Mansfield was established in 1808, when its public square was built in north-central Ohio, carved out of a wilderness inhabited only by tribes of Native Americans and an itinerant nurseryman called Johnny Appleseed. Throughout the 200 years since, Mansfield has always been characterized as a leader in innovation. When agriculture was the nation's mainstay, Mansfield manufactured farming machinery; when the country became industrial, Mansfield rose to strength with new technologies in stoves, streetcars, and steel; and when automobiles rolled into history, they rode on Mansfield tires. As a centralized crossroads where railroads and highways meet, it was known to travelers on the Lincoln Highway or the Pennsylvania Railroad as a charming town of tree-lined streets and church towers. With the rust belt decline of big industry in the late 1900s, Mansfield went through yet another metamorphosis, defining the new American economy of small manufacturing and service industries.