Mansfield, Ohio
Seal
Nickname: The Heart of Ohio
Location within the state of Ohio
Coordinates: 40°45′17″N 82°31′22″W / 40.75472, -82.52278
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Richland
Founded	1808
Incorporated	1828 (village)
-	1857 (city)
Government
- Mayor	Lydia J. Reid (D)
Area [1]
- City	sq mi (km²)
- Land	sq mi ( km²)
- Water	sq mi ( km²)
Elevation	ft ( m)
Population (2006)[2] [3]
- City
- Density	/sq mi (/km²)
- Metro
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	44900-44999
Area code(s)	419/567
FIPS code	39-471382
GNIS feature ID	10564103
Website: http://www.ci.mansfield.oh.us/

Mansfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Richland County⁶. The municipality is located in north-central Ohio in the western foothills of the Alleghenies, approximately 80 miles (129 km) southwest of Cleveland and 66 miles (106 km) northeast of Columbus.

It was founded in 1808 on a fork of the Mohican River in a hilly region surrounded by fertile farmlands, and became a manufacturing center owing to its location with numerous railroad lines. After the decline of heavy manufacturing, the city's industry has since diversified into service economy, including retailing, education, and healthcare sectors.

The population was 49,346 at the 2000 census. In 2006 Mansfield had an estimated population of 50,212. According to the US Census 2006 estimate, the Mansfield, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area has a population of 127,010 residents, while the Mansfield-Bucyrus, OH Combined Statistical Area has 172,057 residents.^[4]

Mansfield's official nickname is "The Heart of Ohio". It is the largest city in the "Mid-Ohio" region of the state, the north-central region which is generally considered to extend from Marion, Delaware, Knox, Morrow, Crawford, Ashland and Richland counties in the south, to the Firelands area south of Sandusky in the north. Mansfield is also known as the "Carousel Capital of Ohio" and "Racing Capital of Ohio".^[5]

History

Mansfield was first settled in 1808 by Europeans and was named after Jared Mansfield, the U.S. surveyor-general who directed its planning.^[6] It was incorporated as a village in 1828 and as a city in 1857. The area that is now Richland County, so named for the descriptive of the fertile soil. During the War of 1812, the first courthouse of Richland County was one of two blockhouses erected on the downtown public square. The railroads came to the city in 1846, followed by the first road across America, the Lincoln Highway in 1913, smoothing the path for economic growth.

Geography

Topography

Aerial photo with points of interest

Mansfield is located at 40°45′17″N, 82°31′22″W (40.754856, -82.522855)¹, directly between Columbus and Cleveland, however, the city lies in the western foothills of the Alleghenies, and its elevation is among the highest of Ohio cities. The highest point in the city (1,492.66 feet or 454.96 meters above sea level) is at the Woodland reservoir in southwest Mansfield. The elevation of Central Park in downtown Mansfield is 1,242.66 feet (378.76 meters) above sea level.^{[citation needed]}

Mansfield is bordered by Madison Township to the east, northwest and southwest, Franklin Township to the north, Weller Township to the northeast, Washington Township to the south, Troy Township to the southwest, Springfield Township and the suburban city of Ontario to the west.

According to the United States Census Bureau,^[1] the city has a total area of 77.5 km² (29.9 mi²). All of it is land and none of the area is covered with water.

Climate

Mansfield has a humid continental climate, typical of the Midwestern United States. Lake Erie is only 38 miles (61 km) north of Mansfield and has some influence on the climate in winter. Winters are usually cold and dry but with frequent thaws and temperatures rarely drop below 0°F (–17°C). Springs are short with rapid transition from hard winter to pleasant, sometimes humid and muggy summers. Summer temperatures exceed 90°F (32°C) seven times a year on average.^[7] Fall usually is the dryest season with many clear warm days and cool nights. The highest recorded temperature was 105°F (40°C) on July 21, 1934, while the lowest recorded temperature was –26°F (–32°C) on January 15, 1929.^[8]

Cityscape

Welcome sign

Mansfield has several distinct neighborhoods. The Boulevards is an early 20th century residential neighborhood (now a historical preservation district). It has about 130 homes (some on double lots) located just south of Park Avenue West about a mile west of the city center. Glenwood and Parkwood Boulevards are main streets. Until 1937, the Boulevards was served by the Park Avenue West electric street car line.

Woodland, in the southwestern part of the city, is the largest residential neighborhood. Laid out as Woodland Farms in 1920 by its developer, James M. Dickson, it began to develop just before the Great Depression. Westinghouse opened its appliance demonstration model, the Home of Tomorrow, on Andover Road in February 1934. Dickson Park, adjacent to Woodland Elementary School on Davis Road, honors the developer. The Woodland reservoir (1928), at the southwestern edge of the neighborhood, is on Mansfield's highest elevation. The Mansfield Art Center, founded in 1945, is at the northwest edge of the neighborhood.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 49,346 people, 20,182 households, and 12,028 families residing in the city. The population density was 637.0/km² (1,649.8/mi²). There were 22,267 housing units at an average density of 287.4/km² (744.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 76.77% White, 19.65% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.63% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.56% from other races, and 2.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.23% of the population.

There were 20,182 households out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.5% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.4% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,176, and the median income for a family was $37,541. Males had a median income of $30,861 versus $21,951 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,726. About 13.2% of families and 16.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.5% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Mansfield Municipal Building

Mansfield's government is run by a mayor who is elected every four years and limited to a maximum of three terms. The current mayor is Lydia J. Reid, a Democrat who is currently in her third term.

City council is divided among six wards with two at-large seats and the council president.

Municipal elections for mayor, city council and council president are held in November of odd-numbered years to four-year term beginning on the following January 1., always one year before United States presidential elections.

Mayor Lydia J. Reid is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition^[12], a bi-partisan group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The Coalition is co-chaired by Boston, Massachusetts Mayor Thomas Menino and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Industry and business

Mansfield's greatest period of industrial development led by the city's stove manufacturing industries, including Westinghouse and the Tappan Company.^[13] By the late 1920s, Westinghouse had become the city's largest employer, specializing in electric lighting, industrial heating and engineering, and home appliances.^[14]

However, like many cities in the rust belt region of the Midwest, Mansfield saw a large decline in its manufacturing and retail sectors. Beginning with the steel Recession of the 1970s, the loss of jobs to overseas manufacturing, prolonged labor disputes, and deteriorating factory facilities all contributed to heavy industry leaving the area. Westinghouse, Tappan, Ohio Brass Company and many other manufacturing plants were either bought-out, relocated or closed, leaving only the AK Steel Plant in Mansfield and the General Motors Fisher Body Stamping Plant in neighboring Ontario as the last two remaining heavy industry employers. The AK Steel Plant, formerly Armco Steel, was the location of a violent 3-year United Steelworkers Union lock-out and strike from 1999 to 2002.^[15]

With the loss of the jobs, locally owned businesses in downtown Mansfield closed, as did much of the retail built in the 1960s along Park Avenue West (formerly known as "The Miracle Mile") and Lexington Avenue. New big-box retail and franchise restaurants have been built in the adjacent suburb of Ontario, which is on track to replace Mansfield as the major economic and retail center for Richland County and north-central Ohio.

The Gorman-Rupp Pumps Company.

The city has a sought to diversify its economy to become less dependent on its struggling manufacturing sector. Remaining manufactures in Mansfield include steel manufacturer AK Steel, Honda Supplier Newman Technology, Inc, thermostats manufacturer Therm-O-Disc^[16], pumps manufacturer The Gorman-Rupp Company^[17] and plumbing manufacturer Crane Plumbing.^[18]

Mansfield's healthcare industry includes MedCentral Health System, the city's largest employer and the largest in Richland County.^[19] The hospital is the city's primary provider of health care and serves as the major regional trauma center for north-central Ohio.^[20]

Food industry

Mansfield is home of three well-known food companies. Isaly Dairy Company (AKA Isaly's) was a chain of family-owned dairies and restaurants started by William Isaly in the early 1900s until the 1970s, famous for creating the Klondike Bar ice cream treat, popularized by the slogan "What would you do for a Klondike Bar?". Stewart's Drive-In is a chain of root beer stands started by Frank Stewart in 1924, famous for their Stewart's Fountain Classics line of premium beverages now sold world-wide. The Jones Potato Chip Company was started by Frederick W. Jones in 1945, famous for their Jones Marcelled Potato Chips, is headquartered in Mansfield.^[21]

Film industry

From the 1950s through the 1970s, Mansfield was the home of the infamous Highway Safety Foundation, the organization that created the controversial driver's education scare films that featured gruesome film photography taken at fatal automobile accidents in the Mansfield area.^[22] The films include Signal 30 (1959), Mechanized Death (1961), Wheels of Tragedy (1963), and Highways of Agony (1969). In addition, the Highway Safety Foundation produced other controversial education films including The Child Molester and Camera Surveillance (both 1964).

Culture

Annual events and fairs

The Mansfield/Mehock Relays, an annual two-day invitational track and field meet for high school boys and girls, held in April since 1927 (except for Second World War years), began on the initiative of Harry Mehock, track coach at host Mansfield Senior High School.

The Miss Ohio Pageant (Miss America preliminary), hosted by Mansfield since 1975, is staged annually at the Renaissance Theatre.^[23]

Historical structures and museums

Ohio State Reformatory, circa 2005.

Mansfield is home to the old Ohio State Reformatory, constructed by architect Levi T. Scofield to resemble a German castle, is located north of downtown Mansfield on Ohio 545, and has been the location for many major films^[24], including The Shawshank Redemption, Harry and Walter Go to New York, Air Force One and Tango & Cash. Most of the prison yard has now been demolished to make room for expansion of the adjacent Mansfield Correctional Institution and Richland Correctional Institution, but the Reformatory's Gothic-style Administration Building remains standing and, due to its prominent use in films, has become a tourist attraction. The building is used during the Halloween season each year as a haunted attraction known as the "Haunted Reformatory," people from all over visit Mansfield to take part in the haunted tour.^[25][26]

The Oak Hill Cottage and Museum, built in 1847 is one of the most perfect Gothic Revival houses in the United States.^[27] Located in the Woodland neighborhood is the Mansfield Art Center, opened in 1945, is a visual arts organization.^[28] The Living Bible Museum (aka "Bible Walk") opened in 1987, is Ohio's only life-size wax museum.^[29]

Parks and outdoor attractions

Richland Carrousel Park in downtown Mansfield.

Located in downtown Mansfield's Historic Carrousel District is the Richland Carrousel Park, opened in 1991 to tourist, is the first hand-carved indoor wooden carousel to be built and operated in the United States since the early 1930s built by Carousel Works inc.^[30] Kingwood Center, a 47 acre estate and gardens, former home of Ohio Brass industrialist Charles Kelly King. The Mansfield Motorsports Park (formerly Mansfield Motorsports Speedway), a half-mile automobile race track that features a regular weekly series of modified and stock car racing. Also located southwest of Mansfield near Lexington is the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, a road course auto racing facility that hosts major racing events. Malabar Farm State Park, located southeast of the city is a country home and farm of Mansfield native and Pulitzer Prize winning author Louis Bromfield, and location of Humphrey Bogart's wedding to Lauren Bacall.^[31][32] The Mohican State Park is a state park located southeast of Mansfield near Loudonville.

Snow Trails Ski Resort is Ohio's oldest ski resort opened in 1961, and highest at 1475 feet, with 16 runs, and is one of the few skiing locations in Ohio.

Richland B & O Trail, opened in 1995 and operated by the Richland County Park District, is a paved 18.4-mile hiking and bicycle trail laid out on the abandoned Baltimore & Ohio rail branch line north and east from Butler via Bellville and Lexington to North Lake Park in Mansfield.

Performing arts

Mansfield is home to the Renaissance Theatre (known as Renaissance Performing Arts Association) is a historic 1600-seat theatre located in downtown Mansfield, opened in 1929 as the Ohio Theatre.^[33] Also located in downtown is the Mansfield Playhouse, Ohio's second oldest, and one of its most successful community theatres.^[34]

Media

The Mansfield News Journal building in downtown Mansfield.

Mansfield is served in print by the Mansfield News Journal, the city's only daily newspaper.

Mansfield's first AM-radio station (1929) was WJW, now in Cleveland. Its studio and transmitter were on the ninth floor of the Richland Trust Building. Among Mansfield's notable radio stations are WYHT (105.3FM) pop/rock (clear channel), WMAN (1400AM) news/talk (clear channel), and WVNO (106.1FM), Mansfield's light-rock station.

Mansfield's only local television station is WMFD-TV-digital television in Northern Ohio (most Mansfield residents watch Cleveland or Columbus stations for network programming.)

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Mansfield Public Schools enroll 5,433 students in primary and secondary schools.^[35] The district operates 13 public schools including nine elementary schools, two middle schools, one high school, and one alternative school. Other than public schools, the city is home to one private catholic school, St. Peter's High School and two christian schools, Mansfield Christian School and Temple Christian School. The Madison Local School District serves eastern parts of Mansfield, neighboring Madison, and Mifflin townships.

Colleges and universities

Mansfield is home to two public colleges. The Ohio State University has a regional campus at Mansfield^[36] and North Central State College, a community college that shares the Mansfield campus with OSU.^[37] Also located in Mansfield is the MedCentral College of Nursing, a private institution that offers programs of study in nursing.^[38]

Libraries

The main county library branch in downtown Mansfield.

The Mansfield/Richland County Public Library has been serving residents of north-central Ohio since 1887.^[39] The system has nine branches throughout Richland County from its main branch in downtown Mansfield and branches in Bellville, Butler, Crestview, Lexington, Lucas, Madison Township, Ontario, and Plymouth.

Transportation

Rail

Three railroads eventually served Mansfield, and two serve it today. The Mansfield and Sandusky Railroad opened in 1846, and later became part of a branch line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) from Newark to Sandusky. In 1849 the Pittsburgh and Fort Wayne Railroad (later Pennsylvania Railroad mainline) reached Mansfield, and in 1863 the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad (later Erie Railroad mainline) reached Mansfield. After the B&O branch line was abandoned, the 19-mile section from Butler to North Lake Park in Mansfield was opened in 1995 as the recreational Richland B & O Trail. The former B&O track from Mansfield to Willard combined with a piece of the abandoned Erie Railroad east of Mansfield to West Salem to form the L-shaped 56.5-mile Ashland Railway (1986). A spur of the abandoned Erie Railroad leads west five miles to Ontario to serve the General Motors metal stamping plant there.

Highways

U.S. Route 30 near the Ohio 13 (Main Street) exit in Mansfield.

Mansfield is located on a major east-west highway corridor that was originally known in the early 1900s as "Ohio Market Route 3". This route was chosen in 1913 to become part of the historic Lincoln Highway which was the first road across America, connecting New York City to San Francisco. The arrival of the Lincoln Highway to Mansfield was a major influence on the development of the city. Upon the advent of the federal numbered highway system in 1928, the Lincoln Highway through Mansfield on Park Avenue East and Park Avenue West became U.S. Route 30.

On September 1, 1928, the Lincoln Highway was marked coast-to-coast with approximately 3000 concrete posts set by the Boy Scouts of America. Each post featured a medallion of Abraham Lincoln's profile. One of these concrete markers was erected at curbside in front of Central Methodist Episcopal Church, 378 Park Avenue West. Today, a replica marker stands in downtown's Central Park, on Park Avenue's center divider.

Today, Mansfield serves as a transportation hub and is connected by eight major highways, Interstate 71, which connects Cleveland to the northeast with Columbus to the southwest. U.S. Route 30 (the Lincoln Highway), which connects Wooster to the east with Ontario and Bucyrus to the west. U.S. Route 42, which connects Ashland to the northeast with Lexington to the southwest. State Route 13, which connects Norwalk to the north with Bellville to the south. State Route 39, which connects Shelby to the northwest with Lucas to the southeast. State Route 309, which connects Mansfield to the east where it merges with U.S. Route 30 with Ontario and Galion to the west. State Route 430, which connects Mifflin to the east with Ontario to the west. State Route 545, which connects Mansfield to the south where it terminates at State Route 39 with Olivesburg and Savannah to the northeast.^[40]

Public Transportation

Mansfield is served by Richland County Transit (RCT), a bus line that serves downtown and the Mansfield-Ontario area.^[41]

Air

Mansfield is served by Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport, a city-owned and operated, joint usage facility with global ties, located about 4 miles (6 km) north of downtown.^[42]

Notable natives

• Lee Adams, stage lyricist
• John Bishop, playwright and film writer
• Louis Bromfield, Pulitzer Prize-winning author
• Sherrod Brown, United States Senator, D-Ohio
• Lester Cowan (b. April 1, 1906) Producer: (film) My Little Chickadee (with Mae West and W. C. Fields), You Can't Cheat an Honest Man, Main Street to Broadway; Past Executive Director of the Motion Picture Academy
• Stephanne Dennis (b. May 20, 1974) Author: Raven's Song, Publish America 2005
• Amy Douglas (b. December 21, 1902) Actress: (film) The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Please Don't Eat the Daisies; (television) Marcus Welby MD, Ben Casey, 77 Sunset Strip, Alfred Hitchcock Presents
• Hugh Douglas, Philadelphia Eagles defensive end
• Michael L. Gernhardt, astronaut
• Rebecca Gernhardt Cox (b. circa 1955), Assistant Secretary of Transportation, Public Liasion Director for President Reagan, Senior Vice President Continental Airlines.
• Paul Gilger, playwright, architect, set designer
• Frank Purdy Lahm, first Army aviator
• James Lapine, playwright and director
• Martha Mansfield, stage actress
• Sylvia McNair, operatic soprano
• Ricky Minard, professional basketball player
• Christopher Moore, author
• Paul Parmalee, zooarchaeologist
• Luke Perry, television actor
• Daniel Roemer, film director, screenwriter
• Robert F. Simon (b. December 2, 1908) Actor: (film) Seven Angry Men, Foxfire, The Benny Goodman Story, Operation Petticoat, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
• Phoebe Wise (b. 184?) Relative of Pulitzer-prize winning author Louis Bromfield, she was the historical basis for many of Bromfield's short stories

Special interest

• Johnny Appleseed, American pioneer & conservationist^[43]
• The Shawshank Redemption, which was filmed in and around Mansfield
• Elektro, eight robots built by the Westinghouse Corporation in Mansfield.

From the Native American uprising during the war of 1812.

• Copus Massacre and Zimmer Massacre

Sister cities

Mansfield has two sister cities:^[44]

• - Mansfield, England^[45]
• - Tamura, Fukushima, Japan

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Mansfield, Ohio

• Mansfield's official website
• Mansfield/Richland County Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Main Street Mansfield
• The Great Fire of 1871
• The St. James Hotel fire in 1890

Coordinates: 40.754856° N 82.522855° W

Municipalities and communities of Richland County, Ohio
County seat: Mansfield
Cities	Crestline | Mansfield | Ontario | Shelby
Villages	Bellville | Butler | Lexington | Lucas | Plymouth | Shiloh
Townships	Blooming Grove | Butler | Cass | Franklin | Jackson | Jefferson | Madison | Mifflin | Monroe | Perry | Plymouth | Sandusky | Sharon | Springfield | Troy | Washington | Weller | Worthington
Other localities	Newville | Olivesburg | Winchester

	State of Ohio Columbus (capital)
Topics	History | Government | Colleges and universities
Regions	Allegheny Plateau | Appalachian Ohio | Black Swamp | The Bluegrass | Extreme Northwest Ohio | Glacial till plains | Lake Erie | Lake Erie Islands | Miami Valley | Northwest Ohio | Western Reserve
Largest cities	Akron | Canton | Cincinnati | Cleveland | Columbus | Cuyahoga Falls | Dayton | Elyria | Hamilton | Kettering | Lakewood | Lorain | Mansfield</