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Ohio · North-Central Ohio · #820
Richland County, Ohio
In the rolling country of north-central Ohio, Richland County's Mansfield has converted an unlikely asset into a genuine tourism economy - the Ohio State Reformatory, where The Shawshank Redemption was filmed in 1993, draws pilgrims from around the world to a Victorian Gothic prison building whose cinematic legacy has outlasted its correctional one and made Mansfield a destination for film tourists who would otherwise have had no reason to stop.
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Office: Richland County Emergency Management Agency – 597 Park Ave. East, Mansfield, OH 44905 | (419) 774-5686 | Fax: (419) 774-3528 | [email protected] | Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4 PM; co-located with the Richland County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff/Non-emergency: Richland County Sheriff – 597 Park Ave. East, Mansfield, OH 44905 | (419) 524-2412 | Fax: (419) 522-8153.
Jail: Richland County Jail – 73 East 2nd Street, Mansfield, OH 44902 | Main: (419) 774-5678 | Fax: (419) 774-5646.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-71 and US-30 serve Mansfield, the county seat, in north-central Ohio
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Mansfield sits at the crossroads of I-71 and US-30.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Richland County Building/Permits – confirm current contact via richlandcountyoh.gov.
Notes: Richland County is genuinely, internationally famous as the filming location of “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994), shot at the Ohio State Reformatory (OSR) in Mansfield. Designed by Cleveland architect Levi T. Scofield, blending Victorian Gothic, Richardsonian Romanesque, and Queen Anne styles, the OSR opened in 1896 and operated as an active prison until closing on New Year’s Eve 1990 following a federal lawsuit over inhumane conditions; it housed over 155,000 inmates across 94 years and contains the largest free-standing steel cell block in the world. Now operated as a museum by the Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society, it anchors the Shawshank Trail, a self-guided driving tour spanning 14-16 area filming locations, and houses three museums including a dedicated Shawshank Museum. IMPORTANT for InmateAid: Richland County is also home to two ACTIVE state prisons – Mansfield Correctional Institution (MANCI), 1150 North Main Street, mixed-security, opened 1990, capacity ~2,523; and Richland Correctional Institution (RiCI), 1001 Olivesburg Road, minimum/medium security, opened 1998, capacity ~2,613 – both distinct from the historic, now-closed Ohio State Reformatory that draws Shawshank tourists. Families searching for information on an incarcerated loved one should be careful not to confuse the historic tourist attraction with the two operational facilities.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Richland County Veteran Service Commission – 50 Park Avenue East, Mansfield, OH 44902; Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30 AM-4:30 PM, first-come-first-served (no appointments); provides VA benefits assistance, financial aid, and transportation services; organizes an annual Honor Bus trip for local veterans to visit national memorials.
State: Ohio Department of Veterans Services – dvs.ohio.gov
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Mansfield/Richland County Public Library – Main Library, 43 W 3rd St, Mansfield, OH 44902 | (419) 521-3100 | Hours: Mon-Thu 9 AM-8 PM, Fri-Sat 9 AM-5 PM; 9 locations across the county plus First Call 211 and Little Free Library sites; offers passport applications, adult literacy programs, and backpack meal programs.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Ohio State Reformatory/Shawshank Trail, Gorman Nature Center (2295 Lexington Ave), and Fleming Falls Preserve (2276 Fleming Falls Road) are the county’s signature attractions.
Notes: The genuine Shawshank Redemption filming-location heritage is one of the most nationally recognizable facts covered anywhere in this project – but IMPORTANT: it is a museum, not one of the county’s two active correctional facilities.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Richland County Auditor – confirm current phone via richlandcountyoh.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Richland County Dog Warden & Adoption Center – 810 North Home Road, Mansfield, OH 44906.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Richland County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via richlandcountyoh.gov.
NOTES: Richland County is the seventh and final county in this batch (Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Portage, Preble, Putnam, Richland) of the Ohio v2 redo. The genuine Shawshank Redemption filming-location heritage AND the county’s two active state prisons (Mansfield and Richland Correctional Institutions) make this a particularly InmateAid-relevant county – take care to distinguish the historic museum (Ohio State Reformatory) from the operational facilities. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Richland County
Richland County’s Ohio State Reformatory – a Romanesque Revival prison built between 1886 and 1910, closed in 1990 – was chosen as the filming location for The Shawshank Redemption because its Gothic stone architecture matched the story’s sense of institutional weight and despair. The film’s status as one of the most beloved movies ever made (consistently top-ranked on IMDb) has translated into sustained tourism: the Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society offers tours, paranormal investigations, and film-themed events that attract visitors year-round.
Mansfield’s Renaissance Theatre, a restored 1928 movie palace that serves as a performing arts venue, and the Mansfield Art Center give the city cultural infrastructure above what its size would typically support. The Malabar Farm State Park – Louis Bromfield’s experimental farm and literary retreat, where Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall were married – adds literary heritage. OhioHealth Mansfield provides healthcare.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Ohio assesses property at 35% of true market value, reappraised every six years with triennial updates. Property owners may appeal to the County Board of Revision. Ohio offers a homestead exemption for qualifying homeowners 65 or older. Ohio has no state estate or inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
SENIOR SERVICES
Richland County Council on Aging
41 Blymyer Avenue, Mansfield, OH 44903
Phone: (419) 525-6677
Senior Services
Richland County Council on Aging
41 Blymyer Avenue, Mansfield, OH 44903
Phone: (419) 525-6677
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
PROBATE COURT
50 Park Ave East, Mansfield, OH 44902
(419) 774-5589
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Richland County Probate Court, Mansfield (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Richland County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Richland County Probate Court 50 Park Avenue East, 2nd Floor, Mansfield, OH 44902 (419) 774-5583 Richland County is in north-central Ohio, seated in Mansfield.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Ohio has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code, but has incorporated some streamlined concepts into its own system under Title 21 of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC Chapters 2101-2131).
Summary Release from Administration (ORC § 2113.03) – available for very small estates valued at $5,000 or less. Lets the court release assets quickly, often to cover funeral expenses and support the surviving family, without a fiduciary being appointed.
Release from Administration (ORC § 2113.03) – Ohio’s broader small-estate shortcut. Available when the gross probate estate is $35,000 or less, OR up to $100,000 if the entire estate passes to a surviving spouse (by will or by Ohio’s intestacy law). No executor/administrator is appointed; the court releases the estate directly to the person(s) entitled to it.
Full Estate Administration – required when the estate exceeds these thresholds or the situation is otherwise contested or complex. The court appoints a fiduciary (Ohio’s term for executor/administrator), issues a Certificate of Appointment once any will is admitted, and the fiduciary inventories assets, publishes notice to creditors, pays debts, and distributes what remains under ongoing court supervision.
Step 2: filing for administration
File the will (if any) and an application with the Probate Court in the county where the decedent resided.
If pursuing Release from Administration or Summary Release, complete the applicable court forms (Form 5.0 for standard Release, Form 5.10 for Summary Release) along with a complete asset inventory and supporting documents.
For full administration, the court issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration to the appointed fiduciary.
The fiduciary publishes notice to creditors; claims generally must be presented within 6 months of the date of death.
The fiduciary inventories and manages estate assets, pays valid debts and expenses, and distributes what remains according to the will or Ohio’s intestacy law, reporting to the court along the way.
The estate is closed once a final account is filed and approved by the court.
What it costs
Filing fees vary by county – check with Richland County directly for current fees.
No state estate tax, no state inheritance tax (repealed effective January 1, 2013). Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates ($15,000,000 per individual as of 2026).
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
PROBATE COURT
50 Park Ave East, Mansfield, OH 44902
(419) 774-5589
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
555 Longview Ave, Mansfield, OH 44903
(419) 774-5501
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
1495 West Longview Ave, Mansfield, OH 44906
(419) 774-5530
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Richland Public Health
555 Lexington Ave, Mansfield, OH 44907
(419) 774-4500
Job and Family Services
731 Scholl Rd, Mansfield, OH 44907
(419) 774-5900
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Richland Public Health – 50 Park Avenue East, Mansfield, OH 44902.
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Editorial Trust
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Mansfield
Population: 121,000
Tier: 3
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Richland County facilities via Amazon.
