Manufacturing museum tells the history of Mansfield

MANSFIELD — The North Central Ohio Industrial Museum (NCOIM) had its first public tours Friday inside the Ohio State Reformatory.

It’s a walk through history nearly 30 years in the making.

“When the board, the Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society, originally got (the building), that was one of the things that they wanted to do was to open this industrial museum,” said Paul Smith, executive director of the Ohio State Reformatory.

The Reformatory has had a small manufacturing display for decades, but efforts to expand it into a full-fledged museum began seven years ago. Members and friends of the North Central Ohio Industrial Museum board began refurbishing the space, collecting items and planning the design.

Now, brightly colored displays tell the tale of Mansfield’s manufacturing past, complete with photographs and artifacts dating to the late 1800s.

“It’s really a great tribute to the strong history of manufacturing in our community, as well as a look at the current strength of manufacturing,” said Jodie Perry, president and CEO of the Richland Area Chamber of Commerce.

The museum displays were built by the Reformatory’s in-house carpenters Bill Hale, Autumn Fairbanks and Marty Sneeringer. The process took about a year.

“We started in the dead of winter with this window right here,” Hale said as he stood in the museum entryway. “It was snowing on us as we redid it.”

While the carpentry team crafted wood and plexiglass into top-tier displays, members of the NCOIM scouted the city for relics.

The team’s historian and creative director Tim McKee drew on a lifetime of research to create the text for the displays.

“When I grew up in Mansfield, all my classmates measured their success by how quickly they got away from here,” McKee said. “I realized that one of the reasons I loved Mansfield was because I had so much backstory. I can walk down any street in town and no matter what’s there now I can tell you what was there before, even if it’s some parking lot. So I’d like to give that to the next generation.”

“This is their backstory. And the more we know of that and know of the heritage that brought them to this point — it’s already a part of them to carry it on.”

The museum shows not only the products that were made in Mansfield, but how the area’s manufacturing sector evolved with the changing times. Visitors learn about Mansfield’s history as a union town and how local businesses contributed to military supply chains during World War II.

Other displays show how the area’s promising job market attracted generations of immigrants from central and eastern Europe, followed by an influx of Kentucky natives and finally Black southerners during the Great Migration.

Mansfield’s Black population rose from 1,135 in 1925 to nearly 8,000 in the 1960s as workers came seeking jobs at the steel mill. One display shows dozens of their headshots.

Deanna West-Torrence noticed her great-grandmother’s portrait right away.

“All of my family worked in different factories in the area. I can probably name a family member that was in each one,” she said. “I think it’s really cool that they really called out the African American community’s contribution to industry here.”

Many of the featured displays highlight Richland County companies, but the museum board hopes to expand to include more regional manufacturers.

“Mansfield used to be the point where all roads met in Ohio. This was the metropolis of manufacturing, of industry, of people coming here because of our railroads, because of our resources,” said Tyler Shinaberry, a member of the NCOIM board. “Our surrounding counties also grew because of it, so our next phases are going to bring in more and more of what was surrounding us.”

The NCOIM board is also in the process of adding a display on current manufacturing practices and the possibilities the future holds. Gorman-Rupp Pumps, Midwest Aircraft Products Company and North Central State College have already donated items that show off the marvels of modern manufacturing.

Museum president Jerry Miller said he hopes the exhibits will spark an interest in the industry for younger visitors.

“I think it’ll give some kids an idea of what you can do — the dreams, the visions, the inventions,” he said. “Manufacturing is still the number one employment sector in this county.”

Although it has its own nonprofit status, the museum will operate as the Reformatory’s sub-exhibition. The hours will mirror that of the Reformatory and no additional admission is required.