in

Defiance Defiance may refer to: Film, television and theatre * ''Defiance'' (1952 film), a Swedish drama film directed by Gustaf Molander * ''Defiance'' (1980 film), an American crime drama starring Jan-Michael Vincent * ''Defiance'' (2002 film), a ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, United States.

History

Defiance County Defiance County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,286. Its county seat and largest city is Defiance. The county was named after an early Army fortification, Fort Defiance, which was ...

was established in 1845 but had its roots in Williams County. The latter county was established in 1824 with the county seat at Defiance. As Williams County lost land to other counties, Defiance was no longer central for the remaining population. The county seat changed to

Bryan Bryan may refer to: Places in the United States * Bryan, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Bryan, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Bryan, Ohio, a city * Bryan, Texas, a city * Bryan, Wyoming, a ghost town * Bryan County, Georgia * ...

and would have doomed Defiance if not for a proposal for a new county. The time was right for Defiance as the population surrounding it grew to the numbers needed to form a new county. On March 4, 1845, a bill was passed to form Defiance County with the county seat in Defiance. A celebration was held on March 13 with speeches, bonfires, and banquets. The first courts were held in a brick schoolhouse located on Wayne Street, but the first courthouse was started in October 1845. This

Federal style Federal-style architecture is the name for the classical architecture built in the United States following the American Revolution between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was influenced heavily by the works of And ...

building was designed and built by John Bostata on the site of the present courthouse. The brick structure rose two stories tall with a portico framed by four columns supporting a pediment. The rectangular building was lined with rectangular windows and pilasters with an entablature topping the facade. The roof was topped by a square drum supporting a domed cupola capped by a spire. This courthouse served the county until 1870 as the population continued to grow. Soon the courthouse was deemed to be too small and a new courthouse was needed. The county selected the plans of architect J.C. Johnson designed in the

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

and Second Empire styles. The courthouse was designed with a

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...

but was decided against for safety reasons. In 2006 the county was faced with a growing population and needed more room for the county offices. The county issued a vote to determine if the current courthouse should be razed or if a new building or addition should be built. The vote came back in favor of the building leading the county to investigate alternatives.

Exterior

The three-story building has a projecting center and ends. The facade is lined with decorative stone elements along the window and door trims and pilasters. The stone foundation is windowless and contains a

water table The water table is the upper surface of the phreatic zone or zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with groundwater, which may be fresh, saline, or brackish, depending on the loc ...

. The first floor contains long rectangular windows with triangular pediments crowning each window. The entrance is located in a small arched portico with

Doric columns The Doric order is one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of t ...

. The second floor once contained arched windows but the arched portion is now bricked over and contains long rectangular windows. The third floor once matched the decorative bottom floors but was removed and replaced by a modern design containing rectangular windows and a clock face. The third floor was once topped by a balustrade, and the central projection rose into a clock tower 125 feet above the ground. A war memorial was designed by Mark Homier and is situated in front of the courthouse and lists the names of Defiance County soldiers from

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, and the Global War on Terror. The memorial depicts a grieving soldier and a nurse in the center of two gently sloping wings. The memorial also contains an eternal flame in honor of those who gave all for their country.

History

Exterior

References

Further reading