Long before there were “dollar stores” in America there were “five cent” stores, and then “five-and-dime stores.” King of them all was Woolworth’s.
In the 1920s there was a Woolworth’s opening every 17 days in the US. By 1956 there were 2,100 of them.
In the 1970s there were 15 stores closing every year; by the 80s there were 1000 left. In 1997 Woolworth’s closed their last 400 stores.
Mansfield had 5 of them. The first was at the corner of Third & Main, in what is today the home of Pinnacle Financial Services.
Later on in the 20th century Woolworth’s moved to the Square on North Park Street.
There was one in the West Park Shopping Center that opened in 1956; and another at Johnny Appleseed Village Shopping Center in 1957.
The last Woolworth’s in Mansfield opened in 1969 at the Richland Mall.
Link to original:
http://www.richlandsource.com/area_history/then-now-woolworth-s-on-north-main-street-s/article_23abd1d6-cde6-11e6-816a-d703d87008e1.html