Mansfield Memorial Museum
Mansfield Memorial Museum
4
About
The Mansfield Memorial Museum established in 1889, is the oldest museum in Richland County. Founded by Edward Wilkinson who, as an avid collector of specimens and artifacts for the Smithsonian Institute, Carnegie Natural History Museum and Peabody Field Museum, established a varied and extensive collection from which the museum has continued to grow. Featuring multiple collections including all major wars, natural history, repository for many public documents from Richland County and the City of Mansfield and the Industrial History of Mansfield including Westinghouse's home of the future and the oldest American robot ELEKTRO as featured in the Worlds Fair 1937-38 in New York. The Mansfield Memorial Museum invites you to visit and share in the rich history that is North Central Ohio.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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4.0
16 reviews
Excellent
7
Very good
7
Average
1
Poor
0
Terrible
1
Porthos7
West Chester, OH8,967 contributions
Aug 2015
This museum is chock full of interesting things to see! It has a small town feel to it, but at the same time - very nationalistic. The highlights are the model airplanes on display (hundreds of them from every decade), local history/industry timeline objects and of course the robot from the World's Fair (which I would have loved to seen in it's day interacting with us humans...). All neat. Now... the slight problem. The docents... Yes - usually I look forward to interacting with docents, but at this museum, they are just... clingy. I didn't want one when I entered, but one just latched on and gave me history on EVERY single little item (whether I was interested or not). When I asked to go to the upstairs to see the collection - without a docent - I was literally given a confused look, and was passed on to.... another docent who talked about every single item! I like to see/explore at my own pace and THEN go to a docent to ask for more information! A visit that should have taken less than an hour became almost 3 hours - totally ridiculous for a place this small. We spent almost 30min alone at the model airplanes - totally - not needed! Now - truth be told.. I love when someone has an incredible amount of passion for what they show at a museum (and these guys truly do!), but... let me decide what to be interested in. They were lovely people - but you just could not get away from them. So absolutely go see this museum, it's really neat and interesting - just make it VERY CLEAR that you will ask for a docent's help when needed!
Written September 27, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
David J
Powell, TN93 contributions
Oct 2017 • Couples
We decided to stop by the museum on a whim while visiting Mansfield and are we glad that we did. Nice quaint place that has a lot of history! Not only the items inside the museum but the building itself. We had an excellent tour guide that was well informed on all the items presented. There is no charge, strictly donation based for the upkeep. It is a hidden gem and well worth the visit!
Written October 17, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
tthemickstar
Nottinghamshire, UK94 contributions
Feb 2018 • Friends
Came here with my friend Ed Olson on a bleak snowy night. Whilst he was chairing a meeting, I was left to my own devices and had a good look around - fascinating stuff here including the world's first robots, from waaaaay back in 1939 made by Westinghouse - long-gone from the city now.
Great exhibits from WW1 and 2 plus local industrial heritage items. Most helpful curator I have ever come across - nothing was too much trouble for him.There are three floors, but as the place was officially closed, I only saw the ground floor - or first floor, if you are American haha.
Wonderful, wonderful place - dating back to 1888 when it was built for veterans of the American Civil Way, I believe. Still used today for military meetings, get-togethers etc, so it is still alive
Well, well worth a visit
Great exhibits from WW1 and 2 plus local industrial heritage items. Most helpful curator I have ever come across - nothing was too much trouble for him.There are three floors, but as the place was officially closed, I only saw the ground floor - or first floor, if you are American haha.
Wonderful, wonderful place - dating back to 1888 when it was built for veterans of the American Civil Way, I believe. Still used today for military meetings, get-togethers etc, so it is still alive
Well, well worth a visit
Written February 15, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DeLee P
6 contributions
Mar 2016 • Business
Lot's of Westinghouse and Robot Items and Information. Many items regarding Aviation and the Building itself is Wonderful.
Written March 23, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tom2718281828459045
Mansfield, OH3 contributions
Feb 2016 • Couples
I (Tom) got to serve as an attendant once at this museum, and was fascinated by it. It's as though someone closed the door on the museum many decades ago, and it hadn't been touched since. I was there long before any of the "When did you travel?" choices below, so don't know whether it's been open for visitors within the past year. I took someone there to see the building a month or so ago, and there was a sign in the window stating that the museum would be open in March (I think) of 2015 [sic].
Written February 24, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
belletrenini
Lexington, OH59 contributions
Feb 2015 • Family
If you live in the area, you really must visit. There have a wonderfully eclectic collection of items. It's a small museum, but you can easily spend two hours exploring it.
Written March 17, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Quila S
Mansfield, Ohio, United States9 contributions
Oct 2014 • Couples
This little museum is in a historic Soldiers and Sailors home. There is some really cool stuff such as a early robot that was in some movies. Really neat technology, civil war stuff and some very unique taxidermy items. Keep your eyes out for the purported ghosts.
Written January 24, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Velvet D
Los Angeles, CA161 contributions
Aug 2014 • Friends
Small, quirky, and only open during the summer, but still well worth a visit in my opinion.
This little museum is home to Elektro - one of the very first robots built in the 1930s for display at the World's Fair. The museum also has other interesting displays such as a retro clothes dryer that plays "How Dry I Am", and one of the first microwave ovens.
As a bonus, the curator of the museum, Scott, is generally there to answer questions, show you around, and talk about the finding and restoration of Elektro. If you're ever in the Mansfield area, I'd recommend a visit - but be sure to call first and make sure they're open!
This little museum is home to Elektro - one of the very first robots built in the 1930s for display at the World's Fair. The museum also has other interesting displays such as a retro clothes dryer that plays "How Dry I Am", and one of the first microwave ovens.
As a bonus, the curator of the museum, Scott, is generally there to answer questions, show you around, and talk about the finding and restoration of Elektro. If you're ever in the Mansfield area, I'd recommend a visit - but be sure to call first and make sure they're open!
Written September 7, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
amanda m
1 contribution
Sep 2023 • Couples
Disappointed.
Wanted to see this cool place but vm says will open in April 2023 but it's Sept 2003 and it's locked up. Maybe someone lives at the front door.
Wanted to see this cool place but vm says will open in April 2023 but it's Sept 2003 and it's locked up. Maybe someone lives at the front door.
Written September 23, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ElaineAndGreg
Chesterland, OH3,088 contributions
Oct 2022
If you like the quirky, off-beat, or unusual, clear your weekend and come here.
The museum is called the "Mansfield Memorial Museum" but it could more accurately be called the "Museum of really cool stuff over the last 150 years or more."
The museum itself is in a Soldier's and Sailor's building constructed for Civil War veterans in the late 1800s. The building itself is beautiful. It's worth coming here to see the stone and woodwork, as well as the original furniture. They have something like 98 of the original 100 chairs made for the building. Many of the displays are in attractive vintage museum display cases.
The star of the show here is an exhibition of robots from the 1937 New York World's fair. The original robot is called Elektro and could do some walking and talking using vacuum tube technology. They have the original, which was modified for a movie called (really!) "Sex Kittens Go To College." They have made a cast from the original without modification. There was also an electronic dog called Sparko that was, tragically in my mind, scrapped by the owner when it stopped working.
Westinghouse used to have a large production facility in Mansfield where Elektro was made. This museum has a large display of retro-looking Westinghouse appliances from the 1920's and 1930s, which are very cool. One is a clothes dryer with the option to have a musical box play the tune "How Dry I Am" when done.
Much of the museum is on the first floor, but you really, really, want to go upstairs as well. There you will see things like anthropomorphic taxidermy from the 1800s (think a duck wedding or a musical ensemble made up of stuffed rodents and a toad). They have lots of Civil War memorabilia such as uniforms and weapons from Harper's Ferry. They have likely thousands of model airplanes and tanks inherited from a local collector. There are some early toys, fossils, the lower jaw from a Barnum and Bailey tiger, and all kinds of other unusual items. Most of these are housed in cool wooden display cases that look like they came out of a movie.
The museum has a feel that it was stuck in time, and that is true to an extent as it closed in the 1950s and only reopened in the late 1990s. The curator is a long-term veteran of the Smithsonian so the displays and descriptions are excellent. They welcome questions and are eager to share information about the exhibits.
The museum has only limited hours on weekends during the warmer months of the year. Our sense is that it was staffed by volunteers, who were very enthusiastic and knowledgeable.
They just opened a new museum of aviation behind this one with artifacts from early aviators (including one that flew with Orville Wright). I'd ask about it.
This is a genuine hidden gem and a lot of fun. There is street parking in the area and a large parking lot out back. Admission is free, but you can leave a donation (which we did).
The museum is called the "Mansfield Memorial Museum" but it could more accurately be called the "Museum of really cool stuff over the last 150 years or more."
The museum itself is in a Soldier's and Sailor's building constructed for Civil War veterans in the late 1800s. The building itself is beautiful. It's worth coming here to see the stone and woodwork, as well as the original furniture. They have something like 98 of the original 100 chairs made for the building. Many of the displays are in attractive vintage museum display cases.
The star of the show here is an exhibition of robots from the 1937 New York World's fair. The original robot is called Elektro and could do some walking and talking using vacuum tube technology. They have the original, which was modified for a movie called (really!) "Sex Kittens Go To College." They have made a cast from the original without modification. There was also an electronic dog called Sparko that was, tragically in my mind, scrapped by the owner when it stopped working.
Westinghouse used to have a large production facility in Mansfield where Elektro was made. This museum has a large display of retro-looking Westinghouse appliances from the 1920's and 1930s, which are very cool. One is a clothes dryer with the option to have a musical box play the tune "How Dry I Am" when done.
Much of the museum is on the first floor, but you really, really, want to go upstairs as well. There you will see things like anthropomorphic taxidermy from the 1800s (think a duck wedding or a musical ensemble made up of stuffed rodents and a toad). They have lots of Civil War memorabilia such as uniforms and weapons from Harper's Ferry. They have likely thousands of model airplanes and tanks inherited from a local collector. There are some early toys, fossils, the lower jaw from a Barnum and Bailey tiger, and all kinds of other unusual items. Most of these are housed in cool wooden display cases that look like they came out of a movie.
The museum has a feel that it was stuck in time, and that is true to an extent as it closed in the 1950s and only reopened in the late 1990s. The curator is a long-term veteran of the Smithsonian so the displays and descriptions are excellent. They welcome questions and are eager to share information about the exhibits.
The museum has only limited hours on weekends during the warmer months of the year. Our sense is that it was staffed by volunteers, who were very enthusiastic and knowledgeable.
They just opened a new museum of aviation behind this one with artifacts from early aviators (including one that flew with Orville Wright). I'd ask about it.
This is a genuine hidden gem and a lot of fun. There is street parking in the area and a large parking lot out back. Admission is free, but you can leave a donation (which we did).
Written October 17, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
How much does it cost to get in and what are 5
The hours?
Written February 26, 2019
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