Here at 1812Blockhouse, we enjoy stepping back in time to try to get a feel for the Richland County of long ago.
So this holiday, join us for a trip through Thanksgivings past… More…
Featured, Mansfield History, Richland County History, Thanksgiving
By Thomas Palmer
This is a new series on 1812Blockhouse, “It Happened in Richland.” From time to time, we will be sharing interesting tidbits of Richland County history or, as in this post, a series relating to one topic.
As local historians know, the County’s boundaries changed more than once in its first decades. To the west, this meant that places like Crestline and Galion were established not in Crawford County, but in Richland. In turn, this means that much of the very early history of those communities was tied to Mansfield, not Bucyrus.
In this short series, which runs each Friday, we will look at an even earlier settlement that was lost to history until it was “rediscovered” in the Richland County Courthouse.
This is Part Two. Click to read Part One and Part Two.
More…
By 1812Blockhouse
The Malabar Farm Foundation, WOSU, and Mansfield/Richland County Public Library are joining The Ohio State University at Mansfield in hosting “Bromfield Anniversary Week,” a commemoration of what would have been the Pulitzer Prize-winning author’s 125 birthday.
Events are taking place at Malabar Farm and at other Bromfield-related location. The general list of events is as follows:
Saturday November 13 & Sunday November 14 at 4050 Bromfield Road, Lucas – At 11 AM and 2 PM – Big House Tours at Malabar Farm State Park (Small charge for tour) Visit the place that inspired Bromfield’s dream of sustainable agriculture.
More…
By Thomas Palmer
This is a new series on 1812Blockhouse, “It Happened in Richland.” From time to time, we will be sharing interesting tidbits of Richland County history or, as in this post, a series relating to one topic.
As local historians know, the County’s boundaries changed more than once in its first decades. To the west, this meant that places like Crestline and Galion were established not in Crawford County, but in Richland. In turn, this means that much of the very early history of those communities was tied to Mansfield, not Bucyrus.
In this short series, which runs each Friday, we will look at an even earlier settlement that was lost to history until it was “rediscovered” in the Richland County Courthouse.
This is Part Two. The first post in this series can be read here.
More…
By Thomas Palmer
With this post, we add a new series to 1812Blockhouse, “It Happened in Richland.” From time to time, we will be sharing interesting tidbits of Richland County history or, as in this post, a series relating to one topic.
As local historians know, the County’s boundaries changed more than once in its first decades. To the west, this meant that places like Crestline and Galion were established not in Crawford County, but in Richland. In turn, this means that much of the very early history of those communities was tied to Mansfield, not Bucyrus.
In this short series, which will run each Friday, we will look at an even earlier settlement that was lost to history until it was “rediscovered” in the Richland County Courthouse.
More…
By 1812Blockhouse
Part One of our first Richland Roots profile on Mansfield native Lloyd Garrison Wheeler can be accessed here.
When Lloyd and Ranie Wheeler made their move to from Illinois to Arkansas in 1870, they had good timing. Just one year later, 3.3 square miles of the central part of Chicago were destroyed by fire.
On the other hand, Reconstruction-era Arkansas was a very difficult location for Wheeler as he set out to establish a law practice. Family legend says that a billy club found within his effects after his death was protection in case he might become the target of Ku Klux Klan activity. More…
By 1812Blockhouse
Shortly before his death in 1909, a husband, a Mansfield native, and wife from Chicago boarded a train and headed south, their destination a relatively new place of higher education in rural Alabama. The couple was no stranger to southern life, having spent years living in Arkansas some three decades before. On this occasion, however, the man was leaving behind a set of business difficulties and accepting a position which had been offered to him by a long-time friend. More…
By 1812Blockhouse
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 called “Richland Roots.” For other Richland Roots stories, click here.
There are children who you would imagine will live or have lived interesting lives because of their names. Blessed with obviously creative parents, they set out on journeys that take them to places as unique as their monikers.
Such is the case with a set of children born in Richland County in the first half of the nineteenth century, the Poppletons. More…
By 1812Blockhouse
The past will come alive in Mansfield’s South Park this coming weekend as REACH (Richland Early American Center for History) presents its Fifth Annual American Heritage Days.
Join REACH members on October 2 and 3 from 10 AM to 4 PM to discover what it was like to live in early America during the 18th and 19th centuries from living historical reenactors.
Throughout the day there will be crafts, trades, demonstrations, and activities, including blacksmithing, 18th century bagpipe demonstrations, games and children’s activities, open hearth cooking demonstrations, and civilian and military reenactments.
More…
By 1812Blockhouse
It’s likely the only opportunity of its kind in Ohio to indulge in a bit of treasure hunting.
Get a sense of the excitement your Richland County ancestors felt when the Buckeye Chapter of the Gold Prospectors Association of America host Ohio Gold Rush Days during Labor Day Weekend. More…
By 1812Blockhouse
Richland County has produced or been the home to a wide variety of individuals that have made important contributions to local, state, or national history. 1812Blockhouse has been sharing their stories in a series called “Richland Roots.” This is a brand new post; for other Richland Roots stories, click here.
Today on 1812Blockhouse we look at the remarkable life of a local man whose life took many twists and turns.
His name was John Whitnah Leedy, and he was born near Bellville on March 8, 1849. His paternal grandfather John Leedy had come to southern Richland County about 1815; his father Samuel Leedy was known as a singer and tavern keeper. More…
All About Richland, History & Tourism
By 1812Blockhouse
The local Plymouth landmark known as the Tubbs-Sourwine House has long had a connection with the rail line it faces.
Constructed on a rise at 49 Railroad Street between 1867 and 1870, it was originally the home of Henry Bitley Tubbs and Eve Reed Tubbs. More…
By 1812Blockhouse
Here are the answers to our quiz posted yesterday about an icon of early local history, John Chapman, also known as Johnny Appleseed. Give yourself one point for each correct answer and see how you fared.
Answer: A bag of appleseeds, of course
Answer: 1838. Some have the date as 1840, but the majority of sources specifically state 1838.
Woodland Road
Answer: Johnny believed in the sacred nature of all animals. He did not light campfires fearing that bugs might fly in and be burned alive.
Answer: 1953, it replaced a much earlier monument (erected in 1900).
Answer: Shrewd
Answer: It is 30 miles long
Answer: Oak Hill Cottage
Score:
1-4 — Seedling
4-5 — Sprout
6-7 — Apple tree
8-9 — Orchard
10 — Forest
Johnny Appleseed, Johnny Appleseed Historic Byway, Richland County History
By 1812Blockhouse
This is the second in a quiz series on all things local. Our first quiz last August looked at Richland County geography.
That quiz can be accessed here.
Today we are looking at an icon of early local history, John Chapman, also known as Johnny Appleseed, through a set of ten questions. We will be sharing the answers tomorrow here on 1812Blockhouse.
More…Johnny Appleseed, Johnny Appleseed Historic Byway, Richland County History
By 1812Blockhouse
We’re doing a bit of a “spin” today on one of our standard series.
Throughout the lasts five years, we have highlighted stories of visits to Mansfield by important figures of literary, academic, artistic, and political history in a series we call “When Mansfield Welcomed.” Through those posts, we have looked back in time to consider all of the well-known individuals who have stopped in the city.
There are, of course, other communities in Richland County, and in fact one was well-positioned on the main railroad line between Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati — basically the “I71” of its day, a line which would come to be called the Big Four Railroad. More…
Featured, Richland County History, Shelby History, When Richland Welcomed
