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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Defiance (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Defiance. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Defiance is located in Shelby County.

To see how the shape of Iowa's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Shelby County: Audubon, Carroll, Cass, Crawford, Harrison & Pottawattamie.

Below are the counties that are near Defiance. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Defiance:

  • Shelby County     (The home county of Defiance)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Defiance, with the one closest to Defiance listed first.
    • Earling
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Earling have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earling
      • Earling is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 403 people
    • Irwin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irwin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
      • Irwin is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 308 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irwin <2>
    • Westphalia
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westphalia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westphalia
      • Westphalia is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
    • Kirkman
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kirkman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkman
      • Kirkman is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
    • Panama
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Panama have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panama
      • Panama is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Panama <2>
    • Botna
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botna
      • Botna is located in Shelby County
    • Harlan
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Portsmouth
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Tennant
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tennant
      • Tennant is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
    • Corley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
      • Corley is located in Shelby County
    • Elk Horn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elk Horn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Horn
      • Elk Horn is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 601 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elk Horn <2>
    • Shelby
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shelby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
      • Shelby is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 607 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shelby <2>
  • Audubon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Defiance, with the one closest to Defiance listed first.
    • Fiscus
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fiscus have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiscus
      • Fiscus is located in Audubon County
    • Gray
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gray have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray
      • Gray is located in Audubon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gray <2>
    • Kimballton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Ross
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
      • Ross is located in Audubon County
    • Audubon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Hamlin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hamlin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlin
      • Hamlin is located in Audubon County
    • Brayton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Exira
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Exira have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exira
      • Exira is located in Audubon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 775 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Exira <2>
  • Carroll County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Defiance, with the one closest to Defiance listed first.
    • Manning
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manning have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manning
      • Manning is located in Carroll County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,403 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manning <2>
    • Templeton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Templeton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Templeton
      • Templeton is located in Carroll County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Templeton <2>
    • Halbur
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halbur have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halbur
      • Halbur is located in Carroll County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
    • Arcadia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arcadia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
      • Arcadia is located in Carroll County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 531 people
    • Roselle
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roselle
      • Roselle is located in Carroll County
    • Dedham
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Willey
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willey
      • Willey is located in Carroll County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
    • Carroll Community Estates
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carroll Community Estates have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll Community Estates
      • Carroll Community Estates is located in Carroll County
    • Carroll
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Breda
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breda
      • Breda is located in Carroll County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 471 people
  • Cass County
    • Marne
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Crawford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Defiance, with the one closest to Defiance listed first.
    • Buck Grove
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buck Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Grove
      • Buck Grove is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
    • Manilla
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Arion
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arion have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arion
      • Arion is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
    • Dow City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dow City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dow City
      • Dow City is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 486 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dow City <2>
    • Sunset Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
      • Sunset Village is located in Crawford County
    • Aspinwall
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aspinwall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aspinwall
      • Aspinwall is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
    • Denison
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Denison have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denison
      • Denison is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,249 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Denison <2>
    • Vail
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vail have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vail
      • Vail is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 413 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vail <2>
    • Deloit
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deloit have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deloit
      • Deloit is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 254 people
    • Westside
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westside have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westside
      • Westside is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Westside <2>
    • Charter Oak
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Charter Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charter Oak
      • Charter Oak is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 478 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Charter Oak <2>
    • Schleswig
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Schleswig have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schleswig
      • Schleswig is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 857 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Schleswig <2>
  • Harrison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Defiance, with the one closest to Defiance listed first.
    • Dunlap
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dunlap have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlap
      • Dunlap is located in Harrison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 978 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dunlap <2>
    • Woodbine
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodbine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine
      • Woodbine is located in Harrison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,363 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodbine <2>
    • Persia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Persia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
      • Persia is located in Harrison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
    • Logan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan
      • Logan is located in Harrison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,403 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Logan <2>
    • Magnolia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Magnolia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
      • Magnolia is located in Harrison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
    • Pisgah
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pisgah have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
      • Pisgah is located in Harrison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 237 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pisgah <2>
  • Monona County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Defiance, with the one closest to Defiance listed first.
    • Ute
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ute have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ute
      • Ute is located in Monona County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 337 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ute <2>
    • Soldier
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Moorhead
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moorhead have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorhead
      • Moorhead is located in Monona County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 202 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moorhead <2>
  • Pottawattamie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Defiance, with the one closest to Defiance listed first.
    • Avoca
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avoca have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
      • Avoca is located in Pottawattamie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,537 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Avoca <2>
    • Walnut
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
      • Walnut is located in Pottawattamie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 768 people
    • Minden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minden
      • Minden is located in Pottawattamie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 597 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Minden <2>
    • Hancock
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hancock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
      • Hancock is located in Pottawattamie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
    • Neola
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neola
      • Neola is located in Pottawattamie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 890 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Neola <2>
  • Sac County
    • Herring ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Herring. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herring
      • Herring is located in Sac County

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Defiance, see our County-by-County Page for Defiance.

Newspapers Published in Defiance ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 81 newspapers that have been published in the area around Defiance.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Defiance, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Defiance.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Defiance:

Cemeteries Near Defiance ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Defiance.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Defiance covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Defiance, with the one closest to Defiance listed first.

  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Pauls Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Pauls Cemetery
  • Union Twp. Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Twp. Cemetery
  • Astor Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Astor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Astor Cemetery
  • Emmanuel Evangelican Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Emmanuel Evangelican Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Emmanuel Evangelican Cemetery
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph Cemetery
  • Buck Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Buck Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Buck Grove Cemetery
  • Washington Twp. Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Washington Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Washington Twp. Cemetery
  • Slates Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Slates Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Slates Cemetery
  • St. Boniface Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Boniface Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Boniface Cemetery
  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rose Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Hill Cemetery
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Hill Cemetery
  • Mt. Olivet Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Olivet Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Olivet Cemetery
  • Continue List   (149 more) ...
    • Nishnabotna Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nishnabotna Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nishnabotna Cemetery
    • Washington Twp. Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Washington Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Washington Twp. Cemetery
    • LDS Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the LDS Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the LDS Cemetery

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Defiance had a population of 323 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Defiance had a population of 260 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Defiance, with the one closest to Defiance listed first.

  • Astor
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Astor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astor
    • Astor is located in Crawford County
  • Buck Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buck Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Grove
    • Buck Grove is located in Crawford County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
  • Westphalia
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westphalia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westphalia
    • Westphalia is located in Shelby County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
  • Kirkman
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kirkman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkman
    • Kirkman is located in Shelby County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
  • Irwin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irwin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
    • Irwin is located in Shelby County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 308 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irwin <2>
  • Manilla
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Panama
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Panama have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panama
    • Panama is located in Shelby County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Panama <2>
  • Botna
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botna
    • Botna is located in Shelby County
  • Arion
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arion have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arion
    • Arion is located in Crawford County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
  • Dow City
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dow City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dow City
    • Dow City is located in Crawford County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 486 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dow City <2>
  • Manteno
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manteno have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manteno
    • Manteno is located in Shelby County
  • Harlan
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Aspinwall
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aspinwall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aspinwall
      • Aspinwall is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
    • Bell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
      • Bell is located in Crawford County
    • Denison
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Denison have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denison
      • Denison is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,249 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Denison <2>

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Defiance. See our List of 1890's Communities around Defiance.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Defiance. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Shelby County: www.shco.org/

The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Defiance) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Defiance. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.8254, Longitude: -95.3404       In this case, the coordinates for Defiance have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Defiance, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024