As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “We are not makers of history. We are made by history.”
Mansfielders and visitors to the city now have the opportunity to gain a more complete understanding of that relationship. In an announcement earlier this week, Downtown Mansfield, Inc. (DMI) announced the launch of an innovative tool for learning about local history.
The organization shared that “utilizing geographical and mapping data, DMI has created a quick and easy outlet to learn the histories of local buildings, as well as offering photos and an immediate source for directions.
The map offers color-coated thumbnails to direct users to each downtown district, as well as many locations outside of downtown. When a user selects each thumbnail, an information box will appear with photos, the building’s published history, the name of the original author and directions to each location.”
To view the new map, visit the DMI website at www.downtownmansfield.com, click on “PRESERVATION” in the top menu, and then again on “Historic Map.” Clicking on any icon will bring up the thumbnails referred to above.
Map viewers can also participate in the process of sharing information by contacting the organization with details on a particular property. To do so, contact DMI directly at: [email protected].
This was made possible by DMI’s partnership with the Ohio History Connection and funds from ServeOhio, which administers the AmeriCorps program. Across Ohio, members in AmeriCorps programs similar to DMI work hard to help solve Ohio’s critical economic challenges by providing direct service to the each individual community. Traci Willis is DMI’s AmeriCorps representative for the 2016-2017 term.
