The North Central Ohio Industrial Museum is still in its beginning stages, but the concept is coming together piece by piece at the Mansfield Reformatory.
Steve Cummins, co-founder of the Industrial Museum, said there are already so many hidden gems in the area – items from Westinghouse washers and dryers to the Tappan stone marquee.
“There’s a real wealth of history, and I think with passing generations there are artifacts out there that with each generation maybe mean a little bit less to the people that have them, and we want to get those things before they really do disappear,” said Cummins.
The Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society provided a physical space for the museum in the “Lower Diagonal Room” at the Mansfield Reformatory, which may seem like an unusual spot for an industrial museum but actually connects quite well. Paul Smith, Executive Director at the Mansfield Reformatory, explained many of the old appliances seen in the museum would have appeared in the prison during its working years.
“A lot of those appliances came from our local area. You would see a Tappan stove or a Westinghouse refrigerator, and all of those things were utilized in the living quarters up through the late 1950s or early 1960s,” said Smith. “You had young offenders here and they were taught a trade. They would go out and get a job with local manufacturers. They’d walk out of here and walk into a great job and turn their life around. So there is a connection; there was a lot of back and forth between the communities when this place started.”
So far the Industrial Museum has collected a handful of older stoves, refrigerators, washers and dryers. One of the most unique items comes from Westinghouse, a combination washer/dryer that was the last item off the line before Westinghouse closed. The washer/dryer is covered in signatures from Westinghouse employees, dated Dec. 14, 1990.
“The washer/dryer is unique but in kind of a sad way in that it was one of the last items off the line,” said Cummins. “It’s memorable but it’s sad because it represents the passing of an industry.”
In addition to appliances, Cummins said the museum is also looking for smaller items such as photographs, displays, brochures and pamphlets to display. He noted the museum is focused on items and memorabilia actually produced and made in the area.
“As we’re constructing this and figuring out what to include, we try to take the perspective of a person coming through the museum and thinking, ‘Why do I care about this?’” said Cummins. “Just from a historical standpoint it’s interesting, but also understanding how that contributed to and helped build our community. It brought talent and education to the community, and I get a kick out of learning that.”
Currently progress on the Industrial Museum is held up due to the need to renovate the space – Cummins and fellow co-founder Jerry Miller hope to raise $150,000 to start with renovations in the Lower Diagonal Room, including utilities, painting, supplies and building repair. After that, Cummins expects the museum to really take off.
“Once it starts to go from just a neat idea to something that’s really happening I think we’ll get some more people interested and contributing either funds, artifacts or volunteer time,” he said.
While one purpose of the North Central Ohio Industrial Museum is to pay tribute to the area’s industrial past, it’s just as important to acknowledge the present and look forward to the future.
“We don’t want it to just be a trip down memory lane and say oh look how great we were back then, because we’re still incredible,” said Cummins. “There are so many things going on here, and a lot of things people don’t know about. There are so many companies doing neat, innovative things here in our area that people are just unaware of.”
For more information about donating to the North Central Ohio Industrial Museum, contact Jerry Miller at 419-884-0459 or Steve Cummins at 419-524-1300.
“We don’t want it to just be a trip down memory lane and say oh look how great we were back then, because we’re still incredible,” said Steve Cummins.
