The Old Federal Building

There had been a discussion of a new Federal Building to house the Post Office for more than twenty years in Mansfield before the erection of the building on the corner of North Mulberry and West Fourth Streets. An article in the Mansfield News from December 7, 1907, said that many “smaller cities had secured public buildings though [they were] less entitled to them than Mansfield.” It was suggested that “a federal building should be determined largely by the amount of its post office and other government business,” but this was not the case. If it had been, Mansfield would “have secured what cities of lesser federal importance [had] been granted.” This changed with the election of Republican Jay Ford Laning to the Sixtieth Congress (March 4, 1907-March 3, 1909). Laning reportedly wrote to a friend in Mansfield in February of 1907, before his term started, saying he would “move very early in the December session for an appropriation for a government building at Mansfield.”

Laning, with the cooperation of Senators Foraker and Dick, followed through on his promise and, by May of 1908, the passage of an omnibus bill with appropriations of $100,000 for a federal building in Mansfield was assured. The discussion immediately began on where the building should be placed and everyone seemed to have an opinion. Some of the early suggestions were the southwest or northwest corners of North Walnut and West Third Streets, the southeast or northeast corners of North Diamond and East Fourth Streets, or somewhere between North Main Street and North Walnut. Ultimately, the decision would be made by non-residents of the city. On June 3, 1908, an ad appeared in the Mansfield News requesting proposals be mailed to Secretary of Treasury for the sale or donation of a suitable site.

On October 16, 1908, inspector James P. Lowe arrived to look at the proposed sites. After much delay, in March of 1909, the Loughridge property was purchased for $20,000. Buildings were demolished or moved, lawsuits were filed to prevent the destruction of trees lining Mulberry Street, and the site was cleared. Then nothing happened. The site sat empty, a sarcastic line appeared in the Mansfield News, saying “Cheer up! We have a site for a federal building anyhow.” One merchant, John H. Miller, even tried to capitalize on the delay by putting “The New Federal Building” in big letters at the top of an advertisement. Finally, in January of 1912, bids were sought for the construction of the new building.

Almost immediately, residents protested saying the building was not big enough to meet the needs of the city, even though it was nearly triple the size of the current post office, nor of “such character as will be a credit to Mansfield.” This caused Vernon Redding, the architect of the recently completed public library, to defend the structure. Comparing it to other buildings in the city, he said it would more than meet the city’s needs and be “the most beautiful and imposing structure in Mansfield” upon its completion. Postmaster Benedict also stepped up in support of the building saying it was better than some secured by larger cities. In February of 1912, Huntington Brown, president of the Chamber of Commerce, traveled to Washington D. C. and was successful in getting some changes made, including enlarging the structure. James Corse, of Racine, Wisconsin, was awarded the contract for the construction of the building and, after many delays, the cornerstone of the new building was laid on Tuesday, November 19, 1912, at 2:30 p.m.

The building progressed quickly and, on October 22, 1913, the stonework was completed. The building was expected to be completed on November 1, 1913, but delays in getting approval from Washington on the marble and lighting fixtures used pushed back the opening. The new date of completion was March 1. Delays in obtaining the marble for the lobby pushed back the date even further. The last of the marble finally arrived on May 21, 1914. On Friday night, June 12, 1914, thousands of people inspected the new building, nodding with approval. The following Monday, June 15, the post office moved into their new headquarters and Mayor Marquis received the first letter from the Mansfield News. The post office moved to its current location, the 8-million dollar Jackson E. Betts Federal Building, in early 1973. The Mansfield Board of Education would later move into the old post office building. Today the building is home to Weldon, Huston & Keyser, L.L.P.

Schlechty, Jayson. Mansfield Federal Building: Good Things Come to Those Who Wait, The Sherman Room Blog. July 2nd 2020. Accessed July 6th 2020. https://theshermanroom.wordpress.com/2020/07/02/mansfield-federal-building-good-things-come-to-those-who-wait/.

Landmarks of Mansfield: The Old Post Office, 1812 Blockhouse. April 15th 2018. Accessed July 6th 2020. https://1812blockhouse.com/history-tourism/landmarks-of-mansfield-the-old-post-office/.