On a couple of occasions during the 28 previous entries in our “Landmarks of Mansfield” series, we have referred to a particular building as a “survivor.”
That description could certainly be used for the structure we focus on today. Downtown Mansfield has seen several department stores come and go, but only a couple of their former homes remain. One is a Civil War era building that once housed the city’s home-grown dry goods retailer still stands sentinel over the Square and Central Park.
Mansfield’s first store stood in roughly the same spot as the Reed’s Building does today, built about 1810 and owned by Samuel Martin. Martin actually once got into some trouble for selling whiskey to local Native Americans, a “no no” at the time, and was forced to leave town.
When the current building was constructed during the Civil War, it was home to the Sturges Book Store and Sturges and Wood Dry Goods Store. A “dry goods store” in the 19th century roughly parallels what we would refer to as a “department store” today, and concentrated on textiles, clothing, sundries, and home furnishings.
In 1865, Lieutenant Horace LaFayette Reed came to Mansfield following his service in the Union Army. Here, he went into business with his brother J.H. Reed, who also ran a bookstore. The brothers remained in business together for another 10 years, before H.L. Reed went into the dry goods business with other partners. Reed would eventually buy out the Sturges store, take over that location, and Reed’s became Mansfield’s signature home-owned department store until its closure in 1993.
Reed himself was originally from Rootstown, Ohio, and was born about 1840. He was wounded at a battle in North Carolina, with gunshot wounds in both legs below the knees. By end of the 19th century, H.L. Reed was known as “Old Reliable,” as was his store. Reed died in 1915 and is buried in Mansfield Cemetery.
Reed’s was enlarged and remodeled in 1902 with a “new electric elevator” to its second and third floors. An orchestra played during a community open house to show off the renovations.
The Reed’s Building is a unique specimen of mid 19th century commercial architecture. The three story brick building has tall, somewhat narrow windows on the upper floors with segmented arch tops, which suggest the Italianate form of architecture that was popular across America for residential and commercial structures.
At some point, the original first floor windows were removed and replaced with a standard stone storefront and picture windows across the length and width of the building.
What sets the Reed’s Building apart is the exuberance of the brickwork, stone banding, and stone finials in its upper most areas; the decoration appears to be almost draped like a curtain. Clearly this was a building which was designed to stand out – almost its own trademark, the perfect thing for a retail operation. And, not surprisingly, early renderings dating back to the time of Sturges operation emphasize this unique feature.
The Reed’s Building now houses Ed Pickens Café on Main.
Click here to read about the 28 other Landmarks of Mansfield.
