Defiance is an unincorporated community in Saint Charles County

Saint Charles County, Missouri

As of 2000, there were 283,883 people, 101,663 households, and 77,060 families residing in the county. The population density was 507 people per square mile . There were 105,514 housing units at an average density of 73 persons/km²...

, Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

, located on state highway 94.

Situation

The Katy Trail State Park

Katy Trail State Park

The Katy Trail State Park is a recreation rail trail that runs in the right-of-way of the former Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad. The nickname "Katy" comes from the phonetic pronunciation of 'KT' in the railroad's abbreviated name, MKT. The trail, widely known as the Katy Trail, is a Missouri...

 runs through Defiance near the Missouri River

Missouri River

The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...

. This was the final home

Daniel Boone Home

The Daniel Boone Home is a historic site in Defiance, Missouri, United States. The house was built by the Boone family and was Daniel Boone's permanent home between 1803 and 1811, and on-and-off after 1811 until his death in 1820...

 of frontiersman Daniel Boone

Daniel Boone

Daniel Boone was an American pioneer, explorer, and frontiersman whose frontier exploits mad']'e him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which was then beyond the western borders of...

, who settled in the Femme Osage Valley in 1799 after receiving a Spanish land grant. The hamlet was not named during Boone's life. Its population in 2000 was 3,154.

Name

It was named in the late 1800s when the Katy Railroad arrived. Initially the town was to be called Parsons for the landowner. Because there was already a Parsons, Kansas

Parsons, Kansas

Parsons is a city in the northern part of Labette County, located in Southeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,500...

 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, Missouri

Matson, Missouri

Matson is an unincorporated community in southern St. Charles County, Missouri. It is located about three miles south of Defiance on Route 94 and near the Missouri River. Since its post office closed, its mail now comes from Defiance. It was named for an early settler.-References:...

 to get a station on the line.

Characteristics

From here west to Marthasville

Marthasville, Missouri

Marthasville is a city in Warren County, Missouri, United States. The population was 837 at the 2000 census. The Katy Trail, a 225-mile long bike path, passes through Marthasville, and the original grave of Daniel Boone is located there. In 1845, Boone's remains were disinterred and moved to...

 are numerous wineries; SH 94 is sometimes called the "Missouri Weinstrasse". The area is part of the Missouri Rhineland

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...

, 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.