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416 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY CHAPTER XVII CORPORATION OF ALLIANCE MATTHIAS HESTER, FOUNDER OF FREEDOM-RAILROAD STIMULUS-ELISHA TEETERS-LEVI L. LAMBORN-INCORPORATED AS A VILLAGE-FIRST VILLA GE OFFICERS AND LEGISLATION-PIONEER 1N ELECTRICAL TRANSPORTATION- PIONEER PUBLIC SCHOOLS-UNION SCHOOL BUILT-THE HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING-ERECTION OF OTHER HOUSES-BUILDINGS NOW OCCUPIED- SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS-GROWTH OF THE SYSTEM-THE ALLIANCE CARNEGIE LIBRARY-MOVEMENT FOR A CARNEGIE LIBRARY-THE WATERWORKS-THE CITY HOSPITAL-A BLOODLESS OPERA HOUSE DISASTER-PAST AND PRESENT CORPORATION- MOUNT UNION COLLEGE-SEMINARY AND NORM AL SCHOOL-FACULTY AND TRUSTEES-PRESIDENT HARTS HORN-BUILDINGS- DEPARTMENTS -STANDARDS-ENDOWMENTS-PRESIDENTS MARSH, RIKER AND MCMASTER-TRUSTEE PRESIDENTS-WHAT MOUNT UNION COLLEGE STANDS FOR. The City of Alliance is well named. Until the two lines of railroad, now within the Pennsylvania Company 's system, came together at that point, the town was known as Freedom. Although the name was not founded on the facts as they existed at the time it was bestowed in the early '50s, the roads were allied some years after ; so that naming the place Alliance was but a slight projection into the future, by General Robinson and other men of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad, who were very certain of that same future. MATTHIAS HESTER, FOUNDER OF FREEDOM Matthias Hester was the most prominent figure connected with the founding of Freedom. He was a tailor by trade, who conducted a shop for about ten years at Salem, Columbiana County, before he moved to Mount Union, and, a couple of years afterward, to the site of Freedom. With John Miller he laid out the town, to which he gave a name, in July, 1838, and soon afterward held a public sale of lots. He disposed of several upon which buildings were erected and himself opened a general HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 417 store, which was without competition until 1841. In that year both Mr. Hester and William Altman laid out additions to Freedom, and S. Shaffer, a Pennsylvania German, opened another store. RAILROAD STIMULUS Mr. Hester continued in the mercantile business until 1848, and then withdrew to give his attention to his real estate. On September 10, 1850, when it became evident that the Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad was a certainty, he made an addition of fifty-four lots to his town, almost doubling its area. The promoters of the line had held meetings in the village and graphically portrayed the benefits of the railroad, but many of the people were slow to believe, the truth being that they had no money to invest. "They looked with suspicion on the coming of the steam car," says a reliable writer in the Alliance Review. "At this time the surplus of the farms was hauled to Massillon, twenty-six miles away, where a market was found for wheat at from thirty to fifty cents a bushel, and thence it was shipped by canal to river points and eventually found its way to the markets of the world. The merchandise was received from Pittsburgh or other eastern cities at Wellsville, from which point it was transported by wagon to its destination. It was promised by the railroad promoters that these things would be of the past on the coming of the railroad. The Cleveland and Pittsburgh railroad came in 1851. Its building brought a mixed class of laborers with it to the community —a vast army of men. Simultaneous with the coming of this road the Ohio and Pennsylvania railroad company was surveying a line from Pittsburgh to Chicago. Their surveyors were setting stakes to mark the line of the road on the south border of Freedom. The right of way was secured, and in 1852 the road was so far completed that a train of ears ran from Pittsburgh to the crossing of the Cleveland and Pittsburgh line, where now stands the city of Alliance. On Christmas day in 1852 an excursion train from Pittsburgh was run from this crossing on a sightseeing expedition. Sonic welcomed the coming of the iron steed and saw great things for the future. Other of the farmers saw nothing but danger and disaster, and one farmer of this class who had large holdings where stands a portion of the city today, sold his possessions at a sacrifice and purchased elsewhere, in some remote quarter, far distant from the vexing sound of the passing locomotive. At this date Alliance was unknown. It was born in 1853, an offspring of the locomotive, a legitimate child of steam. The name 'crossing' gave way when officials of the two railroads decided to erect a station here, and by common consent christened the new foundling 'Alliance.' Previous to this the ground about 418 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY the crossing owned by Simeon Jennings, Joseph J. Brooks, I. N. Webb and Elisha Teeters had been surveyed by County Surveyor Whitacre and divided into lots. A town site was located, and thus was the beginning of Alliance. The growth of the town was very slow ; the accessions were few and infrequent. There was nothing to attract. The country was almost a wilderness. There were few comforts of any kind to be enjoyed. The postofficc was almost three miles distant. There was no market. But the railroads changed all this. The two railroads, the `crossing' of which was the father of Alliance, became trunk lines of the great 'Pennsylvania' system. The name of the Ohio and Pennsylvania line was changed to the Pittsburgh. Ft. Wayne and Chicago railroad, and Alliance was made the terminal of the east division of the road. A round house was built and a small repair shop erected. Alliance being the end of a division, where trains were made up and train crews rested, it was sought by railroad men in search of homes, and it was soon known as a railroad town." ELISHA TEETERS The Teeters family is closely identified with the founding and growth of Alliance. The old farm and homestead of the head of the family, Elisha Teeters, was about two miles northwest of the present city, and consisted originally of 172 acres. When it was wild land he settled thereon with his young wife in 1835, and about sixteen years afterward, then mature and prosperous, he bought a farm of eighty acres in the way of the new railroad and laid out his town. The east border of Alliance was Liberty Street, the railroad crossed the northeast corner, while Union Avenue was the west line. Main Street was about the center of his eighty acres. He held the first public sale of lots September 15, 1851. The first lot sold was at the corner of Freedom and Main streets, and brought $35. He sold it on condition that it must be improved with a building and a hotel was erected there, and this site has always had a hotel or some other public house. The lot at the corner of Linden and Main streets, opposite the Lexington Hotel, was sold for $16, -and one of the old landmarks of the city covering that ground has been torn down in 1915. Only three lots were sold the first day, but in the following year real estate transfers in the little village became more lively. Mr. Teeters donated the site for the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the old church building is now incorporated in the present Scranton Block. He gave the present site of the Baptist Church at the corner of Freedom and Market streets. In company with Mr. Weickard, Mr. Teeters in 1863 erected a block where the Alliance Bank Building, a six-story HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 419 structure, now stands. This building was constructed in 1863 and stood for fifty years until torn down in 1913. In that old building Mr. Teeters opened a bank, the first institution of its kind in Alliance, and subsequently became a charter director of the First National Bank. The building at that location has always been used for banking purposes, and the ground is now the most valuable corner in the city. Mr. Teeters was the owner of the land for a great many years. He was a member of the firm of Teeters, Lamborn and Company, which bought land east and south of the original plat and gave to Alliance the Teeters-Lamborn Addition of some 160 acres. The company donated land to a number of factory enterprises in that section of the city. Mr. Teeters died in June, 1899. DR. LEVI L. LAMBORN The late Dr. Levi L. Lamborn was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, October 10, 1829, the youngest of eleven children. His father, Townsend Lamborn, was a prominent whig politician and was a candidate for governor of Ohio on the anti-Masonic ticket. When Levi L. was about eight years of age he came with some of his elder brothers to Ohio and located near Salem, attending a Friends' school in that locality, as his parents and most of his relatives were Quakers. In his sixteenth year he began reading medicine under the direction of Dr. Solomon Sleeve, of Damascus, afterward attended lectures in Philadelphia and finally graduated from the medical department of the Western Reserve College, Cleveland. in 1849. He entered upon the practice of his profession in Mount Union, where he continued fifteen years. In 1863 he moved to Alliance, and, after engaging in professional work for three years, retired to develop his real estate, and, a few years afterward, to engage in banking. He had already become prominent as a union democrat, having served for two terms as clerk of the Ohio House of Representatives. In 1866 and 1868 he bought and platted a tract of over 150 acres which afterward became the southern addition to the city, and subsequently, in partnership with Elisha Teeters, under the firm name of Teeters, Lamborn & Company, laid out an addition of 990 lots. So that Doctor Lamborn is well considered one of the founders of modern Alliance. His name was identified with the place at a much earlier date than this, since in 1854, when the Alliance Ledger was printed at Salem and he was practicing medicine at Mount Union, he also served as editor of the local paper, which was soon afterward issued from "home office." In 1874 Doctor Lamborn engaged in private banking with E. W. Gray, although for several years previously he had transacted quite an 420 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY extensive loan and discount business. He was a man of remarkable versatility, breadth and strength ; was successful, genial and affable and achieved such public prominence that in 1876 the democrats nominated him for Congress. At different times he served as a member of the board of trustees of the Ohio State Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb and always conducted himself with great credit, from both the standpoints of ability and honesty, in every public service which he assumed. His death at his home in Alliance June 14, 1910, was a distinct loss which was felt far beyond the borders of the county. Hugh Blakeley, also owner of a portion of the original plat, is still living, at the age of eighty-six. In reply to a letter of inquiry, Hon. B. F. Weybrecht, one of Doctor Lamborn's oldest and dearest friends, has furnished the following additional information regarding the doctor and his work as a founder of Alliance : "The original plat and the several additions afterwards added to Alliance by Dr. Lamborn and associates (Elisha. Teetors and Hugh Blakeley) now constitute about one-third of the present area embraced within the corporate limits of the city. Dr. Lamborn's contributions to the city should probably not be credited to himself, but rather to the company of which he was a member (Teetors, Lamborn & Company). This company secured for the city the division end of the Ohio & Pennsylvania Railroad Company, now the Pennsylvania Company, by donations of land for shops, roundhouses, etc., and also were liberal in making up the large cash bonus required by the company. In 1870 Dr. Lamborn, in company with his associates, interested himself in securing the location at Alliance of the Marchand and Morgan Steam Hammer Works of Pittsburgh, now the Morgan Engineering Company. No two agencies have contributed so much to our growth as have these two factors. Beside being one of our largest industries, this company either directly or indirectly should be credited with the establishment of The American Steel Foundries, The Fransic William Company and The Alliance Machine Company. "Dr. L. L. Lamborn will probably be best remembered in this locality as a public speaker of wonderfully magnetic powers and eloquence. In his young manhood he was an ardent advocate of the Abolition Cause. He was editor of the first newspaper published in Alliance, the Ledger, founded in 1854. In 1876 he was the opponent of William McKinley in his first campaign for Congress. The campaign was marked by debates by the two principals throughout the district. A short time prior to this Dr. Lamborn had imported the first carnation brought to America and was propagating them in his greenhouses, in HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 421 which he took great interest. Prior to these debates Dr. Lamborn would invariably and courteously present McKinley with a boutonier of this new flower. From this incident McKinley formed an attachment for the carnation, which in after life, appealed to him as a badge of favor." INCORPORATED AS A VILLAGE Within the following two years additions to the original town were made by Jennings & Brooks, I. N. Webb, William and Elisha Teeters, Samuel Shaffer and Mr. Hester, and the village increased in population from about 200 to double that number. The next step forward was marked by a petition signed by a hundred ambitious citizens and praying the county board for a regular incorporation. It was dated March 15, 1854, and couched in the following language : "To the Honorable County Commissioners of Stark County, Ohio: We, the undersigned citizens of Alliance, Freedom and Williamsport, situated in Lexington township, Stark county, Ohio, humbly petition your honorable body that we arc desirous of being organized into an incorporated village for general purposes, under the name and style of Alliance, the territory included in said corporation to include the full section of land in said township No. 25 and the south half of section No. 24, a plot of which is herewith presented ; and we have also hereby appointed Gideon Seymour of Alliance, the person authorized to act in our behalf in presenting this, our petition." FIRST VILLAGE OFFICERS AND LEGISLATION The petition was granted by the county commissioners, Samuel Smith, Mathias Sheplar and L. Alexander. The first election of village officers took place in the old brick schoolhouse on October 4, 1854, and resulted in the election of the following: Hervey Laughlin, mayor ; David Hoover, recorder, and Matthias Hester, A. C. Hanger, Henry Chapman, F. N. Pierce and George Woodworth as members of the council. The first meeting of the council was held on the evening of October 5, 1854, and the first ordinance which was adopted by that body was one to regulate the speed of locomotives while passing through the village. The maximum speed allowed was fixed at six miles per hour. The second act of council was the appointment, by resolution, of A. C. Hanger and Matthias Hester as a committee of two to draft an ordinance to regulate the sale and traffic in intoxicating liquors. Thus it will be seen that the two great dangers menacing the village at the date of its incorporation were— the railroads and the saloons, and these received the first attention of the first council at its first meeting. vol. II-3 422 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY Lot sales grew more frequent. Houses were springing up like magic. Alliance was to become a railroad center. Farmers found that a market for their produce had been brought to their doors by the railroad, and they began to look upon them with favor. PIONEER IN ELECTRICAL TRANSPORTATION Stark County has enjoyed electrical transportation for more than twenty-five years, and, through the enterprise of her citizens her record in that field is of the pioneer kind. In fact, the first electric street car line in Ohio, with the possible exception of the one at Mansfield, was built in Alliance in the year 1888. In the following spring cars were run from Alliance to Mount Union, a distance of two miles. This road was built by W. W. Hazzard, W. H. Whitacre and Hugh Bleakly and was a great attraction in the way of a novelty, but was not a great financial success in the beginning. The builders of the road stated at the time the road was being built that its construction was for the purpose of demonstrating the availability of electricity as a motive power for street railways, to supplant the old-fashioned horse cars. This experimental road brought many visitors to Alliance to inspect the workings of electric cars. In 1901 and 1902 there was projected an interurban electric railway from Salem via Alliance to Canton, with headquarters at Alliance. To the east the new Town of Sebring had sprung up, with Alliance as its trading center, and the travel between the two points was something enormous. In 1901 a company of Cleveland capitalists, with C. R. Morley as principal promoter, completed a survey for an electric line from Canton to Salem. The company was incorporated as the Stark Electric Railway Company ; active building of the railway was begun very soon thereafter. A power house with ample machinery for generating power for the propelling of cars was built on the Mahoning, one mile east of Alliance, the same year, and in September, 1902, the first cars were run between Sebring and Alliance. On April 26, 1903, the road was formally opened from Alliance to Canton, a distance of nineteen miles, and soon thereafter to Salem, a distance of fourteen miles from Alliance. The opening of this road gave hourly cars from Alliance to Canton and. Alliance to Salem. The entire length of the road is thirty-five miles. With the coming of the Stark Electric the city line was absorbed. Alliance, with the advent of this new competitor of the steam railroad, was given communication by electric roads with all the principal cities and towns in Northern Ohio, and secured greatly reduced rates. It HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 423 added another railroad of great value to those already running into or through Alliance. It made the territory between Canton and Salem suburban to that city. It brought new trade. The main offices of the Stark Electric are in Alliance, where they have an elegant building upon Main Street, used for office purposes and waiting rooms. The employes of the road live in Alliance. At the present time C. R. Morley is president of the road and F. L. Mowry, general manager. PIONEER PUBLIC SCHOOLS The slow but substantial development of the public schools of Stark County has already been described. It will do no harm, however, to recall the fact that in 1849 the State Legislature passed the act enabling boards of education to establish high schools and institutions of lower grade ; in other words, were authorized to form graded schools, and under that act the public schools of Alliance were organized in 1857. Previous to the passage of that organic school act, a number of buildings had been erected within the present limits of Alliance in the interests of popular education ; but they were only partially free, and defective both in teaching force and conveniences. The first school of record is said to have been held in a vacated cabin, in 1820, on land now owned by Clement Rockhill in the northwestern part of the city near Wayne Street. The teacher was Andy Murran. The second school was built in Williamsport, near the present waterworks, in 1828. The third school was on the present North Walnut Avenue, north of the C. & P. R. R., about No. 732. The fourth school was a brick building 18 by 24, built in 1847, and located on what is now North Freedom Avenue, between North Walnut and North Park avenues. Schools were held in these small structures about three months in every year and they were of sufficient capacity to meet the needs of the community. UNION SCHOOL BUILT In 1856 was undertaken a gigantic enterprise for Alliance, as it was then. The three school directors, representing the wishes of the people, built what is now equivalent to an eight-room building on the corner of North Park Avenue and Washington Street. This union school was the pride of Alliance for many years. It was the scene of some notable educational gatherings, James A. Garfield being one of the speakers. In 1892 the old building was torn down and replaced by No. 1 building of eight rooms, but the trees planted in 1857 still remain. A two-room 424 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY brick schoolhouse was erected on East Market Street between Park and Union avenues in 1867 and was continued in use for nearly twenty years, when it was sold and removed. In 1869 a similar building was erected on North Franklin Avenue. It was replaced in 1892 by a six-room building on the same site. In 1870 another two-room school was built on Linden Avenue and was known as the "Lamborntown school." It was continued in use until 1888, when it was sold and converted into (PICTURE) ALLIANCE HIGH SCHOOL residence property. A six-room building was built on the corner of Broadway and Park in 1876 and is now known as Building No. 5. THE HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING In 1887 occurred a very important transaction in the way of acquiring school property, and that was the purchase of the Alliance College Building and its square of ground. Permission to purchase was submitted to a vote of the people, and after a spirited discussion and much opposition, the vote was taken, resulting in 426 yeas to 276 nays. The board of education then purchased the property for $13,000 and expended $7,000 in necessary repairs. This building is now known as the High School Building and contains eleven school rooms and two office rooms. The third floor was formerly a large hall in which many notable gatherings with distinguished speakers were held. HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 425 ERECTION OF OTHER HOUSES In 1889 Building No. 3 was erected on Seneca Avenue, corner of East Cambridge Street. It contained four rooms, but additions have been made to it until it now contains eight rooms. By the annexation of Mount Union to Alliance in 1891, the four-room building on East State Street came into the school district, and is now known as Building No. 6. For several years it was thought advisable to annex East Alliance to the Alliance City School District, but the annexing was not accomplished until May, 1904. A petition of seventy-five voters residing in District No. 9 of Smith Township, was presented to the Alliance Board of Education, praying that their district be received into the Alliance district for school purposes. This petition was granted by a unanimous vote of the Alliance board. Later the board of education of Smith Township unanimously agreed to the petition, and the proper county authorities at Youngstown ratified the action. The old schoolhouse in 'East Alliance was abandoned and sold, and a new two-room building, known as No. 7, with all modern conveniences, was erected on the corner of South Mahoning and Oxford. District No. 9 is bounded on the north and east by the Mahoning River, on the south by the State Road, and on the west by the county line. BUILDINGS NOW OCCUPIED Since the establishment of the present school system the township has been divided into ten districts. As stated, the Union School of Alliance was organized in February, 1857, and the various buildings erected for educational purposes previous to the early '80s have already been noted. Only one public school now occupied is of that period, No. 5, corner of Park and Broadway, which was completed in 1876. The dates of the completion of the other buildings are as follows : Seneca Avenue, 1889 ; State Street, 1891; North Park, 1892 ; Franklin Avenue, 1892 ; Mahoning, 1904 ; South Lincoln, 1908 ; Freedom, 1911; High School, 1911 ; North Lincoln, 1914 ; Riverside, 1915. SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS The first superintendent of schools, J. K. Pickett, was elected in March, 1858, and his successors have been : George D. Hester, 1860-61; J. K. Pickett (second term), 1861-65; Jesse Markham, March-April, 1865 ; D. M. Miller, 1865-66 ; E. N. Johnson, Jr., 1866-67 ; W. H. Dressler, 426 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 1867-74 ; Charles Y. Kay, 1874-77 ; J. Fraise Richard, 1877-78 ; W. H. Dressler (second term), 1878-84; O. M. Coxen, 1884-85 ; C. C. Davidson, 1885-92; John E. Morris, 1892-1910 ; II. L. Eby, 1910-13; B. F. Stanton, 1913 to date. GROWTH OF THE SYSTEM In 1857, when the Alliance scholars were first graded, there were but 300 children in the Union School District. and but one building, the old Central School. And that was sufficient for some time. Superintendent Pickett had four assistants. The figures lately furnished the writer by Supt. B. F. Stanton indicate that the enrollment of the high school is now 592 and of the elementary grades 2,694. The Alliance High School of the present is in full standing as an important link in the chain of institutions forming the public educational system of the state and embracing elementary and high schools, and colleges and universities. Besides offering the regular classical and commercial courses of four years each it has recently introduced Spanish and has installed domestic science and manual training. THE ALLIANCE CARNEGIE FREE LIBRARY Through the courtesy of Miss Pearl E. Miller, librarian of the Carnegie Free Library of Alliance, the following sketch of that institution is presented : "An effort to have a school library was made in 1886 when the high school students joined in getting together a small collection of hooks. Donations were made by individuals and organizations among which was a large collection selected by the late T. R. Morgan, Sr., while on a visit to New York City. Money was raised by lecture courses. In 1893 a small charge was made for admission to high school commencement exercises and for several years an average of $100 per year was added to the income of the library from this source. The board of education, from time to time, made small appropriations, according to law, in small amounts varying from $150 to $300. "Up to the year 1900 the library was known as the School Library, because it was housed in the High School building and was generally managed and supported by school authority. In that year an entertainment was given by the Welsh population of the city which netted the library cause the sum of $500. As a result of the interest thus aroused it hereafter became known as the Public Library and its usefulness was extended. HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 427 "In 1903 a donation of $25,000 was made by Mr. Carnegie and the present building was erected. The library continues under the direction and management of the board of education, of whom a committee of two known as the library committee look after the wants of the library. There are now 9,000 volumes in the library." Credit for the initial inspiration which led to the collection of the first library is given to Leroy D. Brown, at the time state commissioner of schools, who, some time in 1886, delivered a lecture at the high school showing the advantages of having a good library accessible to both pupils and the public. Under the leadership of C. C. Davidson, then superintendent of schools, the movement started. Donations of books were soon forthcoming from individuals and social organizations, and money was raised for library purposes by banquets, entertainments, concerts and lecture courses. One of the largest individual donations came from the late T. R. Morgan, Sr., who presented a large collection of books made while on a visit to New York City. Since 1893 the admission charges to high school entertainments have formed a small but steady income in support of the library. Until February, 1900, the growing collection of books was known as the School Library, but at that time the Welsh people, which form such a large and strong element in the community, held their Eisteddfod, or song festival, in behalf of the library. The occasion was such a success that thereafter the enterprise was generally designated as the Public Library. Mr. Morgan, Matthew Early, C. C. Baker and other citizens continued to give of their money and time, so that the library moved along smoothly and steadily. Henry Griffith was the first regular librarian, after it became a settled public institution, although Lloyd Fording had been an attendant during the earlier period. Miss Louise Russell succeeded Mr. Griffith. MOVEMENT FOR A CARNEGIE LIBRARY The history of the movement which resulted in the erection of the beautiful building now occupied is given in a late industrial edition of the Allance Review : "About four years ago Dr. G. L. King made a motion in a meeting of the board of education that a committee on ways and means of supporting and conducting the library be appointed. This motion was seconded and carried, and the following gentlemen were appointed: John E. Morris, chairman ; S. J. Williams, C. C. Baker, W. H. Morgan, W. W. Cantine, E. E. Scranton, 0. U. Walker and A. B. Riker. The intention of Dr. King in making his motion was that the committee should 428 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY not only provide means for the temporary carrying out of the library, but that it should see what could be done toward securing a donation from Andrew Carnegie. On the 19th of April, 1900, the chairman of the committee, acting under instructions, wrote a letter to Mr. Carnegie, stating our needs in the matter of a library and trying to interest him in our city. No reply came to this letter and nothing further was done along this line for over two years. The task of raising money by lecture courses was so unpleasant, the needs of the library were so serious that the committee decided to call a meeting of several prominent citizens to counsel with them as to what ought to be done. The sense of this meeting was that the chairman should again write to Mr. Carnegie asking a donation. This was done and this time a reply was received from James Bertram, Mr. Carnegie's secretary, asking for a copy of the former letter with full particulars as to the situation in, and needs of, Alliance with reference to a library. After some further correspondence a letter was received bearing date of January 13, 1903, stating that 'if the city agree by resolution of council to maintain a free public library at a cost of not less than $2,000 a year and provide for a suitable site for the building, Mr. Carnegie would be pleased to furnish $20,000 to erect a free public' library building for Alliance.' "Just about the time that this promise was received the legislature of Ohio passed a law authorizing boards of education to maintain and control public libraries on the same conditions as councils had formerly done. This fact was communicated to Mr. Carnegie and he replied stating that if the city council would pass a resolution indorsing the pledge of the board of education to support the library he would be satisfied. The attention of the council was called to the matter and a resolution of concurrence was passed by unanimous vote. On April 2, 1903, a letter was received from R. A. Franks, of the Home Trust Company, of Hoboken, N. J., stating that he had 'been authorized by Mr. Carnegie to make payments to the extent of $20,000 for the erection of a library building at Alliance.' "The work of corresponding for the donation was now nearly done, but at a meeting of the library committee and after consultation with other friends of the movement, it was decided that $20,000 was not enough to erect such a building as we needed. Accordingly correspondence was opened up again to secure $10,000 more. For a time the wheels were blocked and things were at a standstill. However, matters so shaped around that the committee secured the promise of an additional $5,000 on condition of an additional increase in the promised support of the library. This arrangement was soon made and the library committee met for the last time to tender its resignation to the board of HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 429 education. The resignation was accepted with thanks and congratulations, and the care of the library was entirely turned over to the board of education. How well the board of education has done its work the present beautiful building will testify." The cost of the building, with furnishings, but exclusive of the site, was nearly $26,000, and the architect was W. S. Epperson, of Alliance. The library is built of light brown brick, with Indiana limestone trimmings, and has a roof of tile, while the dome is covered with, copper. The exterior results are harmonious and rich. The library is under the control of the board of education of this city. At the beginning of each year the president of the board, who is now Mr. G. W. Henry, appoints a library committee consisting of two members who look after the needs of the library. The library committee is composed of Miss Mabel Hartzell and Mr. John S. Garman. THE WATERWORKS The Alliance City Waterworks, representing a municipal system, have been built on a generous scale, keeping pace with the growing city and abreast of the sanitary demands of the times. The original works were built in 1883 by J. A. Cloud, a civil engineer of Philadelphia. After the works were in good working order, in 1885, they were sold to Daniel Runkle, of New York City, and from that date until 1899 were operated by the Alliance -Waterworks Company. On April 1st of that year they became municipal property at a purchase price of $198,000. The first superintendent of the waterworks under private ownership was T. C. Lewis. After the city purchased the system it was placed in charge of a board of trustees, of which C. C. Baker was president. John Bracher was chosen superintendent of the works. When the works were first built very little of the Mahoning River water was used. The plant was operated about five hours per day and two days in the week, pumping about 100,000 gallons each time. This amount was gradually increased until in 1890 the average amount pumped was 250,000 gallons daily, eight hours per day. The year 1892 marked the first period of decisive improvements. New buildings for boilers and pumps were erected, a new 2,000,000-gallon Worthington pump was installed, five miles of mains were laid, the water pressure was increased from 75 to 125 pounds and the old standpipe was moved from the corner of Broadway and Freedom to Arch Street. The improvements made at that time cost the old water company $45,000. The growth of the waterworks since their purchase by the city in 1899 has been rapid. In 1899 the daily amount of water pumped was about 430 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY 1,200,000 gallons. In 1902 over 1,700,000 gallons were pumped daily and it therefore became necessary to install a new pump and lay a new main pipe from the pumping station to the city ; 4,200 feet of sixteen-inch main pipe were laid. A new 4,000,000-gallon pump was installed and the old 2,000,000-gallon pump was put in thorough repair and a number of minor extensions made. It was now thought that the waterworks plant was amply large to supply the city for years to come. But this was only the beginning of its growth. New additions have been laid out in all directions, keeping far in advance of the waterworks system, and it has been difficult to lay water mains fast enough to keep up with the rapid municipal growth. A. W. Inman is superintendent of the works. (PICTURE) DAM ON THE MAHONING RIVER, ALLIANCE The growth of the Alliance Waterworks in detail cannot be given here, as it would be of no interest but to a very limited class, but through the kindness of City Auditor Charles O. Silver an adequate general picture is presented. The City of Alliance obtains its supply of water principally from the Mahoning River. The water is pumped from the river by the centrifugal pumps into a settling basin, from where it flows by gravity through the filters into a clear well, and from this well is pumped by the steam pumps directly into the mains for distribution. An additional supply can be obtained from five wells located in the vicinity of the pumping station, but this water is not used except when a sufficient supply can not be obtained from the river. HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 431 The pump at the Booster Station is fed from a twelve-inch main, leading directly from the pumping station, and forces the water into the distributing mains, which supplies the hill-top section of the city, and also the new standpipe which is situated in this section. During the past two years the capacity and efficiency of the waterworks have been greatly increased by a large filter plant and what is known as the Westville reservoir ; the former was completed in 1913 and the reservoir is nearly finished (fall of 1915). The waterworks equipment, as specified by the auditor, is as follows : One 5,000,000-gallon double compound "Prescott" steam pumping engine. Installed in 1909. One 4,000,000-gallon cross compound "Worthington" pumping engine. Installed in 1902. One 2,000,000-gallon cross compound "Worthington" pumping engine. Installed in 1892. Two 6,000,000-gallon "Lawrence" centrifugal pumps. Installed in 1913. Three vacuum pumps. One 500 cubic feet air compressor, used only when necessary to operate wells. One small steam engine and electric generator, used to make current for lighting pumping station. Two, 250 horse power each, "Wicks" vertical water tube boilers, built in 1907. Two, 250 horse power each, "McNaull" horizontal water tube boilers, built in 1911. Two boiler feed pumps. Filter plant—One 6,000,000 filter complete, built in 1913 ; one 1,000,000-gallon Sturtevant centrifugal pump, installed in 1913 and used in pumping water to clean filter basins. Booster Station—One 1,000,000-gallon DeLavel pump connected to a thirty horse power Westinghouse motor, installed in 1912; average number of gallons of water pumped per twenty-four hours, 4,500,000. All of the above equipment is apparently in good condition. During the year 1913 a new standpipe having a capacity of 250,000 gallons was built. The old standpipe is also being used, but this was made smaller, and has a capacity now of only about 175,000 gallons. The total valuation of the waterworks system in January, 1914, was given as $359,357.12, the chief items of that sum being as follows: Pumping station, $72,700 ; filtration plant, $65,450; distribution system, $153.630; Westville reservoir, $35,857. The 3,500 consumers brought $56,000 into the city treasury, and the total expenses for operating. the 432 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY water system amounted to $48,774. It is interesting to know that the free-water service amounts to $13,882. That item includes the supply to eight school buildings, three fire stations and 330 fire hydrants, city hall and jail, city hospital, public library and fourteen churches. The fire department, with which the waterworks are so closely identified, is well organized. The city is divided into four fire districts, with alarm boxes at convenient localities. In short, both police and fire departments are fully able to protect life, limb and property. THE CITY HOSPITAL The City Hospital is under the management of the Reformed Deaconess Home and Hospital Association, which was formed in January, 1900. After many vexatious delays a suitable location was secured on College Street ; possession was obtained of the premises in December of that year, and the first patient, a young man of the Catholic faith, was admitted January 14, 1901. The formal opening of the institution, which is controlled by the Reformed Church of the United States, took place April 17, 1901, and was attended by several hundred people. Rev. H. E. Kilmer was elected the first superintendent. In 1903 the charter of the institution was amended, giving the association the right to conduct a training school for deaconesses and nurses. The objects of the institution, as set forth in the constitution, are to care for the sick physically and needy, whether physically or spiritually, and to engage in such other forms of charitable and benevolent work which may commend themselves to the association. A BLOODLESS OPERA HOUSE DISASTER Alliance had a bloodless opera house disaster on June 2, 1886. It resulted in the complete destruction of a fine $80,000 building which had been erected eighteen years before. The building from the time of its opening, although attractive in appearance, was never considered safe. Various errors in the construction made it so. Ten years after it had been built it was sold for $9,000. The third floor of the building was occupied by the opera house auditorium, capable of accommodating 1,500 people. The two lower floors were occupied by offices and stores. On the morning of June 2, 1886, it was noticed that the doors opened and shut with difficulty. Investigation resulted in the occupants of the second floor being order to vacate. Later in the afternoon, watchers saw fragments of brick begin to HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 433 fall. The alarm was spread throughout the building. As the last person fled from the structure the walls began to crumble. They swayed for an instant, then toppled and with a mighty roar the building sank in a vast heap, a worthless pile of debris. Fear that some of the occupants might not have escaped led to an investigation which, however, proved that no one was dead or even injured. PAST AND PRESENT CORPORATION Alliance has enjoyed good municipal government and all its departments have been developed carefully and consistently. Its mayors have been gentlemen of high standing, drawn from both the professional and business classes. Among those best known may be mentioned Harvey Laughlin, who served in 1854, 1855, 1857, 1858, 1870 and 1871; Simon Johnson, 1860, 1873, 1881, 1883 ; Henry Buck, 1866 and 1867 ; Joseph Barnaby, 1863, 1864, and 1877; B. F. Trescott, 1894 and 1896, and 0. U. Walker, 1900, 1902 and 1904. The contrast in the municipal conditions prevailing when Alliance commenced its corporate career and those of the present day is well illustrated by the little town hall which J. T. Weybrecht erected for $5,000 and the massive and elegant city hall, which at this writing (fall of 1915) has been nearly completed at a cost of $100,000. MOUNT UNION COLLEGE By Isaac Taylor Hcadland, Ph. D., D. D., Lit. D. "Individuals perish : institutions survive." This was a frequent saying of the founder of Mount Union College, which for seventy years has held aloft the lamp of learning at Alliance, Stark County, Ohio. THE FOUNDER The Rev. Orville Nelson Hartshorn, D. D., LL. D., the founder of Mount Union College, was born August 20, 1823, in Nelson, Portage County, Ohio, and grew up on his father's farm. He was taught by his mother at home, in public school and in Sunday school. He then attended a select school at Deerfield, spent three years at Linnaean Academy at Atwater, and finally entered Allegheny College. In 1846 he returned from college without money, driving from Meadville with John B. York, later a professor in the college, and was called to Mount Union by the illness of his sister, who urged him to open a school, and HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY - 435 dining with Harriet Hare and John Hare, her husband, who kept a tavern on the southeast corner of the square, he told them of his desire to start a school. SEMINARY AND NORMAL SCHOOL Harriet offered to send four children; he got two others, and then "Uncle" Ellis Johnson allowed him to use the third floor of the old woolen mill, where he opened his school with six pupils. This school developed into Mount Union Seminary and Normal School in 1849, and a literary society, which had been organized in 1846, became the Republican Literary Society, December 15, 1849, and moved with the seminary into the yellow frame building on State Street in 1851. In April, 1854, the society became so large that it had to swarm, and the Linnaean Society was the result. Another division of the two societies occurred in 1876 and the Cosmian Society was formed with its home in the chapel. The Republican and the Linnaean Literary societies continue at the present time. COLLEGE On December 4, 1857, a meeting was called and 0. N. Hartshorn offered to turn over the property he had accumulated in the seminary in consideration of the establishment of a college to be called Mount Union College. Three other meetings were held December 12, December 30, 1857, and January 10, 1858, at which were present : 0. N. Hartshorn, Ira 0. Chapman, G. W. Clarke, E. N. Hartshorn and Robert R. Hilton. FINANCES On December 12, 1857, the property turned over to the college was appraised by Daniel Fitzpatric, William Antram and C. C. Cook as follows:

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436 - HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY