Defiance is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

in Saint Charles County,

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 159.

History

Defiance was struck hard in the

Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021 A deadly late-season tornado outbreak, the deadliest on record in December, produced catastrophic damage and numerous fatalities across portions of the Southern United States and Ohio Valley from the evening of December 10 to the early morning ...

by a tornado rated EF3. One person was killed.

Situation

The

Katy Trail State Park The Katy Trail State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Missouri that contains the Katy Trail, the country's longest recreational rail trail. It runs , largely along the northern bank of the Missouri River, in the right-of-way of the f ...

runs through Defiance near the Missouri River. This was the final home of frontiersman

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...

, who settled in the Femme Osage Valley in 1799 after receiving a Spanish land grant. The hamlet was not named during Boone's life. The

Daniel Boone Home The Daniel Boone Home is a historic site in Defiance, Missouri, United States. The house was built by Daniel Boone's youngest son Nathan Boone, who lived there with his family until they moved further south in 1837. The Boones had moved there ...

Daniel Boone Hays House Daniel Boone Hays House, also known as Hays Farm, is a historic home near Defiance, St. Charles County, Missouri. It was built between about 1826 and 1836, and is a two-story, "L"-plan, stone dwelling. The house measures approximately 42 feet w ...

, and Isaac McCormick House are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The Wolf-Ruebeling House is formerly listed.

Etymology

The community was named in the late 1800s when the

Katy Railroad Katy or KATY may refer to: People * Katy, a short form of the name Katherine * Katy (given name) * Katy (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a fictional character * Katy Perry Places Serbia * Kać, Serbia ( hu, Káty, link=no) United States * Katy, Mi ...

arrived. Initially, the town was to be called Parsons, after the landowner. Because there was already a Parsons, Kansas on the Katy line, settlers considered other names, including Missouriton and Bluff City, before deciding on Defiance because of the hamlet's defiance of rival Matson to get a station on the line."The History of How Defiance Missouri Got Its Name", ''St. Charles Banner News'', May 10, 1971

Characteristics

From here west to Marthasville are numerous wineries; SH 94 is sometimes called the "

Missouri Weinstrasse The Missouri Rhineland is a geographical area of Missouri that extends from west of St. Louis to slightly east of Jefferson City, located mostly in the Missouri River Valley on both sides of the river. Dutzow, the first permanent German settl ...

". The area is part of the

Missouri Rhineland The Missouri Rhineland is a geographical area of Missouri that extends from west of St. Louis to slightly east of Jefferson City, located mostly in the Missouri River Valley on both sides of the river. Dutzow, the first permanent German sett ...

, where vineyards are cultivated on both sides of the Missouri River. Started originally by German immigrants, the wine industry also was shaped by later Italian immigrants.

In popular culture

Defiance was used as the name for the new settlement on top of the ruins of Saint Louis, Missouri, in the television series of the same name. The series was produced by

Universal Cable Productions Universal Content Productions (UCP) is an American television production company operating within the Universal Studio Group division of NBCUniversal. History Universal Cable Productions In July 2008, Universal Cable Productions was split off ...

, in

transmedia Transmedia storytelling (also known as transmedia narrative or multiplatform storytelling) is the technique of telling a single story or story experience across multiple platforms and formats using current digital technologies. From a producti ...

collaboration with

Trion Worlds Trion Worlds was an American video game developer. It focuses primarily on MMOs, particularly of the MMORPG and MMORTS genres. The company was founded in 2006 by Lars Buttler and Jon Van Caneghem, who had each previously worked for NCSoft an ...

who have released an MMORPG video game of the same name that is tied into the series world and mythology (but did not take place in the titular city).

Education

Defiance is covered by the Francis Howell School District with a small portion of the CDP attending the

School District of Washington School District of Washington is the Public School District, public school district headquartered in Washington, Missouri. Schools Secondary schools: *Washington High School (Missouri), Washington High School *Washington Middle School Elementa ...

. Most students attend Daniel Boone Elementary School in nearby

New Melle, Missouri New Melle is a small country community in St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. It is located approximately 38 miles west of St. Louis. The population was 475 at the 2010 census. History New Melle was platted ca. 1850. The community was n ...

, Francis Howell Middle School in

Weldon Spring, Missouri Weldon Spring is a city in St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,443 at the 2010 census. History Weldon Spring was platted in 1864. The community took its name from a spring of the same name near the original town sit ...

and

Francis Howell High School Francis Howell High School is a four-year public high school located in St. Charles, Missouri. Approximately 1800 students from Defiance, Foristell, New Melle, O'Fallon, Saint Peters, Saint Charles, Weldon Spring, and Wentzville attend s ...

References

Missouri Rhineland Unincorporated communities in St. Charles County, Missouri Missouri populated places on the Missouri River Unincorporated communities in Missouri Census-designated places in Missouri {{StCharlesCountyMO-geo-stub