City Cemetery’s 4-Legged “Employee”
Respectful of the City Cemetery | Pal Continues Working A front page story from The Alliance Review’s June 12, 1946 issue recounts the story of Pal, the little black and white terrier who adopted the Alliance City Cemetery as his home and superintendent Charlie Boyd...
Unknown Baby Boy
Death and Discovery | Blume's undertaking rooms | Funeral Rites | Laid to Rest On Tuesday evening, May 2, 1916, at 8:30 p.m., Mrs. J. T. Conley and Mrs. H. Richards discovered the lifeless body of a male child in the woman's toilet room of the Pennsylvania depot in...
William Campbell – “The Original Fireless Cooker Man”
by Dave McMahon A Magazine Ad | Who Was William Campbell? | Our New Stove Alliance has a rich history of products that were manufactured and sold throughout the world. Anyone with a basic knowledge of Alliance could name off some of the major players from Alliance...
Alliance’s Deadliest Train Accident
Background | What Happened | After the Crash | The Victims | Who Was to Blame Alliance’s deadliest train accident occurred on December 8, 1856, at the crossing. Eight people were killed and many others were severely injured, when two railroad trains collided....
Learn about local history
Learn About Local History Through Rodman Public Library by Jack Weber A library is full of resources to help its patrons connect with its community’s past. Rodman Public Library is no different, but what you may not know is that residents of the greater Alliance area...
Alliance’s Worst Disaster – The Orr Block Explosion
At 4 o’clock in the afternoon of February 1, 1884, Alliance's worst disaster occurred. Seven people lost their lives and at least 15 others were seriously injured as the fumes from a gasoline spill inside the Orr Block ignited, causing the three-story building to...
Carnation Festival rooted in Chautauqua Movement
by Jack Weber Long before there was a festival celebrating Alliance as the Carnation City, there was the annual weeklong Chautauqua. Usually held in late July or early August in the early part of the 20th century, residents from throughout the area would flock to the...
Alliance Municipal Court Mural
The Alliance Municipal Court Mural, located in the stairwell of the Alliance Courthouse features images of local landmarks found throughout the court district. The Alliance Municipal Court serves approximately 50,000 people in Eastern Stark County. The Court District...
T. R. Morgan, Sr. put Alliance on industrial map
by Jack Weber Col. William Henry Morgan is known for building Alliance’s iconic landmark — Glamorgan Castle. However, years before that magnificent structure was erected, its was W.H. Morgan’s father — Thomas Rees Morgan, Sr. — who built Morgan Engineering, invented...
Athletic Wonder
Alliance’s Athletic Wonder – Virgil “Peg” Oswalt had only one leg, but he knew how to use it. He was an outstanding athlete having played baseball, football, and basketball during his short life. He died in 1916 from typhoid fever.
Goat Hill Athletics
Field at Morgan Avenue and Garwood Street was once site of many athletic events by Jack Weber A little-known monument stands at the southeast corner of Garwood Street and Morgan Avenue. The small bronze plate attached to a short concrete pillar represents a time...
The earliest Alliance telephone book
The earliest Alliance telephone book owned by Rodman Public Library is the October 1923 edition. In addition to Alliance, listings for Atwater, Marlboro, and Sebring are also included. As the cover declares, “Station-to-station service with low evening and night rates...
Alliance’s Freedom Trail Walk
Take a walk on the Stark Parks Iron Horse Trail from Rodman Public Library through the former village of Freedom to the Mabel Hartzell Historical Home and learn about the businesses that were located here. Walk at your own pace along the 1 mile path. The path is paved...
Easter Decorations on E. Milton Street
I am not really the right person to tell this story of Easter decorations on E. Milton Street. I do not know the persons who started it or in what year it started. But it is Easter time, and I will leave it up to you to fill in the blanks. Easter for us in the 1960s...
Heggy’s Chocolates for Easter
There probably is not a person born and raised in Stark County that does not have a Heggy’s story. For generations now, people have enjoyed the wonderful variety of confections made by the local candy maker. A holiday package of Heggy’s chocolates is not only...
Grocery Shopping in the ’60s
As young kids growing up in the 1960s, we used to go on most trips to the grocery store with our Mom. I remember many times stopping at Jay's on Arch St. It was a neat little store to visit, but the one that impressed me more was Perskey's on State St. It just felt so...
25 Top Historical Events in Alliance – Goat Hill
#25. Goat Hill Neighborhood Located at the corner of Morgan Avenue and Garwood Street, in the Goat Hill neighborhood, a marker pays tribute to the many sports teams who played for the Goat Hill Athletic Club. The memorial reads, “Dedicated to an era of Goat Hill...
25 Top Historical Events in Alliance – The Caboose
#24. Main Street Caboose and the Lake Erie, Alliance, and Wheeling Railroad If you've visited Downtown Alliance, you may have wondered, "Why is there a caboose in the parking lot?" The caboose is a reminder of days gone by when the Lake Erie, Alliance, and Wheeling...
25 Top Historical Events in Alliance – Williamsport
The village of Williamsport was merged with the villages of Freedom and Liberty to the south in 1854 to form the Village of Alliance. This marker and cemetery are all that remain of this early settlement.
25 Top Historical Events in Alliance – The Aviators
#22. Alliance City Schools Adopt the Aviators as Their Mascot After Charles Lindbergh Flies over the City On September 20, 1991, the Navy A-7 Corsair Jet that adorns the front lawn of Alliance High School was officially dedicated in a program before the student body....
25 Top Historical Events in Alliance – Glamorgan
#21. Glamorgan Castle, Col. Morgan's Home Alliance’s most magnificent home is Glamorgan, the residence built by Colonel William H. Morgan, president of the Morgan Engineering Company. It is named for the historic county in Wales where the Morgan family originated. ...
25 Top Historical Events in Alliance – Philanthropist C. J. Rodman
#20. Clarence J. “Bill” Rodman Becomes a Generous Benefactor to the City Born in Wisconsin in 1890, Clarence Rodman earned advanced degrees in chemical engineering and honorary Doctor of Science and L.L.D. degrees. He began his career as a research chemist and...
25 Top Historical Events in Alliance – Levi Lamborn
#19. Levi Lamborn and the Scarlet Carnation. The scarlet carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) was adopted as Ohio’s state flower on Feb. 3, 1904 in memory of President William McKinley. McKinley often wore a red carnation in his lapel, thanks to Alliance’s own Levi...
25 Top Historical Events in Alliance – Mabel Hartzell
#18. Mabel Hartzell Helps to Shape the Community Mabel Hartzell was not only a founder and benefactor of the Alliance Historical Society, she also helped to shape the Alliance community through a life dedicated to civil service and education. The daughter of Dallas...
25 Top Historical Events in Alliance – The Olive Poisoning
#17. The Olive Poisoning Kills Seven Col. Charles C. Weybrecht was a big man physically with a warm and winning personality to match. He was liked by all who knew him and one could not imagine his having an enemy. From an early age, the military had a strong appeal to...
25 Top Historical Events in Alliance – Curvis Rhyne
#16. Curvis Rhyne Curvis Rhyne (1922-2007) served as a city councilman in Alliance for 48 consecutive years, being first elected in 1951. Curvis was born and raised in Georgia and then moved to the Alliance area in 1942. He attended Akron University Law School for six...
25 Top Historical Events in Alliance – Buckeye Jack
#15. Buckeye Jack Company Produces Jacks for the Growing Auto Industry and Railroads The Buckeye Jack Company produced jacks for the railroads and the growing auto industry. The initial products of the company were heavy lifting jacks for railroads and industries. As...
25 Top Historical Events in Alliance – McCaskey Register
#14. The McCaskey Register Company Revolutionized the Way Shopkeepers Handled the Accounts of Their Customers The McCaskey Register Company manufactured systems for keeping track of cash and credit accounts, revolutionizing the way shopkeepers and businesses handled...
25 Top Historical Events in Alliance – Famous Visitors
#13. Lincoln, Chase, and McKinley President-Elect Abraham Lincoln made a brief 20 minute stop at the original Sourbeck House located on the north side of the railroad tracks at the Crossing, on February 15, 1861, as he traveled from Illinois to Washington, DC for his...
25 Top Historical Events in Alliance – Village of Mt. Union
#12.The Village of Mt. Union Jobsville was the first community founded in Washington Township at the intersection of Main Street (now State Street) and Mt. Union Avenue (now Union Avenue). The community requested a post office but the name they wanted, Johnsonville,...