Mansfield’s post office opened in 1844, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #19 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 8 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1870.
The Mansfield post office opened in 1844, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, South Mansfield (1911), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 813 in 18702020 census: 4,714182 years
How historic is Mansfield?
A−
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Mansfield post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Mansfield’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mansfield is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #19 of 161 in Louisiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mansfield’s overall grade.
Louisiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Louisiana town has 3.8 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Mansfield’s 23.8 sits above most of its state (77% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 11 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Mansfield’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1885Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
People over time
Mansfield, census by census
Peaked at 6,485 in 1980; 4,714 people lived here in 2020.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Mansfield’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone
Mansfield’s post office has been open since 1844. Another post office, South Mansfield, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Mansfield, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Mansfield yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Mansfield is a small city in and the parish seat of DeSoto Parish, Louisiana, United States. Mansfield is part of the Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan statistical area, with a 2020 population of 4,714.
Its first post office opened in 1844. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 5,001 to 4,714 (-6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Mansfield, 1844 to 1980
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Mansfield post office opened in 1844, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Mansfield rank for history?
Mansfield is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #19 of 161 in Louisiana. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Mansfield?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Mundy-McFarland House (listed 1979, the first), and 1 historic district, the Mansfield Historic District, with 8 contributing buildings. 11 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Mansfield?
11% of Mansfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1973.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (11), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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