Area History

So how much difference does a hundred years make?  The answer is: a lot, and not much at all.  Take a look at South Park Street on the square in Mansfield and you’ll find a row of buildings that have aged well through the century…though some have undergone a little cosmetic surgery to keep up […]

surface There is always more below the surface: the surface of the story; the surface of the earth. The most interesting history has many layers, and these aren’t just overlays of dirt; but layers of meaning, layers of interpretation. Some of our places, people, events and things have different significance to different people; and those […]

Editor’s Note: This is an ongoing series which runs each Thursday morning titled the Richland Chronicles Volume VI, by author Paul Lintern. It is set in the 1860s and tells the story of Richland County through the eyes of young people. This is the sixth in a series. Volume I is Amelia Changes Her Tune. Volume II is Isaac and Wolf Paw Find […]

Every artist hopes their art will make a mark on the world. Richland County had an artist in the 1950s who wanted us all to leave our mark on the world. He made it possible for everybody to leave a mark, possibly in a very public place. That’s what he was hoping anyway. Sadly, it […]

After more than a hundred years since this photo was taken, the square in Plymouth still has most of the buildings seen in 1911, and it retains all of its slightly New England charm. The town is situated directly on the boundary line between Huron and Richland Counties. So, it shares the north central Ohio […]

I can tell this story today because it is a lifetime later and now all the pieces fit together; but as the tale unfolded it was one mystery at a time, with years between clues. I heard about it from a retired cop, who was not the investigator assigned to the case, but he knew […]

Editor’s Note: This is an ongoing series which runs each Thursday morning titled the Richland Chronicles Volume VI, by author Paul Lintern. It is set in the 1860s and tells the story of Richland County through the eyes of young people. This is the sixth in a series. Volume I is Amelia Changes Her Tune. Volume II is Isaac and Wolf Paw Find […]

When Martin Bushnell set out to build a family home on Sturges Avenue in 1894, he determined to make his creation unique and lasting. To that end he purchased the glacial hill north of town where Mansfield’s famous pink sandstone was quarried so that he could have his whole house made of the fascinating rock. […]

This is the law of time: for every hour we go on, there is an hour that slips behind; so that for every bit of gain there is equal loss. In order to enter the future we must relinquish the past. As each generation creates its own new version of America, so the old way, […]