Alliance

By Craig Bara and Lyle Crist

According to local history, General Robinson, a railroad official from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, named this Ohio town "Alliance" in 1850. Known for a short time as "The Crossing," Robinson believed that Alliance was a better name since the nation's two major railroads intersected here. The name stuck, and in 1854, the communities of Williamsport, Freedom, and Liberty incorporated as the town of Alliance. In 1889, the Village of Mount Union was annexed and Alliance became a city. Not only did the

railroads help form our community, they established Alliance as a city of industry. Even though the town has remained relatively small, with approximately 23,000 citizens in 1990, industry has played a vital role in the development of Alliance. Many citizens

attribute the strong leadership of the town's governing body to its industrial growth. This pictorial compilation documents the growth of the railroad and the stores and factories located along these railroad routes. Even today, the availability

of trains and the intersection of key lines in Alliance is important to manufacturers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Sep 18, 2012
• ISBN: 9781439621691

Craig Bara

Authors Craig Bara and Lyle Crist have assembled a charming and fascinating look at the early years of Alliance. Many of the photographs were taken from the extensive collection of the Alliance Historical Society, which has received numerous donations from generations of citizens. Authors Bara and Crist also rely on the vivid accounts of Alliance from friends and relatives who knew the town well. This collection of photographs and storytelling is a wonderful gift to pass on to future generations.

Book preview

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INTRODUCTION

It began with Williamsport, Liberty, and Freedom. These three small communities eventually grew together and became incorporated as the town, Alliance, in 1854. In 1889, by mutual agreement, the Village of Mount Union was annexed into Alliance.

The two major railroads in the United States crossed at this location, and the railroaders referred to this junction as The Crossing. A railroad official did not feel that The Crossing was an appropriate name, so he suggested Alliance, since it was the alliance of the two railroads. The name stuck, and the town became known as Alliance. It has been a city of industry, of nearby farmland, of full-term education, and of fine leadership over the years.

There were many individuals who assumed leadership in the development of Alliance. This pictorial history is certainly not intended to provide all the meaningful names of leadership; some are included, but many other people have also been responsible for taking steps which furthered the development of the city. Many stores in town and a number of the industries, as well, carried the names of developers. The value of placing industries in the city stemmed from the availability of trains. Key lines intersected in Alliance and have continued to be significant to manufacturers.

There has not been any population explosion in Alliance with the exception of the first 20 years of this century, when industry attracted European emigrants and blacks to the community. That exception aside, the population of Alliance has grown in a quiet fashion over the years. In 1850, the population was estimated to be 200; in 1900—8,974; in 1920—21,603; in 1950—26,161; in 1970—26,547; up to the present-day population of 23,376.

Practically all of the photographs in this history have come from the files of the Alliance Historical Society. Over many years, studios and individuals have donated historic material to the Society. Photographs in this pictorial history are not always in a specific chronological order, but a general sequence is given. We used a basic series of categories. The rationale for using specific pictures of individuals was that these pictures often demonstrate the city’s growth and change throughout its history. Far more photographs of individuals could have certainly been used, but pictures showing the developing areas of city activity were also essential. In this history, there are very few photographs of current scenery and personalities. The emphasis is on the past. However, most readers know the scenes and the figures pictured just through current experience in Alliance. It is our goal that the photographs here will help increase appreciation of the past and its connection to the future.

This is an artist’s aerial view of Alliance in 1885

One

BEGINNINGS

This cabin is believed to be one of the first constructed in the area. It was built by John Grant, who purchased nearly 1,000 acres of land from the U.S. government in 1809. The structure was located in a ravine several hundred yards from the northwest corner of Main Street and Union Avenue. Mr. Grant was a great-uncle of Pres. Ulysses S. Grant. Mr. Grant’s daughter Sarah married J. Ridgeway Haines, and their Colonial home, on the corner of Haines Street and West Market Street, was built of brick made by John Grant, who fired the first bricks in his kiln in Lexington Township

The Freedom Public Square Monument is located on the corner of North Park Avenue (originally called Main Street when Freedom was its own community) and Keystone Street. The original stone for the village well is still located on the lot next to the monument.

The Clem Rockhill Residence was built in 1820. Located on West Wayne Street, the home was built by Samuel Rockhill and named for his son Clement. It is one of Alliance’s oldest homes.

This marker was placed by the Alliance Historical Society on the site of the Village of Lexington square and well. The town was founded in 1805 by Amos Holloway, who later became prominent in the abolitionist movement. Holloway was responsible for helping many blacks escape from their slave masters in the South to freedom in Canada.

The Freedom School was erected in 1838 in the Village of Freedom. Located at 705 North Freedom, the brick structure has been covered with siding for a number of years. It is the oldest remaining school building in Alliance.

Mathias Hester, founder of the Village of Freedom, is seen here with his brothers and sister in the late 1800s. Seated (from left to right) are Samuel, Mathias, and Martin. Standing are John and Eliza. Mathias Hester was born in 1793 in Green County, Pennsylvania. He moved to New Lisbon, Ohio (now Lisbon) in the early 1820s. He met a Salem girl, Susan Gaskill, married, and moved to the Village of Mount Union in 1834 where he established a grocery store on the southwest corner of the square.

The Hester Block, which was located on Hester Avenue near Freedom Triangle, was one of the oldest brick structures in Alliance. Built in 1838, the architectural style was Federal. The bricks were made in the clay pits which now form the beautiful lake in front of Glamorgan Castle. The bricks cost $2.50 per thousand and had to be hauled by ox and wagon. The Block was used as a residence for Hester and his family and also as a general store. The building was condemned in the 1980s and later destroyed. The north section still stands today.

The Samuel Shaffer residence, built in 1842, was located on Main Street (now North Park) in the Village of Freedom, on the square. Shaffer, a German immigrant, moved to this area from Pennsylvania to operate a general store. In 1851, the Village Council and railroad officials approached Shaffer notifying him of the possibility that the Cleveland and Wellsville Railroad might pass through the community. Shaffer offered his home to the community, making it the very first railroad station in what would soon become Alliance.

Popularly known as Freedom Tavern, this frame structure stood at the corner of Vine and Walnut Streets in the Village of Freedom. The tavern (also known as American House) has a vital link to the opening of the great Western frontier. Because of its location, many people who traveled by Conestoga wagon spent the night here enjoying good food and rest. The house was built in the 1830s and was torn down in the mid-1930s.

Elisha Teeters (1814–1899) settled in Lexington