Alliance is a city in

Stark County, Ohio Stark County is a county located in the northeastern part of U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 374,853. Its county seat is Canton. The county was created in 1808 and organized the next year. It is named for John S ...

, United States. The population was 21,672 at the 2020 census. It was established in 1854 by the merger of three smaller communities and was a manufacturing and railroad hub in the 20th century. Alliance is associated with the state flower of Ohio, the scarlet

carnation ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' ( ), commonly known as carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus'' native to the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean region. Its exact natural range is uncertain due to extensive cultivation over the last 2,00 ...

, and is known as the "Carnation City". The

University of Mount Union The University of Mount Union is a private liberal arts university in Alliance, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1846, the university was affiliated with the Methodist Church until 2019. It had an enrollment of 2,100 students as of 2023. History ...

, a private liberal arts college established in 1846, is located in the city. Partially extending into Mahoning County, Alliance is part of the Canton–Massillon metropolitan area.

History

Alliance was founded in 1854 by the merger of three smaller communities called Williamsport, formed in 1827, Freedom, formed in 1838, and Liberty, formed in 1850 to act as a station and support hub for the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad. A fourth community, Mount Union, was added in 1888. Alliance was incorporated as a city in 1889.Incorporation of Alliance
, Rodman Public Library website (accessed February 3, 2008) There are two popular theories regarding the origin of the city's name. One holds that it was chosen because of the "alliance" of three small settlements into a larger entity.
(accessed February 3, 2008) The other theory says the name reflects the fact that two major railroad lines, the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad and the Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroad, intersected at Alliance, once known as "The Crossing". On April 12, 1856, Alliance was directly struck by a

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

, causing extensive damage. A roof of a church was removed, and another church was moved off its foundation. A train that stopped at the Alliance Station was pushed off its rails. The destruction was estimated to be $15,000 to $20,000 (in 1856 dollars, ). A few injuries and one fatality were confirmed. In 1923, Alliance Rubber Company was founded in Alliance. It was a manufacturer of rubber bands cut from discarded rubber rings into small strips. Alliance's Main Street was originally laid out to bring traffic to the train station, the heart of the city's transportation hub. The railroads were central to industry and personal transportation, bringing in raw materials for factories and sending out finished goods. Due to this, Alliance is sometimes referred to as "the town where Main Street is a dead end". Alliance became a qualified Tree City USA as recognized by the

National Arbor Day Foundation The Arbor Day Foundation is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. The Arbor Day Foundation has more than one million members and has planted more than 500 million trees in neighborhoods, communitie ...

in 1982.

Geography

Alliance is located approximately northeast of Canton, southwest of

Youngstown Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

and southeast of

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. There are no lakes within city limits, although the

Mahoning River The Mahoning River is a river in northeastern Ohio and a small portion of western Pennsylvania. Flowing primarily through several Ohio counties, it crosses the state line into Pennsylvania before joining with the Shenango River to form the Beav ...

flows through the northeastern part of the city.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 22,322 people, 8,631 households, and 5,232 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 10,022 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 84.6%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 10.5%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 3.4% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.9% of the population. There were 8,631 households, of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 17.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.4% were non-families. 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.96. The median age in the city was 35.3 years. 22% of residents were under the age of 18; 16.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.4% were from 25 to 44; 23.9% were from 45 to 64; and 15.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.9% male and 52.1% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 23,253 people, 8,908 households, and 5,665 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 9,730 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 85.51%

, 11.19%

, 0.17% Native American, 0.77% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.41% from other races, and 1.93% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.17% of the population. There were 8,908 households, out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.2% were

living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.98. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.5% under the age of 18, 15.5% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $30,078, and the median income for a family was $37,011. Males had a median income of $31,033 versus $20,063 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $15,185. About 12.7% of families and 18.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 26.8% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Alliance is a town rich with social, industrial and railroad history, with the restored Glamorgan Castle, previous home of the owner of Morgan Engineering; the Haines House, a restored underground railroad home; and the Mabel Hartzell historic home; all three properties are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The name of Levi L. Lamborn, the man who cultivated the scarlet

, Ohio's state flower, can still be seen on the facade of a building in the old downtown district. The Richardsonian Romanesque stone house of the Devine family is currently being renovated. The historic downtown area is experiencing a gradual renaissance, with the opening of a Saturday Farmers' Market on Main Street near the historic Caboose, and the renovation of a storefront on Main Street as an art gallery and live performance space, joining a scattering of antique shops and other businesses. The Cat Fanciers' Association relocated to the former Midland-Buckeye bank, at 260 East Main Street, in June 2011, opening the CFA Foundation's Feline Historical Museum, the first of its kind of the United States. Alliance was also home to the World War History & Art Museum, located in College Plaza at 1300 East State Street. WWHAM had a dozen exhibits including a world class collection of 320 original paintings and drawings by the troops of World War I, an HO scale model of the German 2nd Panzer Division in 1944, and original art by the pilots and airmen of World War II. It closed to the public on April 17, 2014, and now does traveling shows.

The Carnation City

Alliance is commonly referred to as the Carnation City, having been given that designation by the

Ohio General Assembly The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Colu ...

in 1959.Dr. Lamborn's Carnations
, Rodman Public Library website (accessed February 3, 2008) Alliance gave Ohio its official state flower, the scarlet

. Alliance's association with the carnation began in 1866 when an Alliance doctor, Levi L. Lamborn, purchased six potted carnation plants to grow in a

greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...

at his house. At that time this flower was rarely cultivated in the United States. In 1876 Lamborn ran against

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

for the

Congressional A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ad ...

seat from this district. The two men were personal friends, although they were political opponents. McKinley had expressed his admiration for Lamborn's carnations, so before each of their political debates Lamborn gave McKinley a carnation to wear on his lapel. Mr. McKinley won the election and associated the carnation with his success, and wore carnations during his successful campaigns for

Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

and then

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. In 1884, Lamborn suggested that Ohio should make the carnation a state emblem. In 1904, three years after President McKinley's

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

, the Ohio General Assembly designated the scarlet carnation as the official state flower as a "token of love and reverence to the memory of William McKinley". On January 29 of each year (President McKinley's birth anniversary), a bouquet of red carnations is placed in the hands of McKinley's statue at the Capitol in Columbus. Since 1960, Alliance has held an annual Carnation Festival during August.Greater Alliance Carnation Festival website
/ref>

Government

Alliance operates under a

mayor–council government A mayor–council government is a system of local government in which a mayor who is directly elected by the voters acts as chief executive, while a separately elected city council constitutes the legislative body. It is one of the two most comm ...

. Eight council members are elected as a legislature for 2-year terms, comprising four separate wards, three at-large districts, and a council president. In addition, an independently elected mayor serves as an executive. The current mayor is Andrew Grove. The current council president is Art Garnes. The mayor, auditor, treasurer, and law director are all elected to 4-year terms.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Alliance is served by the public Alliance City School District, which oversees the following schools serving the city: *Alliance Early Learning School – grades PK-1 *Alliance Elementary School at Rockhill – grades 2-3 *Alliance Intermediate School – grades 4-5 *Alliance Middle School – grades 6-8 * Alliance High School – grades 9-12 *Parkway Learning and Development Center – alternative & online education The local Catholic parish school, Holy Cross Academy – Regina Coelli Campus, is overseen by the Diocese of Youngstown and serves students from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade.

Higher education

The

was founded in 1846 and is near the intersection of Union Avenue and State Street.

Media

Alliance is the

city of license In U.S., Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broadcast ...

for

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

affiliate WNEO, channel 45, which has its studios and offices in Kent. Alliance is also the city of license for radio stations WDJQ (92.5 FM) and WDPN (1310 AM).

Transportation

Alliance is served by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's '' Capitol Limited'' between

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, via Alliance Station, located at 820 East Main Street. The municipality is also served by the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) bus system. Barber Airport is a privately owned, public-use airport located north of Alliance. The airport historically hosted the Ohio Aeronca Aviators Fly-In.

Notable people

* Charles Armstrong, virologist *

Ken Blackwell John Kenneth Blackwell (born February 28, 1948) is an American politician, author, and Conservatism in the United States, conservative activist who served as the mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio (1979–1980), the Ohio State Treasurer (1994–1999), and ...

Mayor of Cincinnati The mayor of Cincinnati is recognized as the official head and representative of the city for all purposes. There have been seventy-six mayors of Cincinnati. The first mayor was David Ziegler, who took office in 1802. The current mayor is Aftab ...

* Kierstan Bell, WNBA guard for the Las Vegas Aces * Herman Carr, physicist and pioneer of magnetic resonance imaging *

Len Dawson Leonard Ray Dawson (June 20, 1935 – August 24, 2022) was an American professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the K ...

, 1987

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

inductee * Hilan Ebert, US Naval Academy graduate lost at sea in World War II *

Allan Funk Allan Eric Funk (born July 7, 1971) is an American professional wrestler who has previously worked in promotions such as World Championship Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, often with comedic personas. He also competed in Lucha Li ...

, professional wrestler * William Miller Jenkins, 5th Governor of Oklahoma Territory * Gertrude Alice Kay, children's book illustrator and author * Perry King, actor, star of Riptide * Levi L. Lamborn, doctor, horticulturalist, and politician who lived in the city. * Yuri Lowenthal, American voice actor * Don Panoz, pharmaceutical and motorsport entrepreneur * Dymonte Thomas, NFL player * Gertrude Tressel Rider, braille librarian *

Ivan Sag Ivan Andrew Sag (November 9, 1949 – September 10, 2013) was an American linguist and cognitive scientist. He did research in areas of syntax and semantics as well as work in computational linguistics. Personal life Born in Alliance, Ohio on No ...

, linguist and cognitive scientist * Lorin B. Sebrell, rubber chemist * Hugh Wilson, botanist and professor at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

References

External links

*
Alliance Chamber of Commerce
* {{Authority control Cities in Ohio Cities in Mahoning County, Ohio Cities in Stark County, Ohio 1854 establishments in Ohio Populated places established in 1854