Oak Hill Cottage, a historical landmark in downtown Mansfield, will open its doors to the community for a special Christmas tour starting November 23, courtesy of the Richland County Historical Society.
On Monday, Nov. 17 a small team from the board devoted the day to decorating the inside of the home. The team, which included Jeff Mandeville and Margie Cutnaw, decorated the rooms of the home as closely as they could to the original décor styles of the Victorian time period.
“Our time frame that we’re working from is around the 1870s,” explained Mandeville. He cut pine branches from the yard for Cutnaw, who fashioned them into Victorian Christmas bouquets. Cutnaw placed the bouquets and other decorative flower arrangements throughout the house.
Mandeville explained the origin of the Christmas tree in United States culture. He said the iconic trees did not appear in our country until after the 1840s. And ornaments were not made in the States until the 1870s.
“The first Christmas tree in Ohio actually came from a German family in the late 1830s,” said Mandeville. “It took a while for Christmas trees to really get popular in the States. But once Queen Victoria had one, everyone had to have one.”
The Richland County Historical Society’s mission, according to President Alan Wigton, is to help identify and do what they can to protect historic property. Thus, the society started restoring the 1847 Oak Hill Cottage in 1965 when they purchased the property. The house, however, did not open to the public as a museum until November 1983.
“It took a long time to get it ready. In order to get everything done and ready for people I think they kind of settled on wall-to-wall carpet in some of these rooms that wasn’t that appropriate. So we’re constantly looking at things like that,” explained Wigton.
For example, back in the time period in which the house is set, gas lights were used in place of electric lights. The house does not contain gas lights, but each light is set to the relative gas light brightness. The house, therefore, seems dim. But Wigton explained this is because the historical society stives to accurately represent the time period.
The Christmas theme is not the only theme that runs throughout the house. Since Wigton’s arrival as president to the Richland County Historical Society, he has made it his personal mission to offer an authentic and historically accurate experience during a tour through the house.
“We want to refine things so we have a more responsible museum,” said Wigton.
Oak Hill Cottage was built in 1847 by Doctor Johannes Aten Jones and was occupied by his family for 101 years. It was designated a Literary Landmark by Friends of the Libraries U.S.A. in 2000 because of Louise Bromfield’s association with the house. Bromfield’s 1924 novel The Green Bay Tree featured Oak Hill Cottage as “Shane’s Castle” in the story.
Wigton said Oak Hill’s restoration is largely due to grants from the Federal Government, Richland County, Mansfield and other interested individuals.
Tours of the house are every Sunday from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m., April through December. They are closed January to March and during Easter and Christmas.
The history behind the Oak Hill Cottage is rich and extensive, which is why community members are invited to take tours of the building. Christmas tours begin Sunday, Nov. 23. Admission is $5 for adults, and $1 for children ages 6-12. For group tours call 419-524-1765 or visit their website.
