Craig S. Bara

A fascinating look at the industrialization of America, through railroad expansion, in the small Ohio town of Alliance. Includes archival photography and images.

According to local history, General Robinson, a railroad official from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, named this Ohio town Alliancein 1850. Known for a short time as The Crossing, Robinson believed that Alliance was a better name since the nation's two major railroads intersected here.

The name stuck, and in 1854, the communities of Williamsport, Freedom, and Liberty incorporated as the town of Alliance. In 1889, the Village of Mount Union was annexed and Alliance became a city. Not only did the railroads help form our community, they established Alliance as a city of industry. Even though the town has remained relatively small, with approximately 23,000 citizens in 1990, industry has played a vital role in the development of Alliance.

Many citizens attribute the strong leadership of the town's governing body to its industrial growth. This pictorial compilation documents the growth of the railroad and the stores and factories located along these railroad routes. Even today, the availability of trains and the intersection of key lines in Alliance is important to manufacturers.