The story
Read it all →How West Mansfield came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of West Mansfield.
West Mansfield was laid out in 1848. A post office called West Mansfield has been in operation since 1863.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · West Mansfield
West Mansfield dates to 1848, and 55% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1911 on, and the census since 1880.
1848founded
0on the National Register
55%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Quick answers
How West Mansfield began
When was West Mansfield founded?
1848
West Mansfield dates its founding to 1848 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.
First census: 333 in 18802020 census: 749178 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1863.The full story ↓
What stands out about West Mansfield’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of West Mansfield’s homes were built before 1938.On the map since 19133 editions of the USGS map, 1913 to 1961. Watch West Mansfield change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1848: 178 years of West Mansfield.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start West Mansfield’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how West Mansfield’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
West Mansfield on the map, 1913 to 1961
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West Mansfield. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1913East Liberty sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of West Mansfield.
From the old history books
What they wrote about West Mansfield in 1880
Passages that mention West Mansfield, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Logan County and Ohio1880 · page 424Read the page →
Read the text
Church was constituted about the year 1850, at the schoolhouse in District No. 5, about one mile east of Jerusalem on the road leading to West Mansfield, its constituent members having been previously connected with the Lutheran Church in Bellefontaine, worshiping in the old brick meeting-house on South Main Street. It was constituted under
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Logan County and Ohio1880 · page 503Read the page →
Read the text
The same year the Bokes Creek and East Liberty road, crossing the Jerusalem and Bellefontaine road at West Mansfield, was cleared. It had been twice before laid out, and in two diflFerent directions, one running to the Skidmore settlement and the other to the Bates settlement. It now runs from Mt. Victory to East Liberty. As the different por-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
West Mansfield, 1848 to 1913
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1848FoundingWest Mansfield is established
- 1863Post officeThe West Mansfield post office opens
- 1890
In the archiveAtlas of Logan County, Ohio - 20th century
- 1913
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
West Mansfield, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1890s1 item
1900s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
2010
2010
2008
2008
2004Every building
West Mansfield, building by building, 1911
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.
1911Sheet 1 of 2BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
People over time
West Mansfield, census by census
Between 333 and 913 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on West Mansfield’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about West Mansfield’s history
What year was West Mansfield founded?
In 1848, according to Wikidata. West Mansfield’s post office opened in 1863, and the census of 1880 counted 333 people here.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.