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History · Mansfield

Mansfield’s post office opened in 1905, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1915 on and the census since 1920.

1905first post office
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
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Photo: SounderBruce · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Mansfield began

When was Mansfield founded?

1905

The Mansfield post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Appledale (1912), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 478 in 19202020 census: 326121 years
Founding year: the first Mansfield post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Mansfield’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Mansfield are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mansfield’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mansfield’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Mansfield came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mansfield.

Read it all →

R.E. Darling named Mansfield in 1905 after his hometown of Mansfield, Ohio. Mansfield's land was purchased and first developed in 1909 by the Great Northern Railway. Mansfield was officially incorporated on February 23, 1911.

By 1914, the town had grown substantially, and had acquired two hotels, a bank, a doctor's office, and many more amenities. What had started as a town based on agriculture and the railroad had grown into a popular resort destination.

ChaptersFiresThe Great DepressionAfter the Depression and Mansfield today

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mansfield, 1905 to 1968

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1905Post officeThe Mansfield post office opens
  3. 1912Post officeThe Appledale post office opens
  4. 1927Post officeThe Appledale post office closes
  5. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Mansfield, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Mansfield WA USA April 19 2024 - Mansfield Watertower just outside of town2024Mansfield WA USA April 19 2024 - Mansfield Watertower…Untitled photo2007Untitled photoMansfield, Washington2007Mansfield, Washington
On the map

Mansfield on the map in 1968

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Mansfield.

Mansfield on the 1968 USGS map1968Mansfield sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Mansfield.

Every building

Mansfield, building by building, 1915–1922

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.

Mansfield fire insurance map, 1915, sheet 11915Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
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

0100200300400500192019401960198020002020Peak: 478

Between 230 and 478 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Mansfield’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Mansfield

Nobody well known was born in Mansfield itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Dennis OppenheimAmerican artist, sculptor and photographer · b. 1967
W
William S. SkylstadCatholic bishop · b. 1934
C
Charles Glen KingUnited States biochemist · b. 1896
Clyde Edward PangbornAmerican aviator · b. 1895
Lawrence ColburnUS Army soldier · b. 1949
A
Arthur J. BurksAmerican writer · b. 1898
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Mansfield’s post office has been open since 1905. Another post office, Appledale, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Mansfield
1905–today
Appledale
1912–1927
19001960today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Mansfield’s history

What year was Mansfield founded?

The Mansfield post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikipedia, 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.