Defiance College Archives: Home

Defiance College Collections

• 230+ Linear feet of processed papers and manuscripts
• 48 linear feet of rare and other special collections books, searchable via the online catalog
  • Defiance College Online Catalog
• Print copies of Master's Projects from graduate school programs
• Administrative and departmental papers
• Area newspaper articles on College history
• Academic catalogs and Oraculum yearbooks
• Over 37,000 slides, print photographs, and digital-only photos from DC history
• College publications such as departmental newsletters, student newspapers, etc.

Selected documents have been digitized and are available via DC Memory/Ohio Memory (more information in "digital projects" box below).

We do not yet have finding aids, but in the meantime, here is a list of the processed materials by category:

Schauffler College Collections

Schauffler College was founded in Cleveland in 1886.  After it moved from Cleveland to Oberlin College and then closed in 1966, its assets, including archives, were transferred to Defiance College. Holdings:

• approximately 17 linear feet of organized materials, plus more not yet organized
• hundreds of glass slides documenting Schauffler's history, which are not digitized
• some Schauffler College photos and documents such as Commencement programs, yearbooks, and periodicals have been digitized and are available on the Schauffler page on DC Memory/Ohio Memory.

To view original and undigitized documents from either collection, contact Barb Sedlock (bsedlock@defiance.edu, 419-783.2487) for more information or to schedule research time.

Other Special Collection - Wiebe Ohio Courthouse Paintings

The library houses other pieces of DC history, including the Wiebe Ohio Courthouse Paintings. They were painted by emeritus faculty member Hermann Wiebe, and were exhibited at the State House in Columbus in 1991 under the title "The Way We Were."

The courthouses are depicted in historic settings, and Wiebe describes the collection as "an attempt to recapture the spirit of the last century."  The paintings were featured in a slide show during the Ohio County Courthouses Symposium held in Columbus in May 2014, and in a video on the Ohio Supreme Court's Court News Ohio webpage in January, 2016.  They are available as part of the "Local Organizations and Ohio History" section of DC Memory/Ohio Memory, link below.

Deed of Gift & Collection Policy

Defiance College Archives collects material related to the history of Defiance College and the now closed Schauffler and Palmer Colleges as well as the Christian Biblical Institute. If you are looking to donate materials, please click on the PDF document below to read our Archives Donation Policy and the Deed of Gift Form. You may print and sign the Deed of Gift to accompany your donation.

Barb Sedlock maintains a blog with historical tidbits and stories from the Defiance College Archives.  Click on the link below to read her posts.