Alliance was first counted by the census in 1840, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 96% of U.S. towns · #43 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
10 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 68 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1840.
Alliance first appears in the census in 1840. Three smaller post offices, Mahoning (1828), Jobsville (1833) and Mount Union (1835), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 315 in 18402020 census: 21,672186 years
How historic is Alliance?
A+
More historic than 96% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Alliance is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #43 of 993 in Ohio. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Alliance’s overall grade.
Ohio towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Ohio town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Alliance’s 35.4 sits above most of its state (86% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 76 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.2 points).
Founding year: the first census (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Alliance’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Alliance’s post office has been open since 1851. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Mahoning
1828–1857
Jobsville
1833–1835
Mount Union
1835–1891
Alliance
1851–today
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
HillcrestMount Union
Gone or out of use
Alliance CollegeschoolClarke ObservatorylocaleLamborn Town SchoolschoolMorgan GymnasiumbuildingMount Union Post Officepost officeNorth Park Avenue Public Schoolschool
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Alliance, building by building, 1884–1921
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
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.
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. 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".
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Alliance post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1854.
How does Alliance rank for history?
Alliance is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #43 of 993 in Ohio. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Alliance?
10 listings: 8 buildings, among them the Glamorgan (listed 1972, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Mount Union College District and the East Main Street Historic District, with 68 contributing buildings. 76 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Alliance?
41% of Alliance’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1951.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (7), the National Register of Historic Places (10), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1905
1905
