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Monday 10am - 5pm Tuesday 10am - 5pm Wednesday 10am - 5pm Thursday 10am - 5pm Friday 10am - 5pm

History Studios

Name: History Studios
Address: 522 Clinton Street, Defiance, OH, 43512, US
Telephone: +14195765469
Price range: $$
Rating: 5

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Defiance, OH
History Studios

Not your average Print Shop! A must-see for local history and nostalgia.
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High-end photo production, fine art printing, photo restorations, image digitization and more!

10/20/2026

Election Day is two weeks away, so what better time to show off this fantastic donation generously given to the store by Deb Heilshorn Bowers! The "Votes for Women" sash adds a wonderful combination of creativity and meaning to this lovely display of antique clothing. A brilliant reminder of those (and others) who sacrificed so much to bring the right to vote to all people. This November 3rd, please don't let their sacrifices go to waste. 🇺🇸 VOTE!

10/19/2026

Presidential Throwback:
On May 18, 1912, then-president William Howard Taft made a stop in Defiance as part of his re-election campaign. He is pictured here giving a speech on the court house lawn. Two days earlier, his political rival, former president Theodore Roosevelt, had also stopped in Defiance in his bid to challenge the Republican incumbent with his newly formed 'Bull Moose Party'. It's amazing how even national figures considered Defiance such important battleground territory back then.
Photo courtesy of Dianne Grimm - JoAnn Barton Collection. Thanks again, Dianne!

10/18/2026

SUNDAY SPECIAL:
I had a request for a picture of Dad's Donuts, which was located on the SW corner of Jefferson and Second streets where Pappa John's is now. Pictured here is the proprietor, Mr. Charles Cliffe, and his family. It operated from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s. Mr. Cliffe's apple fritters are still sadly missed.
Thanks to Dave Cliffe and his sister, Barbara, for sharing this wonderful photo. What a blast from the past!

10/16/2026

Happy Friday everyone! Today's throwback is a 1909 view of the 600 block of Clinton Street, looking northwest from the tip of Triangle park. Pretty much everything in this picture is gone except for the then-Citizen's Opera House (the old Valentine Theater) at the extreme right of the picture. Interestingly, the building in the center of the picture was a jail at the time... this is according to the Ohio Memory Project. I always thought the old jail was in the basement of the annex building next to the court house. Either way, very neat view of Defi in 1909!

10/15/2026

A little Canal history for today's throwback. Pictured here is the 5th Street canal bridge shortly before demolition in 1917. The 1913 Flood pretty much wiped out what was left of the old Canal, and by 1917 it was dismantled completely and filled in with dirt.
Photo courtesy of the Defiance Public Library, Ed Bronson Collection. Thanks again!

10/13/2026

It's hard to imagine that there used to be businesses right along the waterfront on the north side of Fort Street. Here is the intersection of Fort and Clinton in 1932. Pretty amazing! Does anyone remember buildings along Fort Street?
Photo courtesy of the Defiance Public Library, Ed Bronson Collection... Preserving this (and many other) historic collections is just one of many valuable services the library brings to our community. Thank you! ❤

10/12/2026

I (wrongly) thought it was Veteran's Day today, so here is a veteran's pic anyway. Downtown Defiance circa 1946.

10/09/2026

Friday throwback:
Since they're filling in a section of the old Canal bed between 2nd and 3rd streets, I found this picture to be exceptionally cool. Both in the old and the new pictures, 'H.H. Mollencup' is still visible on the back of the building. H.H. Mollencup was a "jeweler and optician" founded in 1894 and located at 308 Clinton Street. Not super clear on when it went out of business, but I do know that a Mr. Troy Stambaugh from Covington, KY came to Defiance to manage Mollencup's in the 1940s, then started his own jewelry store a few years later... Stambaugh Jewelers!
UPDATE: Found an old ad if anyone is interested.

10/08/2026

Does this house look familiar?
This beautiful piece just generously brought in by Mr. Ralph Hahn, who was told it was a home in Defiance. Does it ring a bell for anyone? I would love to know where it is, and if it's still standing.
Thanks so much to Ralph and Karen for this beautiful antique photo. The generosity of this community never fails to bowl me over!

10/06/2026

One of the really cool things about Ai is that if your picture doesn't exist, Ai can create one for you...
Surprisingly, not many early pictures exist of the William C. Holgate house on historic Holgate Ave., and 19th century street scenes are even more scarce. But with the help of Ai, we can take known historical information of that era and envision what it might have looked like. Thanks to for Marc Warncke for sharing this, and for sharing the details to make it as historically accurate as possible. It turned out beautifully!

Address

522 Clinton Street
Defiance, OH
43512

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 5pm
Tuesday	10am - 5pm
Wednesday	10am - 5pm
Thursday	10am - 5pm
Friday	10am - 5pm

Telephone

+14195765469

Website

http://historyshoppe.com/

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