Defiance Township is one of the twelve townships

Civil township

A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States, subordinate to, and geographic divisions of, a county. Specific responsibilities and the degree of autonomy vary based on each state. Civil townships are distinct from survey townships, but in states that have both,...

 of Defiance County

Defiance County, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 39,500 people, 15,138 households, and 11,020 families residing in the county. The population density was 96 people per square mile . There were 16,040 housing units at an average density of 39 per square mile...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The 2000 census

United States Census, 2000

The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

 found 13,461 people in the township, 11,601 of whom lived in the city of Defiance, and 1,860 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.

Geography

Located in the southeastern part of the county, it borders the following townships:

• Noble Township
  Noble Township, Defiance County, Ohio
  Noble Township is one of the twelve townships of Defiance County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 6,171 people in the township, 3,897 of whom lived in the city of Defiance, and 2,274 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township....
  
   - north
• Richland Township
  Richland Township, Defiance County, Ohio
  Richland Township is one of the twelve townships of Defiance County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 2,941 people in the township, 967 of whom lived in the city of Defiance, and 1,974 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township....
  
   - northeast
• Highland Township
  Highland Township, Defiance County, Ohio
  Highland Township is one of the twelve townships of Defiance County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 2,658 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the southeastern corner of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - southeast
• Emerald Township, Paulding County
  Emerald Township, Paulding County, Ohio
  Emerald Township is one of the twelve townships of Paulding County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 824 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the northern part of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - south
• Auglaize Township, Paulding County
  Auglaize Township, Paulding County, Ohio
  Auglaize Township is one of the twelve townships of Paulding County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,535 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the northeastern corner of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - southwest
• Delaware Township
  Delaware Township, Defiance County, Ohio
  Delaware Township is one of the twelve townships of Defiance County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 2,128 people in the township, 801 of whom lived in the village of Sherwood, and 1,327 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township....
  
   - northwest

A large part of the county seat

County seat

A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of Defiance

Defiance, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 16,465 people, 6,572 households, and 4,422 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,562.4 people per square mile . There were 7,061 housing units at an average density of 670.0 per square mile...

 is located in northern Defiance Township.

Government

The township is governed by a three-member board of trustees, who are elected in November of odd-numbered years to a four-year term beginning on the following January 1. Two are elected in the year after the presidential election and one is elected in the year before it. There is also an elected township fiscal officer, who serves a four-year term beginning on April 1 of the year after the election, which is held in November of the year before the presidential election. Vacancies in the fiscal officership or on the board of trustees are filled by the remaining trustees.

Transportation

U.S. Route 24

U.S. Route 24

U.S. Route 24 is one of the original United States highways of 1926. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Missouri, in the west. Today, the highway's eastern terminus is west of Clarkston, Michigan, at an intersection with I-75 and its western terminus is near...

 travels from east to west through the northwestern corner of Defiance Township. Other significant roads in the township include:

• State Route 15, which travels from north to south near the eastern edge of the township
• State Route 66, which travels from north to south through the eastern half of the township
• State Route 111
  Ohio State Route 111
  State Route 111 ' is an east–west state highway in northwestern Ohio. Its western terminus is at the Indiana State Line approximately southwest of Antwerp, with the roadway continuing west into Indiana being county-maintained Woodburn Road...
  
  , which travels from northeast to southwest along the Auglaize River
  Auglaize River
  The Auglaize River is a tributary of the Maumee River in northwestern Ohio in the United States. It drains a primarily rural farming area in the watershed of Lake Erie. The name of the river either comes from a Shawnee phrase meaning "fallen timbers" or a French term for "frozen water."It rises in...
  
   through the center of the township
• State Route 424
  Ohio State Route 424
  State Route 424 is an east–west state highway in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. Its western terminus is at the Defiance County/Henry County line, and its eastern terminus is at U.S. Route 24 near Napoleon....
  
  , which travels along the southern southern side of the Maumee River
  Maumee River
  The Maumee River is a river in northwestern Ohio and northeastern Indiana in the United States. It is formed at Fort Wayne, Indiana by the confluence of the St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers, and meanders northeastwardly for through an agricultural region of glacial moraines before flowing into the...
  
  through the center of the township after breaking off from U.S. Route 24 in the township's west