MAN HOUSE MUSEUM PROJECT

Mansfield Garden Club’s newest project is a partnership with the Mansfield Historical Society to restore the grounds surrounding the Man House Museum. 

This collaboration is a long-term project with many facets, including:

• Identifying plants that are currently on the grounds 
• Researching Mansfield history sources to determine plants that may have been on the original property
• Researching the Man family and the access it may have had to plants both inside and outside the state

Our club has assembled a team of expert gardeners who will help design and oversee the development of all the gardens on the site. Some of those that are anticipated include a kitchen

garden, herb and vegetable garden,

an orchard, and a cutting garden.

MGC will oversee volunteer groups wishing to educate themselues on the history of the Man House and its gardens. These groups will work together to remove plants not of the period, plant

varieties auailable during the mid-1800's, thin out some garden sections, and repurpose plants into other areas.

Mansfield founder Ralph S. Man built this home for his family between the years ca. 1865-1870. The oldest known building in Mansfield, it stands as an important local landmark. In 2020, the City of Mansfield started restoration on the historic structure and removed some modern modifications. Work on the interior of the home included painting the rooms in their original colors and exposing the logs from the original log house. Today, the house looks much as it did when the Man family was in residence.