250 
PARK AND CEMEFERY 
I' 
THE PARKS OF MANSFIELD, O. 
The development of the parks in 
this country becomes a matter of sur- 
prise when we consider that fifty years 
ago very few public parks were in ex- 
istence. In the large eastern cities 
there were isolated instances; and 
public squares which were to be found 
in most of the prominent towns, while 
totally inadequate to fulfill the idea 
of recreation grounds, were the prin- 
cipal representatives of the parks of 
to-day. In the middle states and west, 
the court house, standing ofttimes in 
its barren block, was about all the 
average citizen knew of a park. 
To-day a city fails in an essential 
element of its communal prosperity 
if it has no park, or at least if there 
is no concerted action apparent to 
secure the land for park purposes. 
In Mansfield, O., in 1850-, the 
only public ground owned by the city 
was the square now known as Cen- 
tral park. Then there was nothing to 
