Description: The Ohio State Reformatory opened in 1896 in Mansfield, Ohio. In 1990, it closed, but has since served as a set for several films. It was built between 1886 and 1910 and remained in operation until a 1990 federal court ruling (the 'Boyd Consent Decree') ordered the facility to be closed. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06533
Subjects: Prisons--Ohio; Mansfield (Ohio); Architecture; Historic preservation
Places: Mansfield (Ohio); Richland County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows an aerial view of the east central industrial area of Mansfield, Ohio. At the center is Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B11F09_002_001
Subjects: Historic buildings--Ohio--Mansfield--Pictorial works; Mansfield (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Pictorial works; Mansfield (Ohio)--History--Pictorial works.; Works Progress Administration; Ohio Federal Writers' Project
Places: Mansfield (Ohio); Richland County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows a blockhouse in South Park Mansfield, Ohio. Built during the War of 1812 by soldiers from Coshocton, Ohio, the blockhouse protected Anglo-American settlers from American Indian attack. Later, it served as the first courthouse, jail, school, and location of the first religious service in Richland County. Mansfield acquired the blockhouse in the early 1900s. The Historical marker was placed by the Mansfield Council of Garden Clubs in 1953, which reads "MANSFIELD BLOCK HOUSE (within this park) Built during the War of 1812 in Central Park ~ a refuge in times of Indian alarms. Rebuilt for Mansfield Centennial in 1908. Now used as a boy Scout meeting place." This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B11F09_001_001
Subjects: Architecture; Blockhouse (Mansfield, Ohio); Dwellings; Housing; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Mansfield (Ohio); Richland County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image shows a blockhouse in Mansfield that stood when Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman, 1704-1784) ran for reinforcements against a pending Indian attack during the War of 1812. Chapman immediately went to Mount Vernon for assistance. At the time of Appleseed's run, the square in Mansfield was the site of two blockhouses erected during the War of 1812. One blockhouse, constructed of round logs by a Captain Schaeffer of Fairfield County, stood at the intersection of Main Street and Park Avenue West. (The description fits this image.) Chapman risked his own life to summon aid for his neighbors in Richland County. This willingness to suffer for others was a trait Chapman exhibited throughout his life. John Chapman was born on September 26, 1774, in Leominster, Massachusetts. Chapman is better known as Johnny Appleseed. Beginning in 1802, Chapman wandered through Pennsylvania and eventually Ohio, planting apple nurseries. He spent most of his time in Ohio in Richland County near Mansfield. Chapman was known as being somewhat of an eccentric. He opposed violence of all sorts towards both humans and animals. He was a strict vegetarian. He also primarily wore discarded clothing or would barter some apple saplings for used clothes. Many of Ohio's first orchards began with saplings from Chapman's nurseries. His trees fed many of Ohio's early white settlers as they struggled to establish farms and homes on the frontier. Johnny Appleseed eventually owned more than 1,200 acres of land across Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. He died near Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the early 1840s. This image of the Mansfield blockhouse was among the photographs produced by the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1935 and 1943. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06392
Subjects: Chapman, John, 1704-1784; Appleseed, Johnny, 1774-1845; Mansfield (Ohio); War of 1812; Mansfield (Ohio); United States. Work Progress Administration
Places: Mansfield (Ohio); Richland County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image shows a blockhouse in Mansfield that stood when Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman, 1704-1784) ran for reinforcements against a pending Indian attack during the War of 1812. Chapman immediately went to Mount Vernon for assistance. Chapman risked his own life to summon aid for his neighbors in Richland County. This willingness to suffer for others was a trait Chapman exhibited throughout his life. John Chapman was born on September 26, 1774, in Leominster, Massachusetts. Beginning in 1802, Chapman wandered through Pennsylvania and eventually Ohio, planting apple nurseries. He spent most of his time in Ohio in Richland County near Mansfield. He was known as being somewhat of an eccentric. Chapman opposed violence of all sorts towards both humans and animals. He was a strict vegetarian. He also primarily wore discarded clothing or would barter some apple saplings for used clothes. Many of Ohio's first orchards began with saplings from Chapman's nurseries. His trees fed many of Ohio's early white settlers as they struggled to establish farms and homes on the frontier. Johnny Appleseed eventually owned more than 1,200 acres of land across Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. He died near Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the early 1840s. This image of the Mansfield blockhouse was among the photographs produced by the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1935 and 1943. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06391
Subjects: Chapman, John, 1704-1784; Mansfield (Ohio); Appleseed, Johnny, 1774-1845; Mansfield (Ohio); United States. Work Progress Administration; War of 1812
Places: Mansfield (Ohio); Richland County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows the Municipal Building located in Mansfield, Ohio. This building housed the former City Hall at the southwest corner of Second and Walnut Streets in downtown Mansfield. It has since been replaced by the new Mansfield Municipal Building, located on North Diamond Street. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B11F05_29_001
Subjects: Mansfield (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.; City halls; Municipal government
Places: Mansfield (Ohio); Richland County (Ohio)
 

Description: The east annex of the Ohio Penitentiary, where death row and the execution chamber were located, displayed photographs of hundreds of prisoners who were condemned to death throughout the state’s history. This portrait of 25-year-old Chester Probaski is one of them. Probaski, one of twelve prisoners who attempted to escape the Ohio State Reformatory in 1932, was convicted for fatally beating Correctional Officer Frank Hanger with an iron bar during the event. The caption at the bottom of the photograph reads: “No. 177, Chester Probaski of Richland County, electrocuted November 24, 1933, for the Murder of Guard Frank D. Hanger.” Altogether there were 315 people who were electrocuted in the state of Ohio between 1897 and 1963. Chester Probaski was the 177th prisoner to be executed in this manner. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL08236
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Capital punishment--Ohio--History; Electrocution; Death row; Ohio Penitentiary (Columbus, Ohio); Ohio State Reformatory (Mansfield, Ohio); Portrait photography
Places: Richland County (Ohio); Mansfield (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio); Columbus (Ohio)
 

Description: The east annex of the Ohio Penitentiary, where death row and the execution chamber were located, displayed photographs of hundreds of prisoners who were condemned to death throughout the state’s history. This portrait of 22-year-old Merrill Chandler is one of them. Chandler, one of twelve prisoners who attempted to escape the Ohio State Reformatory in 1932, was convicted for fatally beating Correctional Officer Frank Hanger with an iron bar during the event. The caption at the bottom of the photograph reads: “No. 178, Merrill E. Chandler of Richland County, electrocuted November 24, 1933, for the Murder of Guard Frank D. Hanger.” Altogether there were 315 people who were electrocuted in the state of Ohio between 1897 and 1963. Merrill Chandler was the 178th prisoner to be executed in this manner. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL08237
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Capital punishment--Ohio--History; Electrocution; Death row; Ohio Penitentiary (Columbus, Ohio); Ohio State Reformatory (Mansfield, Ohio)
Places: Richland County (Ohio); Mansfield (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio); Columbus (Ohio)
 

Description: Reverse reads: "John Simpson Junior High School, Mansfield, O. Richland Co." This is a photograph of John Simpson Junior High School in Mansfield, Ohio. This school closed in 2007 as a result of budgetary restrictions. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F06_016_001
Subjects: Junior high schools--United States; Mansfield (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Pictorial works; Architecture--Ohio--Pictorial works; Education; School buildings--Ohio; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Mansfield (Ohio); Richland County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reconstructed block house in Mansfield, Richland County, Ohio. The photograph was taken ca. 1940-1949. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00403
Subjects: Mansfield (Ohio). Block House; Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood
Places: Mansfield (Ohio); Richland County (Ohio)
 

Description: This is a photo of Mansfield General Hospital. The hospital still operates in Mansfield as OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital but has been greatly expanded. The original structure seen here remains part of the new building today. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B11F05_28_001
Subjects: Mansfield (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.; Hospitals--History--Ohio; Medicine--Ohio
Places: Mansfield (Ohio); Richland County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reverse reads: "Mansfield Public Library" The Mansfield Public Library is now the Mansfield/Richland County Public Library. It sits at 43 W 3rd St in Mansfield. It has expanded to the lots behind and to both sides of the original building. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B11F05_11_001
Subjects: Mansfield (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.; Libraries
Places: Mansfield (Ohio); Richland County (Ohio)