Publisher’s Note: Realizing that many Richland Countians are now working from home or forced to remain there due to self-quarantining or reduced travel, we are sharing stories from our archives, and adding some new ones, over the next few weeks in what we hope will be occasional diversions from coronavirus worries. This post was published by 1812Blockhouse back in June 2017:
This stately home on Park Avenue West was built by a man with a sterling reputation in the community.
His name was Silas Marion Douglas, but around Mansfield he was commonly referred to as “Judge Douglas.” He was born in January, 1853 in Monroe Township, Richland County, and was a graduate of both Heidelberg College in Tiffin and the Cincinnati Law College. More…
Publisher’s Note: Realizing that many Richland Countians are now working from home or forced to remain there due to self-quarantining or reduced travel, we are sharing stories from our archives, and adding some new ones, over the next few weeks in what we hope will be occasional diversions from coronavirus worries. This post was published by 1812Blockhouse back in early 2019:
Over the last two centuries, Richland County has produced a remarkable set of individuals who have led lives of discovery. In the nineteenth century, that included men and women who traveled west where they were engaged in the exploration of areas of the country that were not then well known to Americans.
Once such individual was Olin Dunbar Wheeler. More…
Publisher’s Note: Realizing that many Richland Countians are now working from home or forced to remain there due to self-quarantining or reduced travel, we are sharing stories from our archives, and adding some new ones, over the next few weeks in what we hope will be occasional diversions from coronavirus worries. This post was published by 1812Blockhouse back in late 2018:
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. More…
Famous Sons and Daughters, Mansfield History, Richland Roots
Editor’s Note: In early 2017, 1812Blockhouse published posts looking at the history of Mansfield and Richland County as that history is revealed on maps – maps of the area, county, and nation. We are repeating those posts this spring and adding to them with additional maps and local history.
Students of local lore will know that the city of had its origins in June of 1808 when the Hedges, Newman, and Larwell families platted a settlement and named it for US Surveyor General Jared Mansfield. More…
Timing sometimes comes into play here at 1812Blockhouse. This weekend, the serendipity was startling and a wee bit mysterious.
On Sunday, we ran our latest post in the Landmarks of Mansfield series, this one focusing on the beautiful Mansfield Savings Bank Building at the corner of Fourth and Main. That same afternoon, an 1812 reader — in fact, the sister of the Publisher of 1812Blockhouse — happened to be looking through a box of family photographs which were interspersed with paper “ephemera,” that is, announcements and news clippings and, as it turns out, postcards. More…
A building with a rich past and an unknown future, the Mansfield Savings Bank Building sits majestically on the northwest corner of North Main and West Fourth Streets, anchoring the Carousel District and serving as a backdrop for civic festivals and events.
For those who visit, the inside of the building matches the extraordinary presence of the exterior. More…
Featured, Landmarks, Landmarks of Mansfield, Mansfield History
In a special edition of our “When Mansfield Welcomed” series, and in honor of President’s Day, we look at the visit of a US presidential candidate that took place 60 years ago.
On September 27, 1960, with just about 6 weeks left to go before Election Day, Senator John Kennedy of Massachusetts visited the Richland County Courthouse in Mansfield to give a speech and give voters a chance to size him up. As a part of the famous Kennedy family he was already well-known, but being able to see him in person would allow Richland Countians to evaluate him as a possible President of the United States. More…
Elections, Featured, Mansfield History, When Mansfield Welcomed
Do you read the latest post in the Mansfield/Richland County Public Library’s Sherman Room blog? It’s so good!
Since the Sherman Room is focus on preserving our history and genealogy, that’s what the blog focuses on too. Their latest is a story about a Mansfield lawyer and mayor, Patrick Purdy Hull, who went to California during the gold rush and ended up marrying a woman who – in her short but colorful life – was the mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria. More…
John Philip Sousa was a musician whose reputation remains strong almost a century after his death.
The scene must have been extraordinary that late October evening in 1892, over 125 years ago, when Sousa came to town. The venue was the brand-new Memorial Opera House, a 565 seat auditorium situated in what was later the site of the Madison Theatre, and is now the parking lot of the Solders and Sailors Memorial Building on Park Avenue West. More…
If you are familiar with the memorials that dot Central Park in downtown Mansfield, then you already know that one of those monuments honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for whom this Monday is a national holiday in which we celebrate his importance and his legacy.
The monument to Dr. King was a labor of love that began over 20 years ago, with the 1999 formation of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Recognition Committee. The group was created between 1998 and 1999, after failed attempts to persuade the City to memorialize King through, for example, renaming a section of U.S. Route 30 in his honor. More…
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About, Mansfield History, Monuments
A man once described by Winston Churchill as “Scotland’s greatest ever ambassador” included Mansfield among places he visited during his storied career.
At the time of his March 1916 visit, Harry Lauder was already the highest paid performer in the world. His visit took place at a time of increased anxiety in America, as the county was involved in arming the Allies in World War 1 but was still several months away from joining the fray. More…
Sometimes, if you wait long enough, some of the best things in life can be yours at no cost.
With the coming of the new year, that includes a treasure trove of American literature, films, and other items that have now had their copyrights lapse due to inaction by the US Congress, and have now entered the public domain. This year, that means works produced in the year 1924.
The same year, mind you, that Mansfielder Louis Bromfield’s first book was published. More…
Featured, Louis Bromfield, Mansfield History, Oak Hill Cottage
The Mansfield News Journal recently ran an interesting article about lack of mid-tier housing in Mansfield (that story can be read here). Hopefully this means that our local economy is on the upswing, as the article asserts that the housing shortage is caused by low jobless rate and low interest rates. But it also got us thinking about a time in Mansfield’s past, or – more correctly – the country’s past, when there was not enough housing for everyone. More…
History & Tourism, Holidays, Literary Mansfield
NOTE: First published during our first Christmas in 2016, this look at Louis Bromfield and Christmas has become an annual tradition. We’ll be running this story through Christmas Day. A very Merry Christmas to you from 1812Blockhouse!
There is no question that Pulitzer Prize-winner and Mansfielder Louis Bromfield was a fan of the holidays.
During the period of time that Bromfield lived there, Malabar Farm was an active place during the Christmas season. More…
Authors and Poets, Featured, Literary Mansfield, Mansfield History
