MANSFIELD, Ohio — Edwin Oliver Townsend built a home in Mansfield in 1930 across the street from Charles King’s home. His obituary called it his winter home.
Who was this man?
His name isn’t commonly remembered in Mansfield. That may be because he wasn’t born in Mansfield; and, as was just noted, he didn’t consistently live in Mansfield.
He attended public schools in Zanesville, and then Phillips Academy, Andover and Harvard College.
According to a descendant who visited Kingwood Center Gardens and the Townsend home several years ago, Townsend built the home here because his wife suffered from tuberculosis and Mansfield is one of the highest elevations in Ohio. Higher elevations were beneficial to tuberculosis patients, and Mary (Tucker) Townsend and Edwin Townsend were both from Ohio.
In Mansfield, Edwin Oliver Townsend was a 32nd degree Mason; director of the Mansfield Savings Bank; charter member of the Kiwanis Club; Westbrook Country Club; director the Citizens Bank of Beverly and past director of the Farmers Saving and Trust, Co. He was also a first vice president of the Richland Savings Bank.
Townsend conducted business around the world and had offices in several cities.
His parents were William C. and Lily Townsend. His father was originally from Pittsburgh but grew up in Beverly, Ohio. William C. Townsend served in the Civil War and after the war “he went to Zanesville with his brothers, J.F. and Henry, and started a monument business in a shop on Main Street. After about three years, he bought out the interests of his brothers.
A publication called “The Reporter, The only journal published in the world devoted exclusively to marble and granite,” reported William C. Townsend’s death at the age of 54 in a January 1898 article.
The story stated, “He started out with a tremendous determination to realize his vision of the future. He steadily and persistently pushed his business operations to wider and wider limits. From retailing he branched out gradually into the wholesale trade and in the wholesale traffic increased to such proportions that the retail business was dropped altogether.
“His operations extended to Scottish and Swedish granite quarries and to Italian marble quarries … he was the ‘greatest importer of granites and marbles and the largest dealer in statuary and marbles in the United States.’”
He had offices New York; Barre, VT; Aberdeen, Scotland; and Carrara, Italy.
On July 1, 1895, the firm of Wm. C. Townsend, New York City, changed its name to Townsend & Townsend with father and son co-owning the business. Only three years later, his father died and Edwin Townsend took the helm.
One report noted the company was the first to import Swedish granites to the United States.
Edwin Townsend’s main office was in Zanesville, where his father started the business. In addition to the other offices, he also had an office in Portland, Oregon. According to his obituary, he was an exclusive importer of granite from Finland.
Townsend died April 17, 1945 in Clearwater, Florida at the age of 77. He was survived by a daughter and a grandson. His wife Mary died a few years before he did. He was buried in Beverly, Ohio after funeral services in Mansfield.