Area History

ASHLAND — By the 1960’s, Ashland, Ohio had become known as the “Balloon Capital of the World.” This was thanks to the workers in local companies such as Eagle Rubber Co. (now Hedstrom), General Latex, Mohican Rubber Co., and Ashland Rubber who were producing an average of 8 million balloons per day. All of the […]

EDITOR’S NOTE: This piece was previously published at Richland Source in 2013. MANSFIELD — The tree was no fewer than 100 years old when it was photographed for Life Magazine in 1945. It had come from a nursery planted by John Chapman and he died in 1845 — so the centenary mark was certain. How much […]

MOUNT VERNON — The Kokosing River is never to be underestimated. The heartbreaking searches this week for a missing swimmer near Millwood serve as a reminder of the deceptive depths and currents of the river as it moves into the hilly terrain of eastern Knox County. An examination of news archives proves that the incident […]

EDITOR’S NOTE: This piece was previously published at Richland Source in 2013. MANSFIELD — The sound of music, from every ilk of amateur and professional, from every kind of instrument and noisemaker imaginable, was once a vital element of the life and education of everyone in Mansfield.  This was, in no small part, due to the […]

ASHLAND — Many of us are looking for ways to avoid illness and help improve our health and appearance. It turns out that it was common to seek cures and homemade concoctions even more than a century ago. The following lists some colorfully written concoctions that were found to be helpful back in the 1800’s. […]

EDITOR’S NOTE: This piece was previously published at Richland Source in 2013. BELLVILLE — The summer of 1913 was hot. Comparing the daily highs and lows between then and now suggests that the Richland County of that summer showed no fewer particular tendencies toward global warming than it does today. A hundred years ago women of […]

EDITOR’S NOTE: This piece was previously published at Richland Source in 2013. MADISON TOWNSHIP — It is the summer of 1913, more than a century ago, and the Sunshine Club of Richland County is going out to take in some laughs and spread a little sunshine. We know they were having fun because they left behind […]