MANSFIELD — Christmas is back at Oak Hill Cottage.
Built in 1847, the mid-nineteenth century house is decorated for the holiday season and has several events planned for guests to enjoy this winter.
Christmas at Oak Hill Cottage offers guests a tour of the historic house at $5 for adults and $1 for children ages 12 and under. Tours are available on Sundays from 2 to 5 p.m. through Dec. 28 at 310 Springmill St. in Mansfield.
On Saturday, Oak Hill’s annual “Ghosts of Christmas Past” tour will be offered for guests to tour the cottage at their leisure from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tickets are $5 for adults and $1 for children.
Local reenactors will be on scene and dressed in period costume, portraying former residents of the house and sharing their stories. The event is also the only night of the year when the public is allowed to take self-guided tours of the house.
John Robinson, superintendent of the Sandusky, Mansfield and Newark Railroad, built the home in 1847. It was a private home for more than a century.
The Richland County Historical Society purchased Oak Hill Cottage and its contents in 1965. It was restored and opened as a house museum in 1984. The Gothic Revival style home features seven gables, five double chimneys and seven marble fireplaces.
It would be difficult to find a better documented mid-nineteenth century house than Oak Hill. It was featured with interior and exterior photos in an 1896 county atlas and was the focal point of Louis Bromfield’s first novel, The Green Bay Tree.
Gaslight tours will be offered on Dec. 12 and 19 at 7:30 p.m. The tours are available by reservation via phone (419-524-1765) or email (admin@oakhillcottage.org).
