MANSFIELD, Ohio — Sometimes, like people, a house is more attractive on the outside than on the inside. That may be the case of the Townsend House on Park Avenue West.
The house is majestic to view from the outside of the property. Its white pillars and terraced front yard compliment the King mansion across the street. Inside, the house is much more modest.
Today it belongs to Kingwood Center Gardens; but Charles King and Edwin Townsend didn’t move in the same social circle in the early 1900s. The King home was built in 1926, the Townsend house in 1930.
According to a grandson who visited Kingwood Center Gardens and the Townsend home several years ago, Townsend built the residence because his wife suffered from tuberculosis. They moved to Denver, Colorado because higher elevations were beneficial to tuberculosis patients; but they didn’t like Denver so they moved to Mansfield–which features the second-highest elevations in Ohio. Also, Mary (Tucker) Townsend and Edwin Oliver Townsend were both from Beverly, Ohio (northwest of Marietta).
“When (the grandson) was a kid, it was kind of a family compound,” Kingwood Center Gardens Director Chuck Gleaves said. “There was this house; then there were two other houses, both of which have been torn down. One was right on the corner of Park and Trimble; it was a Dutch colonial. Then there was a tiny little house, just two bedrooms, on Trimble. They called it for some reason “the snuggery.” That’s where his parents lived.
“He talked about as a little kid he remembered crawling around under the servants’ feet while they were ironing upstairs, and he had his train set up there. So, he wasn’t very old when his grandfather lived here.”
Edwin Townsend was in the granite and marble importing business with his father. The elder Townsend was described in one publication as the “greatest importer of granites and marbles and the largest dealer in statuary and marbles in the United States.” The Townsends had offices in Scotland, Italy, New York, Oregon, and several other locations. (To read more about the Townsend, see the linked article.)
The house is large enough to be called a mansion, but a small mansion with servant’s quarters on the second floor that would accommodate one employee or a couple. The kitchen is small with a tiny butler’s pantry.
The bathrooms are smaller, too. But the Florida room, or glassed-in porch, is a nice addition. Gleaves observed a new leak in the corner of the room–a problem frequently battled at the property.
The bedrooms are modest, and there’s a wood-paneled study. The dining room provides additional evidence that at least one employee served the family. In the center of the floor a metal disk remains that was used for family and guests to step on to call for service.
Townsend died April 17, 1945 in Clearwater, Florida at the age of 77. His wife Mary died a few years before, and he was survived by a daughter and a grandson. After funeral services in Mansfield, Townsend was buried at Beverly, Ohio.
The house was eventually sold to the William Bahl family, and his grandchildren have visited the house. When he died the home was purchased and donated to Kingwood anonymously to deter development of neighborhood property.
There is a small inactive heliport behind the home. Gleaves said according to anecdotal information, Bahl’s son wanted to be in the heliport business.
The house and property have been owned by Kingwood Center Gardens for more than 20 years. It was donated, by a donor who prefers to remain anonymous, to Kingwood with an agreement to keep unslightly development from encroaching.
“It was not occupied for several years before we acquired it because the animals had already moved in by the time we acquired it. The squirrels and raccoons were living here,” Gleaves said. “They came in through the chimneys and incinerator.”
Restoring the house is a significant financial undertaking the organization cannot afford. Efforts for the house have been to keep the animals and rainwater out. The property is used for extensive pumpkin patches. This year Kingwood harvested 700 pumpkins for the annual Pumpkin Glow.
A number of ideas have been considered for use for the home and property, but funding continues to thwart future considerations.
I think it’s awesome someone was nice enough to buy and donate it!! I love the fact that some people think ahead and not just foe finicial gain.