By 1812Blockhouse
Each year, Preservation Ohio, the state’s original and oldest statewide historic preservation organization, compiles and publishes a list of Ohio’s Most Endangered Historic Sites.
The 2022 list, announced today, includes 13 locations around the Buckeye State including houses, a neighborhood, a church, a former county courthouse, a former school, a lake, and more.
And for 2022, that list includes a site in Mansfield for the very first time.
More…Announcements, Featured, Historic Preservation, Park Avenue West
By 1812Blockhouse
From time to time, we feature information here at 1812Blockhouse about interesting events and happenings within an easy drive of Richland County. We call this series “In Our Backyard.” Of course, we regularly feature the many extraordinary places to visit right here in Richland County and encourage our readers to get out and experience what is on offer in our own backyard.
Today we’re suggesting one of our shortest possible road trips — just 35 or so miles from Mansfield, and perhaps even a shorter driving distance from Bellville and Lexington. We’re also talking about a rarity — a brand new museum that commemorates the life of a President of the United States.
The Warren G. Harding Presidential Library & Museum has been the focus of local, regional, and national attention before and after its recent opening. More…
By 1812Blockhouse
If you live in Mansfield, there’s a chance that you might live near a residence that was bought out of a book.
A Sears catalog, to be exact.
With Sears in the news this last week with the impending closure of the store at Richland Mall, we are joining those reflecting back on the long history of that retail chain in Mansfield. One unique connection between the two was in the large number of houses which were purchased from Sears and erected along city streets.
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By: 1812Blockhouse
Throughout its history, Richland County has produced or been the home to a wide variety of individuals that have made important contributions to the world. 1812Blockhouse has been sharing their stories in a series we started last year called “Richland Roots.” For other Richland Roots stories, click here.
Occasionally, those tales take a tragic turn. During a film shoot in 1923, an aspiring actress suffered a gruesome fate that cut short what may well have been a brilliant career. This actress not only shared her name with the city of Mansfield, but it was the city that was the source of her professional name – Martha Mansfield. More…
All Things Business, History & Tourism
By 1812Blockhouse
Saturday brought the Secret City Tour sponsored by Downtown Mansfield, Inc., a component part of Saturday and Sunday’s RichHistory Weekend.
As in years past, a sampling of historic buildings in the downtown area were readied for these “sneak peek” tours. Buildings on this month’s edition included 87 West Fourth Street, 111 North Main Street (Second Floor), 137 North Main Street, 100 North Main (Second Floor), 130 North Main (Second Floor), 193 North Main, and 25 North Park.
The aim of the event is not only to provide an opportunity for Mansfielders and others to experience local history, but to demonstrate the potential of these spaces as redevelopment opportunities – the kinds of opportunities that can be fueled with recent downtown living grant funding provided by local civic leaders.
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By 1812Blockhouse
It’s a double post today in our “Everything You Always Wanted To Know About” and “Literary Mansfield” series — today looking at a work of fiction authored by a well-known Richland Countian.
What it was: The Green Bay Tree is the first novel written and published by author Louis Bromfield
When published: 1924
Age of Bromfield on publication: 28
More…Everything You Always Wanted To Know About, Literary Mansfield, Louis Bromfield
By 1812Blockhouse
In our Richland Roots series, we briefly present the lives of men and women from Richland County — either by birth, or residence — that have made important contributions to American history but who may not be household names. Other posts in our series can be viewed and read here.
Some of these individuals made names for themselves here at home. One such man was Samuel Stambaugh Bloom, who was a state legislator that helped to establish an important institution of higher education you may know (especially if you like anything Buckeye-related).
Bloom was born in Pennsylvania in 1834, and lost her mother shortly after his birth. After his grandfather died when Samuel was 19, he moved west to the then-village of Shelby, a place where his father had emigrated a decade earlier, permanently settling there in 1856. More…
By 1812Blockhouse, RichHistory Alliance
The second of Richland County’s two spring event weekends is upon us.
Last week. Mohican Wildlife Weekend wowed visitors with displays, exhibitions, and more. On May 7-8, it’s the turn of Richland County’s historical societies, preservation groups, and other past-related organizations to showcase their attractions and events during RichHistory Weekend.
RichHistory Weekend is organized by the RichHistory Alliance, which was formed as a partnership of museums and historical sites in Richland County with a mission to collaborate to discover, preserve, and share history in Richland County. Members collaborate and use their combined efforts to increase tourism and promote our history for all members of Richland County.
More…Featured, RichHistory Alliance, RichHistory Weekend, Richland County History
By: 1812Blockhouse
He was considered by many to be the greatest English actor of the nineteenth century. Yet underneath the veneer of accomplishment was someone who, it is said, never actually liked performing on the stage.
And on Thursday, March 30, 1916, he visited the city of Mansfield for the only time in his career. His performance that night was one in a series of highly significant moments in the worldwide history of theatre. More…
By 1812Blockhouse
It is very possible that in 2022, the majority of our readers will not immediately recognize the building built by the former Citizens Bank in Shelby, a pacesetting financial institution in its day.
On the other hand, if the name “The Vault” is mentioned instead, many will immediately realize that they not only know where today’s Landmark of Richland is, but that they have actually been inside to consume or beverage.
When the Board of Citizens Bank decided in 1910 to construct a permanent home for their almost 20-year-old institution, they chose a high profile location for that structure – the northwest corner of Main and Washington Streets in the heart of downtown Shelby.
More…Featured, Landmark of Richland, Richland County History, Shelby
By 1812Blockhouse
On a fall evening in 2016, the setting sun cast a golden glow on western facing buildings in Mansfield. Included among those was the Alexander Fraser House, sitting as it does on a rise on Park Avenue West overlooking the entrance to South Park (see photo above). More…
Special to 1812Blockhouse
If you’re looking for a fun, family-friendly, and educational event, and let’s be honest, just want to get outdoors, you won’t want to miss the annual Mohican Wildlife Weekend. The 2022 weekend event takes place this weekend, April 22-24.
The Mohican Wildlife Weekend has been held for over 20 years and continues to draw visitors from the community and around Ohio. This event is perfect for families that are remote learners, homeschoolers, or just enjoy learning and spending time outdoors. While this event is family-friendly, couples and solo adults are also in the center of the action. The varied topics prevented ensure you’ll find topics that appeal to a wide age range.
Each year, the Mohican Wildlife Weekend chooses a different overall theme and opens with a key-note speaker. This year, the topic is Mohican Under the Stars. Key-note Speaker, Terri Mann, the President of the Dark-Sky Association will kick off this popular event at the Warren Rupp Observatory during Friday Night’s Reception.
By 1812Blockhouse
Through our “Literary Mansfield” series, we take occasional looks at the lives and careers of those who have called Mansfield home at some point in their lives, and who have become known locally, regionally, or even nationally as authorst, poets, lyricisits, playwrights, or in other literary fields. Other posts in the series can be found here.
Today, we deviate just a bit by looking at the life of someone who may have never lived in Mansfield, but lies buried in Mansfield Cemetery and has strong familial connections to the city.
Her birth name was Mary Alice Norton, but her legions of fans know her by her pseudonym, Andre Norton. Other pseudonyms used by Norton included Andrew North and Allen Weston. More…
By 1812Blockhouse
NOTE: This is our traditional Easter Sunday post, which we are happy to share for the third consecutive year.
For the last 100 years, the 125 feet high towers of the landmark St. Peter’s Catholic Church have themselves done double duty, standing sentinel over the central part of Mansfield while at the same time encouraging passers-by to look in a heavenly direction.
The building sits near an intersection that has been home to a Catholic church and school for almost seventeen decades. The first local mass was celebrated in 1850, and the first church, purchased from the Presbyterians, was located on Mulberry Street just north of the current elementary school. More…
Featured, Landmarks, Landmarks of Mansfield, Mansfield St. Peter's
By 1812Blockhouse
UPDATED: The Mansfield Memorial Museum, housed in the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building, kicked off its 2022 last weekend with a new Westinghouse Appliance Exhibit. More information is available here (NOTE – This is behind the Mansfield News Journal paywall).
The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building, Park Avenue West’s Grand Old Lady, is both a local and statewide survivor. Since it opened in 1889, it has served veterans and the community well. Today it houses an extraordinary museum , provides character and dignity to Mansfield’s principal thoroughfare, and is a remarkable connection to what is arguably the most important conflict in American history.
In the years following the Civil War, the Ohio General Assembly passed laws which facilitated the financing and construction of buildings and monuments to serve and commemorate veterans of that conflict and earlier wars. Some cities, such as Sidney and Toledo, began local efforts even earlier. In total, 14 such structures were erected across the state.
More…Downtown, Landmarks, Landmarks of Mansfield, Mansfield History
