Why was the Turnbull Wagon Company located in Defiance, Ohio?
Prior to locating in Defiance, Turnbull had made a fortune in carriage making in New Orleans but all was lost because of the Civil War. He then established wood working and wagon making businesses in South Bend, Goshen, Laporte (Indiana), and Napoleon (Ohio). In 1876 David B. Turnbull, founder, selected twelve acres in Defiance, on the right bank of the Maumee river, just below the confluence of the Maumee with the Auglaize river. Turnbull utilized both rivers for a market in which to buy logs rafted down to his location and remaining in the water until sawn. An outstanding wagon timber source was important for this wagon manufacturer. By 1880 Turnbull was producing an average of about twenty wagons and one thousand agricultural wheels per day. Turnbull was the largest employer in Defiance and had annual sales of $500,000. The 1890 Defiance County history described the Turnbull Wagon Company as the “most extensive manufacturing interest in Defiance.” By 1890 Turnbull employed about 450
