With recent news in local media profiling improvements made at Raemelton Therapeutic Equestrian Center, including the addition of a second arena and a new entrance for the facility on Marion Avenue, we thought that we would reshare this post and set of photos taken by us during last May’s RichHistory Weekend:
As Sunday afternoon’s tour neared its end, guide Liberty Combs noted how fitting it was that the vision of industrialist Frank Black for an equestrian center is being carried forward, one hundred years later.
Raemelton Therapeutic Equestrian Center opened its doors on Saturday and Sunday as a part of RichHistory Weekend. The tours that were provided showcased both the effective therapeutic work being carried out there and also the unique history which connects Raemelton to the wider story of Mansfield.
Included were visits to the large barn, the present version of which dates to 1939; the long shed barn; and the 1930 riding hall. In each, original fixtures, woodwork, fittings, and design abounds. Many of the buildings are painted yellow and white; yellow was the favorite color of Jessie Baxter Black, Frank’s wife. Additional houses and buildings are included on the property.
Combs weaved the stories of the Blacks and their friends into her narrative. Many of those tales are connected to the history of Ohio Brass; at one point, she relayed, Black brought a young Charles Kelly King to the company and to Mansfield. King went on to develop and donate Kingwood Center to the community.
The Equestrian Center provides a powerful benefit to the Mansfield area. As its website states, “The mission of the Raemelton Therapeutic Equestrian Center is to provide equine assisted activities and therapies to individuals with physical, mental, social, emotional and sensory disabilities. Equine therapy provides whole-person therapy that assists individuals improve their gross and fine motor skills, articulation, posture and language abilities.”
The Farm now houses 25 horses and occupies over 35 acres. Several buildings on Raemelton Farm, named for the Black’s ancestral hometown in Ireland, are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photos from our visit our below; click each for a larger image.
