Richland County history

In 1802, under the Ohio Constitution, the Office of Sheriff became an elected position with two-year terms.

The first Sheriff in Richland County, Ohio to be elected was JOHN WALLACE, who was elected to the position on April 1st 1813.

The first Jail was situated in the lower part of the “blockhouse” which then was located on the square and used until 1827.

Mansfield, O.: A. A. Graham & co, 1880.

Prior to 1886, the Sheriff served as executioner until the State Legislature abolished this duty.

The second jail was built at the corner of East Third St and Sugar St (presently Franklin St) which was utilized until 1928 at which time it was replaced by the jail built on S. Diamond Street, just south of the old courthouse.

The Sheriff’s elected position remained a two-year term until 1936 when it was changed to a four-year term.

The carousel, or merry-go-round, at Richland Carrousel Park opened in 1991 in downtown Mansfield, Ohio

The county’s average income was 22,721 dollars per person in 1999, with 11.5 percent of the population living in poverty.

The county seat is Mansfield, which is the county’s largest population center, with 49,346 residents in 2000.

They began by scanning these pictures of Richland County's people and places from the Richland County History Room starting in the fall of 2007.

In 2013, the Sheriff’s Office was awarded the Narcotic Officer/Unit of the year for the state of Ohio by the Ohio Narcotics Association Regional Coordinating Officers.