Richland County Infirmary
Also known as: Richland County Home
Why it's listed
Richland County bought a 160-acre quarter section in 1845 and built a poor house to care for paupers, orphans, the mentally ill and disabled residents. The site grew into a working farm complex of about 200 acres in rolling countryside north of Mansfield. The first residence burned in 1878. The surviving core includes a 1889 pressed-brick laundry and boiler building with polychrome arches and Palladian windows, and a 1925 two-story brick Colonial Revival main building on a Y-shaped plan, arranged so sunlight reaches every room. A 1938 basement barn uses Shawver plank-frame construction. Other resources include a silo, corn crib, machinery sheds, a slaughter house, a root cellar, a pest house, a pump house and an unmarked pauper cemetery. Together they illustrate how a county institution housed and fed its residents, who also did much of the farm and household work. Recent additions, such as a garage, field house, picnic shelter and observation deck, are noncontributing.
Significance in brief: The complex is argued to be significant for social history as a long-running county institution that housed paupers, orphans, the mentally ill and disabled people while operating as a working farm. It is also significant for architecture, through the 1925 main building, the 1889 laundry/boiler building and the 1938 Shawver plank-frame barn.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 01001042, listed September 24, 2001. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 3220 Mansfield-Olivesburg Rd., Mansfield |
|---|---|
| County | Richland County |
| Listed | September 24, 2001 |
| Reference number | 01001042 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1845 - 1950 |
| Architect / builder | Schnitzer, F. F. / Architect; Redding, Vernon / Architect; Hancock, Robert G. / Builder |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian; Late 19th & 20th Century Revivals: Colonial |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The main building is in use, with first-floor front space converted to offices after 1984. The boiler/laundry building was shut down in 1984, though its roof remains sound. The exterior of the main building appears well maintained. |
| Acreage | 160 |
| Coordinates | 40.84027, -82.47004 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 01001042.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.