MANSFIELD — What did Gen. James Hedges intend for a ravine area that is now part of John Todd Park in Mansfield?
Mansfield attorney Eric Miller, leader of the the North Central Ohio Land Conservancy District, believes he has the answer, assisted by Mansfield historian Tim McKee.
Miller on Monday sent an email with those ideas to Mansfield City Council, which is scheduled to vote Wednesday on legislation that could create a conservation easement on 14 of the park’s 22 acres.
“Mansfield historian Tim McKee informed us that General James Hedges, one of the founders of Mansfield, was the one who insisted on and inspired his heirs to protect a beautiful ravine and his wish was fulfilled by John Todd, whose father had married one of the heirs of General Hedges,” Miller said in his email.
A Virginia native, Hedges came to Ohio in 1803. As a deputy surveyor, he worked in Ashland, Holmes, Knox, Medina and Wayne counties, and purchased 19,000 acres in what became Richland County.
Hedges is considered one of three founders of Mansfield in 1808, later serving in the War of 1812.
According to McKee, Hedges surveyed the forest that became Mansfield and wanted to preserve the wilderness ravine in question “so future generations could see what Richland County looked like when he first came here in 1807.”
McKee said the land passed down the Hedges family and that each generation understood the ravine was “reserved for the people of Mansfield.”
One of those family descendants, according to McKee, was John Todd. He later donated the land to the city in the 1940s, with deed restrictions mandating the land remain a city park.
(Below is a document created by historian Tim McKee that local attorney Eric Miller sent to Mansfield City Council on Monday.)
On Oct. 21, Todd’s great-granddaughter told Mansfield lawmakers that the Todd descendants are still not in favor of granting any easements to land he gave to the city eight decades ago for use as a city park.
“I still am not in (favor) of giving part of the park away,” Lynn Brinley said. “I’m just not into it. It’s giving (the North Central Ohio Land Conservancy) control over it. My family is going to have a problem with this.”
Based upon Brinley’s objections and questions — as well as several lawmakers who had questions of their own — council opted to delay a vote on the proposal until at least its next meeting on Nov. 5.
It’s not the first time the proposal has come before City Council. And it’s also not the first time Brinley has opposed the idea.
Mansfield lawmakers unanimously rejected a similar proposal in 2016 after Brinley raised similar objections, citing restrictions Todd placed on the deed in the 1940s when he donated the land to the city.
None of the current eight voting council members were in office in 2016.
“In his deed, he said that it’s to be a city park. And if it’s not going to be a city park, it’s gonna come back to (his) heirs. It says nothing is supposed to stop people from enjoying the park,” Brinley said Tuesday.
Miller told City Council on Oct. 21 that the easement does not detract from the park’s features, which include a pavilion, basketball court, restrooms and parking lot.
He said it’s only aimed at adding another layer of protection to 14 acres of the 22-acre park down in a ravine that is home to old growth forest (trees approximately 100 years old or older) and spring ephemerals that only bloom briefly each spring.
The easement would prohibit timbering or major development in the protected area and could also be expanded through a local developer who would donate additional undeveloped land to the park if council approves the easement.
Miller said John Todd Park, located on the city’s southeast side, has forest and wildflowers unlike any other area in the city.
Brinley said her great-grandfather didn’t want to see the park “broken up.”
“(Miller) wants more than half the park. I don’t get how you can look at the deed (restrictions) and go, ‘Oh well, OK, we’ll give it to them.’ You can’t do it. The deed says no,” she said.
“I think it’s wonderful to protect those trees. I don’t have anything against (Miller). I think he does wonderful things. (But) why doesn’t the city just say, ‘We’re going to vote on it and say we will never allow trees in John Todd Park to be logged?’” she said.
“It’s not going to be a city park anymore if you give it to him,” she said. “That (land) is still ours if it’s not a park anymore.”
City Council, which is meeting a day later than normal due Election Day on Tuesday, is also scheduled to discuss stiffening penalties for truckers who violate Mansfield ordinances regarding the usage of truck routes through the city.
A parks and recreation committee meeting is scheduled Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. with an economic development committee at 6:45 p.m. Council caucus is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. with the legislative session following immediately thereafter.
(Below is a PDF showing legislation scheduled for City Council on Wednesday evening.)