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As the official seat of Richland County government and administrative business, Mansfield has always had a building in the center of town for hearings, trials, and filing cabinets. The concept of local government as an immediate reflection and representation of national government is the fundamental essence of American democracy. As such, the idea of a […]

The West First Street School had a long and varied career during its 107-year life. Built in 1870 as Mansfield’s first high school, it was designated for grade school use in 1892 when a new larger high school was built on Fourth Street. It was the site of an early educational experiment in 1903 when […]

The Sheriff and the courthouse and the jail are all so interwoven in the function of local governance that for most of the county’s history they were all located within a few steps of each other. In fact the legal system was so consolidated at one time that the Sheriff actually lived in the building […]

Editor’s Note This story was originally published on Richland Source in 2016. In the 100 years that passed between these two photographs it is apparent how well the 20th Century treated Mansfield. The community fattened up with business and industry. Those developments transformed the county seat from an ambling country town to a bustling city. […]

Editor’s Note This story was originally published on Richland Source in 2016. Some of the most classic and highly sought-after children’s art from the 1930s American Art Deco movement was created in Richland County. Fern Bisel Peat was a storyteller for generations of children in America. Her distinctive pastel paintings illustrated hundreds of books and […]

Editor’s Note This story was originally published on Richland Source in 2016. MANSFIELD — Many generations of Mansfielders knew this building as Schroer’s Furniture. Today the building has no business presence, but it is easily recognized as the landmark where you turn off Diamond Street onto Temple Court. The Schroer furniture business grew in a […]

Editor’s Note This story was originally published by Richland Source in 2016. This is a short appreciation of a truly significant writer in American literature whose life and career intersected with Richland County. It’s easier to understand why Richland County is meaningful in this story if we tell the tale backwards. So we’ll start with […]

Editor’s Note This story was originally published by Richland Source in 2016. The public square in Galion has a remarkable touchstone landmark that connects the present life of the city with its distant living history. Today it is an apartment complex where seniors live, but for many decades of Galion’s past it was the Central […]