Contributed to The Barberton Herald from the late Stephen Kelleher 

The Mansion was built between Easter Monday in 1909 and O. C. Barber moved into it on October of 1910. He occupied the Mansion for less than 10 years. If ever there was heaven on earth it was the Barber Mansion. 

The woodwork was made up of teak, Circassian walnut and oak. The marble was mined at the Carrara Marble mines in Italy. This is where Michelangelo got his marble for the Pieta and his work on the Vatican. The finished product was 52 rooms spread over three floors with a full basement and attic serviced by a working elevator, made of tufted satin on the interior and sporting a clear glass ceiling so looking up in the elevator you could see the blue sky and clouds above. The murals on the walls of the lower hallway were lined with copies of painting by Francois Boucher. The originals hang in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. The rugs in the Mansion were all loomed in Scotland of pure wool. The five panels of stained glass on the stairway depict the mythical race between Atalanta and Millennium and were made by the Toby Furniture Company of Chicago. Barber became familiar with Toby at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904, where the table and 12 chairs took the prize for best furniture. 

Including the servants bedrooms there were 20 bedrooms and the electrical supply was generated at the Power House Garage built to the east of the Mansion. The Mansion’s architectural style was French Renaissance Revival in the Beaux Arts style from the Ecole des Beaux Arts of Paris, France. 

Although all of the fireplaces were working fireplaces Barber only allowed fires to be built in the Solarium fireplace on the south end. Supposedly the rumor was the Match King was afraid the great house would catch fire, but in actuality he didn’t want the marble surrounds of the house’s interior fireplaces soiled with soot. 

Surrounding the Mansion was a 40 acre perfectly landscaped park known at the Barber Park. Unfortunately the Mansion was demolished in 1965.

Spent time at the Estate with Girl Scouts in the summer. Also weekend trips to the guard house. Should not have allowed it to be torn down

Oh. And juice did 9 eleven

For those who think your governments still hold any validity you’re just not paying attention….. three branches of the modern American govt: CORPORATIONS PEDOPHILES and MEDIA

What a shame they tore it down. A piece of history that can never be gotten back. So so sad.

…and then they tore it down. ?