William and Martha Teeters

2026 | Hall of Fame

William Teeters (1786-1856)

& Martha Webb Teeters (1789-1853)

Class of 2026 – Founders

Long before Alliance became known as a railroad crossroads and industrial center, William and Martha Teeters helped establish the first permanent community within the boundaries of what would become the city. Their vision, perseverance, and leadership secured their place among the true founders of Alliance.

William Teeters was born on May 1, 1786, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the son of Elisha John Teeters Sr. and Mary Wilson Teeters. Martha Webb was born in 1789 and descended from a pioneering family that migrated from Maryland to Ohio in the early years of settlement. The couple married on December 19, 1810, in Columbiana County, Ohio, and became part of the westward movement that transformed the Ohio frontier into thriving communities.

In 1827, William and Martha established the village of Williamsport along the north bank of the Mahoning River in Lexington Township, between what are now Beech and Gaskill Streets. Williamsport holds a unique distinction in local history as the first community founded within the present-day limits of Alliance. Although settlers had begun arriving in the area years earlier, it was the Teeters family who formally laid out and developed the settlement.

William contributed significantly to the area’s early growth by operating both a gristmill and a sawmill along the Mahoning River. These enterprises provided essential services to local farmers and settlers, helping transform the wilderness into a functioning community. Williamsport also featured a log church and burying ground, the land donated by the Teeters family.

For more than two decades, Williamsport remained a small but important settlement. In 1854, it joined the neighboring villages of Freedom and Liberty to form the Alliance. The merger was prompted by the arrival of major railroad lines whose intersection promised tremendous economic opportunity. The new community took the name “Alliance” to symbolize the union of the villages and the convergence of the railroads.

Martha died on February 7, 1853, just one year before the creation of Alliance. William followed on August 13, 1856. Together they raised a large family and left a legacy that extended well beyond their own generation. Among their descendants and relatives were influential business leaders and community builders who helped shape the growth of Stark County, including Elisha Teeters, a nephew and fellow 2026 Alliance Hall of Fame inductee.

Today, little remains of the original village of Williamsport beyond its historic cemetery and marker, erected by the Alliance Historical Society in 1953. The Teeters’ gravestone was also replaced, the new monument reading, “To the memory of the two leaders of the Williamsport settlement.”

25 Top Historical Events in Alliance – Williamsport

2020 | Historic facts

Dedication of Williamsport, Ohio marker. Alliance Review, June 15, 1953

#23. Dedication of Williamsport Marker

On June 14, 1953, the Alliance Historical Society dedicated a marker at the site of the first church in what is now known as Alliance. The event was covered in the June 15, 1953 edition of The Alliance Review and featured the picture shown here. On hand were Mayor Harley R. Ewing, Mrs. Fred (Dorothy) Donaldson, Mrs. Melvin (Ethel) Van Winkle, both from the Alliance Historical Society, and Congressman Frank T. Bow.

The marker paid tribute to the hardy pioneers who laid the foundations of Alliance in the Village of Williamsport and the men and women who are buried in the first cemetery where the United Brethren Church was built in 1819. The land was donated by William and Martha Teeters, who were among the first settlers in the area. The marker and cemetery can be visited on River Street on the north end of the city.

Williamsport marker on River Street

Williamsport was founded along the banks of the Mahoning River as early as 1805 and formally listed as settled in 1827. The settlers arrived from Williamsport, Pennsylvania. William Teeters had a gristmill and a sawmill along the banks of the Mahoning. The church was reportedly built from logs and had a burying ground next to it.

The markers for most of those buried here have decayed over the years with only a few stumps remaining. The gravestone for William and Martha was replaced in 1952, at the same time as the large marker was placed, by the Alliance Historical Society. It reads, in addition to their birth and death dates: To the memory of the two leaders of the Williamsport settlement.

The large memorial includes the names of those that could be deciphered from remaining tombstones in 1940 and includes veterans of the Civil War and John McIntire, who was killed by the collision of trains in Alliance on December 8, 1856.

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.