This story is from Mary McKinley, who operates the Sherman Room at the Mansfield Richland County Public Library. The Sherman Room is a treasure trove of local historical content. For more of Mary’s posts, blogs, and content, be sure to check out this link.
If a picture is indeed worth a thousand words, one of the most prolific early “writers” of and about Mansfield was John H. Burkholder.
Originally from Holmes County, Burkholder first came to Richland County around 1873 when he moved to Bellville from Navarre, in Stark County.
He stayed in Bellville for about five years before moving to Mount Vernon, where he operated a very successful studio for about seven years before moving to Mansfield in about 1885.
In Mansfield, he opened a photography studio and photographic supplies shop on Main Street across from the post office. [Baughman, Centennial Biographical History of Richland County, page 376-7]
In addition to his studio photography, Burkholder was a strong proponent of in-home photography, and posted several advertisements in the local papers to advocate for this form of portraiture.
As such, it is maybe not surprising that we have pictures of the interior of the Burkholder home surviving today, as seen at The Sherman Room in the Mansfield Richland County Public Library, and in a couple of photos below.
Burkholder operated his studio and shop in Mansfield from 1885 until 1918, with his brother George Burkholder serving as general assistant. In 1918, R. A. Spratt bought the shop from Burkholder.
