The township that gave Alliance its start
Lexington Township is where much of Alliance began. The Rodman Public Library’s history traces the pieces: Quakers Amos Holloway and Nathan Gaskill, two Virginians, platted the town of Lexington on the Mahoning River in 1807, expecting the river to be dredged for shipping. It never was. Williamsport followed in 1827, Mount Union in 1833 (half of it in this township), Freedom in 1838, and Mathias Hester platted the original Alliance in 1850. Freedom, the first Alliance, Williamsport and Mount Union’s township half all became the City of Alliance.
That’s why census tables look strange. The township counted 29,074 people in 1960, when Alliance was included, and 5,975 in 1970. The 2020 census counted 4,925.
Two other early settlements stayed outside the city. David Holloway founded Lima in 1830, later renamed Limaville, and its mills closed in the late 1800s. A mill built on the Mahoning in 1818, near the present city water works, ran for more than 80 years; for most of its last 15 it was a flour mill run by John and Ed Cyrus, two Black men.
Stark County’s only Mahoning County neighbor
Lexington Township is in the northeast corner of Stark County and is the only township in the county that borders Mahoning County. Portage County’s Atwater and Deerfield townships are to the north and northeast, Smith Township in Mahoning County to the east, Alliance to the southeast, Washington Township to the south and Marlboro Township to the west. Limaville sits in the north and Bolton near the center.
Water is part of the landscape. About 1.7 of the township’s 24.7 square miles is water. Deer Creek Reservoir lies about a mile east of Limaville and 5 miles north of Alliance, with 314 acres of fishing water and about 8 miles of shoreline; the City of Alliance runs a small concession by the boat ramp.
Lexington Township housing in numbers
Lexington Township has the lowest median rent of Stark County’s 17 townships and one of the higher vacancy rates. Census estimates for 2020-2024:
- About 2,469 housing units, with a median year built of 1967.
- About 19% built in 1939 or earlier.
- About 86% single-family detached and about 6% mobile homes.
- About 80% owner-occupied and about 10% vacant.
- A median home value of about $171,900 (owner estimate) and a median gross rent of about $741.
Limaville’s few dozen homes are much older; its median year built is 1938, though the sample is tiny. If your house is updated, near the reservoir or on good acreage, listing is likely to net more. When a house has sat empty, needs systems replaced, or has tenants you’d rather not manage through a sale, a direct buyer is worth comparing. See selling a house with tenants.
Why Stark County inspects septic systems
The county’s septic inspection at sale exists to keep untreated or partly treated sewage out of the county’s waterways, which matters in a township drained by the Mahoning River and holding a reservoir. Every house on a household sewage system has needed the inspection before transfer since 2008.
The useful part for sellers: if the system fails, replacement can take several weeks but may be done after the transfer. A buyer who takes the house as-is can close and handle the work. See selling a house with septic problems.
Marlington schools
The township is in Marlington Local Schools, whose name joins Marlboro and Lexington. Lexington Elementary serves the township, and Marlington High School sits on Moulin Avenue NE in Lexington Township, just outside Alliance’s limits.
For the city, see our Alliance page; for the county, the Stark County page. For a number on your Lexington Township house, request a written offer.