Mansfield is unlikely to be the first place on your lips when asked to name a city in Ohio, but it has a lot to offer nonetheless.
We spent a week in Mansfield while visiting some friends and found that there are some fun things to do, great places to eat and enjoyable places to grab a drink.
So here’s our list of what to do and where to go when visiting Mansfield.
Where To Tour
Mansfield is home to the Ohio State Reformatory, a former prison that was used as the setting for The Shawshank Redemption.
Shuttered in 1990, the prison now offers both guided and self-guided tours to the general public. It’s a fascinating – albeit bleak – experience, but it’s well worth visiting both for its history as a prison and due to several locations you’ll recognize from The Shawshank Redemption.
Where To Grab A Coffee
Our friends’ favorite coffee shop in Mansfield is Relax, It’s Just Coffee. Found on N Main St, they had friendly staff and good hot chocolate when we visited.
Even better, they’re pet-friendly and so Truffles was able to join us inside while we had a drink.
Where To Eat
Mansfield has several great places to eat, so check out this post for five that we enjoyed. Of all those, I think Panchos Tacos was my favorite as their steak tacos were delicious and full of meat.
Where To Get Donuts
There are a couple of options for great donuts in Mansfield. We got donuts from Buckeye Bakery a couple of times and they were phenomenal.
We also stopped by The Blueberry Patch which has all things blueberry. This includes blueberry cake donuts which were also excellent, especially seeing as cake donuts aren’t always our favorite.
What To Ride
Downtown Mansfield is home to Richland Carrousel Park (n.b. that’s how they spell Carousel). When it opened in 1991, it was the first hand-carved carousel to have been built and operated in the US since the 1930s.
Rides last about 3.5 minutes and only cost $1 per ride or $5 for six tickets, so it’s great value.
Where To Walk
Not only was The Shawshank Redemption filmed at the Ohio State Reformatory, but several scenes were filmed elsewhere in Mansfield and neighboring towns.
As a result, you can follow The Shawshank Trail – a list of locations that were used in the movie. In addition to the website, several of the downtown restaurants and coffee shops have flyers detailing all the locations on The Shawshank Trail and include a map noting each location.
One suggestion though – don’t bother going to all the locations outside of Mansfield. We tried doing the entire trail and it turned out to not be worth it. The oak tree blew over a few years ago and the remaining section is now outside the Ohio State Reformatory. The Maine National Bank was locked, the “bus station” is just a thrift store, a couple of stops are just roads, The Hollywood Connection stop wasn’t actually part of the movie, etc.
Mansfield has several parts of the trail that are worth visiting though. There’s the Ohio State Reformatory, the Brewer Hotel (pictured above), Brooks’ Bench, the pawn shop window and more.
What Historic Building To See
To the west of downtown Mansfield is South Park. In that park you’ll find Mansfield’s War of 1812 Blockhouse which was built in Central Park to protect settlers during the War of 1812.
From 1929 to 1980, it was used by Mansfield Boy Scout Troop 6. Major repairs were made in 1983, before it was completely restored in 2007 and moved to South Park for Mansfield’s Bicentennial – its fifth location over the years.
What Monument To See
South Park is also home to a Johnny Appleseed monument. Mansfield was one of the significant places where he planted nurseries and spent several years in the city.
Question
Those are our suggestions for things to do in Mansfield, Ohio but how about you? Do you have any suggestions? Let us know in the comments below.
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