Mandela County

> I can assure you that you are 100% safe here. There is no reason to run. Who are you running from?
>
> Unknown, mandelapolice.com

**Mandela County** is a fictional United States county located in southeastern Wisconsin and the titular location for *The Mandela Catalogue* series. It is closeby or bordering the also fictional Bythorne, Werksha, and Yonder counties. It is south of Bythorne, as said by O'Brien in Volume 4. Mandela County is based on Washington County, WI, having the same location of southern Wisconsin.

In the original series the population of Mandela County is 1,075 in 2009. Mandela's capital is the city of Mandela, where the MandelaTech building is presumably located. Mandela County may also have another settlement named *St. John*. Mandela County's little league soccer team is named the *Mandela Meerkats*.

## History

In the original series Mandela County was presumably established sometime in 1832, judging by the Mandela County Police Department's ensign.

Sometime in the 1990's In the original series, 3,426 children living in Mandela (including Adam) and the neighboring countries were kidnapped by 6. According to mandelapolice.com, its population has seen a decrease in recent years (as of November 12, 2004) with most residents moving to surrounding counties, citing "safer living conditions".

In the episode Interlude in the original series, we see a population trend chart from 1990-2010, displaying how Mandela County's population drops from 14,763+ to somewhere under 1,075 in just about 20 years time, likely due to residents seeking the aforementioned "safer living conditions" or possibly dying due to alternates.

In the original series Mandela was supposed to have a Christmas parade on 12/07/04, however it was cancelled, likely due to inclement "weather conditions".

In the original series by early 2009, Mandela was considered a ghost town and along with its low population, most people don't care for the county. It's stated those who leave Mandela and don't become a victim of Alternates or of themselves from Alternates apparently moved to Werksha County which possibly means that Alternates have not spread to any other location other than Mandela for unknown reasons.

A population trend chart for Mandela County is shown here. Anything below 2009 is an educated guess.

## Notable Locations

* The Murray Residence
* The Mandela County Police Station
* MandelaTech store

## Settlements

* Mandela
* St John

## Citizens

* Mark Heathcliff
* Cesar Torres

## Trivia

* If Mandela was a real county, it would be approximately the 20th least populated county in the mainland U.S.
	+ It would also be the least populated county in the state of Wisconsin.
	+ It would likely also be the most dangerous county not only on United States but this whole world due to the alternates.
* The population trend chart in interlude goes up to 2010, but the chart in Volume 4 goes up to 2009.
* As stated by Alex Kister, many shots in the Mandela Catalogue featuring the landscape of Mandela County is designed to have an uncanny, cheesy feel to it, with stock images for the land and clouds and CGI for other objects, such as wind turbines seen.
* Mandela County, WI is within driving distance of Brighton, MI (about a 6.5 hour drive), the location where *The Walten Files*, a similar analog horror webseries, takes place.
	+ The name *Brighton Bunnies*, the team the Mandela Meerkats are up against, is also reference to The Walten Files.
* Washington County, of which Mandela County is likely based on, has a population of 136,761.
* It borders Milwaukee County on its far south-eastern corner. This could mean that Milwaukee might play a future role.
* The population of Mandela County has a reduction of around 300 every year. If this were to continue, Mandela County would be unpopulated by 2012.
	+ This may be in reference to the old belief that the world was going to reach its end via the Rapture in the year 2012.
* If Washington County, WI, is the location of Mandela County in the Mandela Catalogue universe, either Fond du Lac or Sheboygan counties may be the location of Bythorne County.
* The church where Mark and Sarah Heathcliff took a picture in front of is the Holy Hill Basilica, located near Hubertus, WI, where Alex Kister lives. It is also seen in the Mandela County Police Department's logo and Volume 4.
* In real life, Exit 333, seen in the beginning of Volume 4, is located off of I-75 in Dalton, GA.

## References

1. ↑ mandelapolice.com

es:Condado de Mandela