Significant Dates in Alliance History

Main Street Viaduct

Main Street Viaduct

  • 1808 – First house built in Alliance area by Amos Holloway.
  • 1820 – First log cabin school.
  • 1824 – Jobsville founded at the intersection of Union Avenue and State Street – Renamed Mount Union in 1833.
  • 1827 – Williamsport founded by William Teeters – Birthplace of Alliance Methodist and United Brethren churches.
  • 1832 – The Great Squirrel Hunt of 1832 when 1600 squirrels were shot to help the farmers save their crops from being devoured by the rodents.
  • 1833 August 22 – Richard Fawcett laid out 40 lots to found what became village of Mount Union.
  • 1837 – Village of Mount Union founded.
  • 1838 July 24 – Freedom founded by Matthias Hester. He builds the Hester Block, Alliance’s first brick house.
  • 1841 October 1 – Philip Sharer establishes Sharer Cabinet and Undertaking in the Village of Freedom building hand made quality furnishings and caskets and becomes Alliance’s first merchant.
  • 1846 October 4 – “Select School” founded in Mount Union. Orville Hartshorn, Director.
  • 1846 October 6 – Mount Union classes begin in the old “Carding Mill”. (6 students).
  • 1850 – Liberty founded, later renamed Alliance. It was also known as the crossing.
  • 1850 – Matthias Hester platted Alliance at the junction of the O & P and C & W Railroads.
  • 1851 July 4 – First locomotive passes through Alliance on the Cleveland and Wellsville Railroad.
  • 1853-1865 – Jonathan Ridgeway Haines and Sarah Grant Haines use their home as a station on the Underground Railroad.
  • 1854 – The Alliance Ledger becomes Alliance’s first newspaper. Published weekly, it was first edited by Dr. Levi L. Lamborn.
  • 1854 March 15 – Petition signed by 98 members of the community to incorporate Alliance as a village.
  • 1854 June 9 – Settlements of Williamsport, Freedom, and Alliance were incorporated into the village of Alliance.
  • 1854 October 4 – first election held in Alliance. Harvey Laughlin elected first mayor.
  • 1855 October 25 – Alliance Masonic Lodge, No. 271, was chartered. Joseph Conrad was its first Worshipful Master.
  • 1856 April 12 – “Great” storm hits. Tornado destroys most of Alliance including buildings, crops, livestock.
  • 1856 – J.T. Weybrecht establishes first lumber yard in Alliance.
  • 1856 December 8 – Worst train disaster in Alliance.
  • 1858 January 9 – Mount Union college chartered.
  • 1861 February 15 – Lincoln visits the Sourbeck House on the way to his inauguration.
  • 1864 – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Salmon P. Chase speaks at Mount Union’s Chapman Hall dedication.
  • 1866 – Dr. Levi Lamborn propagates the Scarlet Carnation.
  • 1867 – Matthew Earley builds home at the corner of Park and Vine.
  • 1869 February 15, – Mark Twain spoke in the Alliance College Building.
  • 1871 – Marchand and Morgan begin manufacturing steam hammers.
  • 1871? – J.W.Gillespie begins publishing the Alliance Review.
  • 1873 – Great economic panic strikes Alliance.
  • 1874 – Conrad Masonic Lodge No. 494 was founded.
  • 1875 January 1 – Mabel Hartzell is born in Saginaw, MI.
  • 1875 – J. S. Cassaday and Sons founded to make furniture and caskets.
  • September 23, 1878 – Pres R.B.Hayes visits Alliance. Local militia blows windows out of President’s car with a canon salute.
  • 1883 – August Tanner was appointed the first chief of the Alliance Fire Department by Mayor Simon Johnson.
  • 1884 – Morgan Engineering is founded.
  • 1884 – Solid Steel Company opens in Alliance. Becomes American Steel.
  • 1884 February 1 – Orr Block explosion.
  • 1886 – The Alliance and Conrad Masonic Lodges merged to become Conrad Lodge No. 271.
  • 1886 June 2 – Alliance’s Marchand Opera House collapses due to structural defects in the bricks.
  • 1887 – Alliance incorporated as a city.
  • 1888 – Mount Union is annexed into Alliance.
  • 1888 September 17 – Alliance Review is first published.
  • 1888 December 10 – 1st electric street cars begin service in Alliance. .
  • 1892 – City Savings Bank established.
  • 1895 – Transue & Williams Steel Forging Corporation incorporates.
  • 1895-1896 – The first Alliance sewage treatment plant was constructed on Keystone Street, making Alliance the third city in Ohio to construct a treatment plant.
  • 1898 – Company K OVI leaves Main Street Depot for the Spanish American War.
  • 1898 – Hillgreen-Lane and Company of Alliance was founded by Alfred Hillgreen and Charles Alva Lane.
  • 1899 – Robert C. Hopkins, who would become the engineer in charge of building the Glamorgan mansion and the manager of the Alliance Brass and Bronze Company, came to Alliance from Pennsylvania to attend Mount Union College.
  • 1900 September 15 – First free library opens.
  • 1901 – Alliance Hospital Association admits first patient.
  • 1901 – The Alliance Council No. 558 of the Knights of Columbus was instituted, with the St. Joseph’s School being the first meeting place for the group of 29 charter members.
  • 1901 April – Fireman Torry Walker loses his life while fighting a fire.
  • 1901 April 19 – A paralyzing two-day snowstorm enveloped Stark County, with the official depth being recorded at 15.5 inches but the wetness of the snow being equivalent to 31 inches.
  • 1901 – William H. Purcell founds Alliance Machine Company.
  • 1902 – Alliance Public Library holds 2,800 books.
  • 1903 May 31 – The U.R. Transylvania Society, a Romanian organization originally located at 802 East Broadway, was founded.
  • 1903 – McCaskey Register Company incorporates.
  • 1903-1905 – William H. Morgan builds Glamorgan Castle.
  • 1904 February 3 – scarlet carnation named official state flower.
  • 1904 September 6 – New Carnegie Free Library dedicated. Total cost: $26,000 ; Total volumes: 4,638.
  • 1905 – Lexington Hotel fire.
  • 1907 – The Mount Union Station of the Alliance Fire Department, the first station in the city to be constructed for motorized equipment, was built.
  • 1912 – Alliance Hospital Association renamed Alliance City Hospital.
  • 1912 – The Buckeye Twist Drill Company, the only producer of twists and drills in early Stark County history, was organized by O.F. Transue, F. E. Dussell and several others.
  • 1912 – Rabbi Krash began his duties as the resident Rabbi at the Alliance Temple.
  • 1915 August 10 – Alliance Park Board was established.
  • 1915 October 9 – The cornerstone on the Alliance Masonic Temple building was laid, but the building would not be completed until December 1917.
  • 1916 – John Held was appointed chief of the Alliance Fire Department, making him the youngest chief of a paid fire department in the State of Ohio.
  • 1916 August 8 – $100,000 park development bond issue was passed leading the way to establishing the City’s park system.
  • 1917 April 15 – The Alliance Chapter of the American Red Cross was organized, with Miss Mary Kay and Colonel and Mrs. Charles Weybrecht leading the effort.
  • 1917 – The Alliance Rotary Club was founded.
  • 1918 – Milton C. Moore elected as the first judge for the newly formed Alliance Municipal Court District, encompassing Alliance, Washington, Paris, Lexington,  and Marlboro.
  • 1919 August – Olive poisoning from botulism kills seven people after WWI welcome home party for Col. Weybrecht.
  • 1920 – Joe Sarchione incorporated Mahoning Auto Sales and Service, selling Flint, Columbia, and Hupmobile automobiles.
  • 1923 May 5 – The City acquired the 55-acre Lorentz farm tract for $25,000 at a sheriff’s sale. With this purchase, the Alliance Park Board created South Park, which later was renamed Silver Park.
  • 1924 – The Alliance Salvation Army moved to 48 South Freedom Avenue.
  • 1924 – First Alliance public library branch opens in Roumanian Hall.
  • 1925 – The Alliance Country Club, located on the former summer farm of Willis Ramsey, built their club house for $30,000.
  • 1925 Summer – McFadden Masonic Lodge No. 697 was founded. Dillon Crist was the first Worshipful Master
  • 1926 January 6 – South Park was renamed Silver Park in honor of Charles O. Silver, who was the city auditor for 25 years.
  • 1926 May – City Savings Bank building opened on Public Square becoming Alliance’s first skyscraper.
  • 1927 – The Alliance Toy Manufacturing Company, begun by W. H. Purcell and C. J. Rodman, changed its name to the Alliance Manufacturing Company.
  • 1928 – Aubrey and Adrian Hess develop the Alliance Argo biplane.
  • 1932 – Alliance elected Stark County’s first black councilman, W. D. Jackson.
  • 1934 October 30 – Lincoln memorial is dedicated at the Alliance train station.
  • 1935 June 20 – Future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Len Dawson is born.
  • 1935 – Taylorcraft Corporation produces small planes until 1946.
  • 1935 – The Taylorcraft Aviation Corporation was organized by C. G. Taylor, utilizing the building and machinery of the former Hess-Argo Company.
  • 1936 – Dr. R. L. Rutledge of Alliance served as president of the Stark County Medical Society.
  • 1938 – First library bookmobile began serving Alliance. Cost: $577 ; Carries: 1,000 books.
  • 1938 – The Flower Garden Club of Alliance was organized, with Mrs. William H. Morgan, Jr. as the first president.
  • 1939 January 31 – Spring-Holzwarth fire.
  • 1939 – The Alliance Elks Lodge No. 467 purchased the former Morgan mansion (Glamorgan Castle) and 50 acres of land for $25,000.
  • 1939 June 29 – Alliance Historical Society chartered and holds first meeting in YWCA’s Haggart Hall.
  • 1940 – United Co-Operatives, a farm cooperative specializing in paints and chemicals, began operating out of the former Buckeye Twist Drill Company buildings.
  • 1940 – A former pottery building on the northeast corner of Lake Park and South Mahoning was purchased by the Alliance Manufacturing Company for its assembling operations.
  • 1942 April 2 – Morgan Engineering Company became the first company in Stark County to be awarded the Navy “E” flag, for excellence in the production of war equipment.
  • 1944 – The Alliance Porcelain Products Company, organized in 1934 by Dr. Clarence J. Rodman, changed its name to Alliance Ware, Inc.
  • 1946 – Taylorcraft fire.
  • 1947 – Columbia Theater fire.
  • 1948 April 30 – Perry King (actor) is born.
  • 1948 – Dr. Perry F. King, a surgical pioneer of Alliance City Hospital, died.
  • 1948 – Armour & Co. began business in Alliance at the former Taylorcraft property, operating by-product divisions in coated abrasives and cushioning products.
  • 1951 – The War Memorial at public square was financed with a memorial fund of $4,800.
  • 1952 March 20 – Babcock & Wilcox was the largest employer in Alliance, with 1,235 employees between its Keystone, Rush, and Research Center locations.
  • 1952 – Alliance Historical Society erects a monument in memory of the early settlers of Williamsport.
  • 1952 – Curvis Rhyne begins his first term as an Alliance city councilman.
  • 1952 – The Alliance Rubber Company, founded in 1923 by William H. Spencer, had 80 employees, made 300 types of rubber bands, and was the largest company of its kind in the world.
  • 1954 – McGee’s Motel, located 1.5 miles west of Alliance and operated by Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Sherban, was the only motel in Stark County serving breakfast to its guests as part of its service.
  • 1954 – Alliance changed the source of its water supply from the Mahoning River to Deer Creek Reservoir.
  • 1954 – George Weimer graduates from Mount Union College.
  • 1954 December 2 – Mabel Hartzell dies and bequeaths her home and its contents to the Alliance Historical Society.
  • 1955 – The Christopher Columbus Lodge completed its new lodge building on South Liberty.
  • 1955 March 29 – Alliance Historical Society trustees accept the Mabel Hartzell House to be used as a museum.
  • 1955 September 11 – Dedication of the Mabel Hartzell Historical Home.
  • 1956 – The Alliance Manufacturing Company was the largest manufacturer of small fractional horsepower shaded pole motors in the world, at seasonal peaks the biggest employer in Alliance, and in all seasons the biggest employer of women.
  • 1957 September – The Alliance Police Department consisted of the chief, three captains, a lieutenant, and 21 patrolmen, while the jail had 10 cells for men and 3 for women.
  • 1957 – Alliance had three movie theaters with a combined seating capacity of 2,400.
  • 1957 – The Alliance Kiwanis Club was the largest Kiwanis club in Stark County, with 134 members.
  • 1959 April 1 – Alliance officially designated the Carnation City.
  • 1960 June 27-July 2 – First Carnation City Festival.
  • 1963 January – Rodman Public Library completed. Cost: $660,000 ; Total volumes: 72,000.
  • 1963 – Alliance Public Library named Rodman Public Library in honor of its generous benefactor C. J. Rodman.
  • 1964 – Alliance Machine purchases Glamorgan and begins restoration of the facility.
  • 1965 – North side of Main Street and Fiegenschuh’s fire.
  • 1970 May 5 – Don Pancho’s Tex-Mex Restaurant established.
  • 1970 – Tolerton Lumber Company and the Armory fire.
  • 1972 September 5 – New Alliance High School opened.
  • 1973 July 18 – Glamorgan becomes the property of the Alliance City Schools District.
  • 1974 – United Cooperative on Ely Street and structural shop of Morgan Engineering fires.
  • 1976 June 30 – Fairmount Children’s Home closes after 100 years.
  • 1982 – Friendly’s Furniture fire, 400 block of Main Street.
  • 1983 – John Christian purchases the Cassaday-Turkle Funeral Home.
  • 1986 – Daniel Skivolocke purchases the Sharer-Stirling Funeral Home.
  • 1987 – Alliance native Len Dawson is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
  • 1989 – McFadden Masonic Lodge was absorbed into Conrad Lodge.
  • 1990 – Carnation Mall Branch of Rodman Public Library opens.
  • 1991 December 7 – Aviators’ Jet is installed at Alliance High School.
  • 2001 – Haines House museum opens.
  • 2001 – Morgan Engineering and former Alliance Steel fire.
  • 2004 August 23 – Alliance Memory website is launched by Rodman Public Library showcasing the first online digital collection of photographs, documents, interviews, and objects pertaining to Alliance history.
  • 2005 January 23 – Rose Mary Woods dies in Alliance.
  • 2007 – Rodman Public Library renovation is completed. Cost: $2.4 million ; Total volumes: 228,739.
  • 2008 – Mount Union graduate Pierre Garcon is drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the 6th round (205th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft.
  • 2010 June 10 – Cat Fanciers’ Museum opens in the former Midland-Buckeye Bank building on the corner of Main Street and Arch Avenue.
  • 2011 May – The World War History and Art Museum (WWHAM) opens in the College Plaza.
  • 2011 – Mount Union graduate Cecil Shorts is drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 4th round (114th overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft.
  • 2012 – Alliance Wholesalers and PTC Alliance fire.
  • 2017 February 1 – The Alliance Review is sold by Dix Communications to GateHouse Media.