Area History

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on Richland Source in 2015. It is being republished on the 70th anniversary of the disappearance of Mansfield’s Richard Cox, one of the most intriguing missing person’s cases in United States history. So if you are just walking in on this story let me bring you up to […]

LOUDONVILLE — Before the dawn of the automobile era, everyone relied heavily on horses for transportation. Wealthier residents often had their own carriage houses on their property where they would board their horses and store carriages, wagons, and other tack. The rest of the residents, however, relied on Livery Stables. These stables, such as Orra […]

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was originally published on Richland Source in 2014. MANSFIELD — Here are two photos of Park Avenue West in the snow: one taken from the square looking west in 1913, and one taken from Bowman Street looking east in 1911. Comparing them with the same stretch of pavement today, it is […]

PERRYSVILLE — In 1854, Perrysville and surrounding Green Township were home to no less than nine commercial distilleries. Whiskey was so prevalent it was often used as a form of currency. Many of the church-going women of the town were opposed to the consumption of alcohol, and so approached the proprietors of the two stores […]

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was originally published in 2014. MANSFIELD — Look up the coordinates of “Mt. Mansfield” on your global positioning system and it will probably send you to Vermont.  But local folks recognize that it is a Richland County landmark — located right here in the Possum Run valley — you would need to […]

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story originally published on Richland Source in 2014. MANSFIELD — Since 1951, Maple Lake Park has been used as an athletic field and basketball court. But from 1905 to 1950 it was actually a body of water … and Mansfield’s first “winter sports” complex. This photo essay, comprised of photos from personal albums […]

August Imgard, of Wooster, was once widely credited as the first person to bring the Christmas tree to America. Imgard was born in Bavaria, Germany before immigrating to America as a young adult. He began to miss winters in his homeland, where residents cut live evergreens to bring inside as a reminder of life in […]

LOUDONVILLE — Loudonville High School once had an Audio/Visual Club that operated a local cable channel for the Loudonville community. The club is believed to have started in the 1950s and operated through at least the early 1970s. What began as an interest in emerging electronics developed into a regular programming schedule, involving sports broadcasts […]