This weeks #GOPCThread features the latest in our #OHCommunitySpotlight series, this week traveling to Mansfield Ohio. Once a manufacturing hub, today Mansfield, the largest city in the Mid-Ohio region, has diversified into a service economy, including retailing, education, and healthcare sectors.

Not on Twitter, the thread is available online, as well as below.

Greater Ohio Policy Center Read on Twitter

Today’s #GOPCThread features @CityofMansfield as this month’s #OHCommunitySpotlight

Mansfield was platted in 1808 and named for Col. Jared Mansfield, the US Surveyor General at the time. #GOPCThread #OHCommunitySpotlight

The region had been home for members of the Wendat (Wyandot) tribe, and was likely a destination for members of the nomadic Shawnee tribe #GOPCThread OHCommunitySpotlight

By the mid-1800s, railroads had come to Mansfield to help move the stoves and farm equipment being manufactured there. By mid-century, Mansfield was the main commerce center in the region serving farms & villages #GOPCThread #OHCommunitySpotlight

Mansfield boomed in the early 20thcentury, attracting many men (& then their families) who arrived from Ireland, Italy, Germany, Yugoslavia (as it was called after 1918), Hungary, Macedonia, and other European locations #GOPCThread #OHCommunitySpotlight

Mansfield really came into its own as a steel town, appliance town, and tire town during the Great Recession and into WWII. #GOPCThread #OHCommunitySpotlight 

White Appalachian men were recruited to work in the factories during WWII. #Westinghouse & other companies would send buses to KY, WV, promise a job, and deduct the cost of the bus fare from their first paycheck. #GOPCThread #OHCommunitySpotlight 

Many men from Olive Hill, KY, moved to Mansfield during & after WWII. Their wives/children/extended families often followed within weeks/months. #GOPCThread #OHCommunitySpotlight 

Like 100s of other industrial cities, Mansfield’s southern black pop. also rapidly grew during/after WWII, as men & their families sought well-paying jobs & greater opportunity in the North. #GOPCThread #OHCommunitySpotlight

In the 1950s, Mansfield landed a @GM/Fisher Body plant. Along w/ the steel mill, #Westinghouse, #OhioBrass, & dozens of other factories, Mansfield was booming, hitting its peak pop of 55k by 1970. #GOPCThread #OHCommunitySpotlight 

Things began to unravel in 1970s/80s when #Westinghouse & #OhioBrass were bought & production began to be relocated. The GM plant, AK Steel & smaller producers helped insulate the city’s economy, but it wasn’t enough #GOPCThread #OHCommunitySpotlight

The Great Recession was the final nail for the @GM plant, which closed in 2009. The @CLE_Cliffs steel mill (formerly #AKSteel) continues to operate but w/ a fraction of the employees it used to have. #GOPCThread #OHCommunitySpotlight 

But Mansfielders are resilient + are working hard to reposition the city for the 21st century. Many legacy firms are doing complex advanced manufacturing these days.  Healthcare is also a lg employer #GOPCThread  #OHCommunitySpotlight 

Leadership from @RichlandAreaCh + @RichlandFoundat + @RichlandSource are creating a multi-sector force for good in the city & creating spaces for all residents to contribute #GOPCThread #OHCommunitySpotlight 

The 2019 Mansfield Rising Plan, spearheaded by @RichlandFoundat, @RichlandAreaCh + @RichlandSource charted a vision and action/investment plan for downtown’s renaissance #GOPCThread #OHCommunitySpotlight  

Downtown is coming back strong, with a range of merchants, services, and dining options. Leaders are now working to get even more housing in the core. #GOPCThread #OHCommunitySpotlight  

.@CityofMansfield recently commissioned a Parks Master Plan that will help ensure all residents have access to green, active space. #GOPCThread #OHCommunitySpotlight  

.@RichlandCRPC has been working hard to make Mansfield (& the entire county) safer for bikes, pedestrians, and transit users by encouraging the development #CompleteStreets. #GOPCThread #OHCommunitySpotlight  

The biz community, via the @RichlandAreaCh, understands that quality of place is needed to attract quality jobs. Across the city (and even the county!) there is an acknowledgment + commitment to making Mansfield a place to live/work/place #GOPCThread #OHCommunitySpotlight  

With the announcement of $22M in #ARPA funds to @cityofMansfield, local civic leaders have been encouraging elected officials to think about how to have long term impact with the $$. @GreaterOhio has been lucky to lend a hand #GOPCThread #OHCommunitySpotlight  

 There’s much to do in #Mansfield: ride the Carrousel, visit @OSReformatory, do the @ShawshankTrail, drink @BrewingPhoenix.  @DestinationMans can hook you up w/ a great itinerary #GOPCThread #OHCommunitySpotlight   

Keep up the good work, Mansfield! We love watching you revitalize! #GOPCThread #OHCommunitySpotlight