SECTIONS
By Amanda Rogers
Mansfield Record
The Mansfield Historical Society is diving into some of the city’s scarier past, and inviting the public to help solve a long-ago murder.
The historical society will host a murder mystery dinner April 4-5 and examine a 50-year-old unsolved murder.
“The murder mystery is an interactive drama with audience involvement,” said Tom Leach, president of the Mansfield Historical Society. “It is based on the 1973 Ragland murder, which was never solved. Only public factual details are used in the drama.”
Joseph Ragland II, 56, was found dead in his home on Ragland Road on July 17, 1973. Ragland and his family had lived in Mansfield for many years and owned 1,400 acres of land when he died.
“The murder mystery is written and performed by the North Texas Civilian Historians, who have been writing and performing historical murder mysteries as fund-raising events for museums and historical societies for over 15 years,” Leach said. “The event is designed to be a fun, interactive event that is respectful of the past and all involved. It is guaranteed that you will laugh, make new friends and have a memorable evening.”
The event will be catered by El Primo’s Mexican Grill & Cantina in the Great Room at the Mansfield ISD Administration building, 605 E. Broad St. A silent auction will also be held, with 1970’s era items furnished by the Mansfield Antique Mall.
Tickets are $50, with all proceeds going to help relocate the Cook Cabin to the Man House Museum property, where it will be used as a period kitchen.
The April 5 performance is sold out, but a limited number of tickets are still available for the 6:30 p.m. April 4 performance. Tickets are available at available at mansfieldtxhistoricalsociety.org.
Mansfield, Texas, is a booming city, nestled between Fort Worth and Dallas, but with a personality all its own. The city’s 76,247 citizens enjoy an award-winning school district, vibrant economy, historic downtown, prize-winning park system and community focus spread across 37 square miles. The Mansfield Record is dedicated to reporting city and school news, community happenings, police and fire news, business, food and restaurants, parks and recreation, library, historical archives and special events. The city’s only online newspaper launched in September 2020 and will offer introductory advertising rates for the first three months at three different rates.
The Mansfield Record is the only local newspaper serving Mansfield, Texas. Established in 2020, the Mansfield Record is bringing the focus back where it should be.
