Mansfield, Louisiana
Encyclopedia
Mansfield is a city
in and the parish seat of DeSoto Parish, Louisiana
, United States
. The population was 5,001 at the 2010 census. Mansfield is part of the Shreveport
–Bossier City
Metropolitan Statistical Area
.
, a Confederate
victory under General Richard Taylor
(son of Zachary Taylor
), was fought here on April 8, 1864. This battle turned 42,000 Union troops away from their conquest of the Louisiana Confederate capital, Shreveport
, and sent them in retreat to New Orleans. The battle is commemorated at the Mansfield State Historic Site
some four miles south of Mansfield off Louisiana Highway 175.
The first woman's college west of the Mississippi River, Mansfield Female College, was founded by the Methodist Church there in 1855. A two-year college, its first class graduated in 1856. Financial difficulties and the threat of war closed the college from 1860 to the end of the American Civil War
, during which its buildings served as a hospital for soldier
s wounded in the battle of Mansfield; it reopened in 1865. In 1930, Mansfield Female College merged with Centenary College of Louisiana
in Shreveport and closed its doors permanently. In 2003, the Louisiana State Legislature
moved to convert the main building of Mansfield Female College, the Lyceum, into a future museum
.
The film The Great Debaters
was partially shot in Mansfield and released on December 25, 2007. The story line involves a 1930s debate team from Marshall, Texas
. The downtown scenes of Marshall, however, were actually shot on location in downtown Mansfield. The film stars Denzel Washington
and Forest Whitaker
and was nominated for a Golden Globe award in 2008.
(1908–1988). Joshua Logan was an award winning director, producer, playwright and screenwriter for film and stage. He is most famous for directing Hollywood classics such as South Pacific
, Picnic, Paint Your Wagon
, Sayonara
, Bus Stop
and Fanny. Logan received the Pulitzer Prize
at the age of forty for the libretto
of South Pacific
, which he cowrote with Oscar Hammerstein II
. Logan used Mansfield as the setting for his play The Wisteria Trees. O.C. Smith (Ocie Lee Smith) was born in Mansfield on June 21, 1932. He was an American singer, who performed with Count Basie
's band from 1961 to 1965 and sang on the 1969 Grammy Award
-winning recording of the song "Little Green Apples
". Mansfield is the birthplace of major league baseball player Vida Blue
(born Vida Rochelle Blue, Jr. on July 28, 1949) who was a left-handed starting pitcher. In a 17-year career, he played for the Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants, and Kansas City Royals. It is also the birthplace of Albert Lewis
(born Albert Ray Lewis on October 6, 1960). Lewis made his professional debut in the NFL in 1983 with the Kansas City Chiefs. He played for the Kansas City Chiefs
, Oakland Raiders
, and Los Angeles Raiders over the course of his 16-year career.
Others affiliated with Mansfield by birth or residence include:
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 3.7 square miles (9.6 km²), all of it land.
of 2010, there were 5,001 people, 2,054 households, and 1,390 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,515.4 people per square mile (585.7/km²). There were 2,298 housing units at an average density of 623.9 per square mile (241.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 34.13% White, 64.26% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.47% from other races
, and 0.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.59% of the population.
There were 2,054 households out of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.3% were married couples
living together, 27.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.20.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.6% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 82.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $21,981, and the median income for a family was $26,683. Males had a median income of $30,239 versus $19,854 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $11,850. About 27.2% of families and 33.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 44.1% of those under age 18 and 26.4% of those age 65 or over.
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
in and the parish seat of DeSoto Parish, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 5,001 at the 2010 census. Mansfield is part of the Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
–Bossier City
Bossier City, Louisiana
Bossier City is a city in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States.As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of 61,315. Bossier City is closely tied to its larger sister city Shreveport, located on the western bank of the Red River. The Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area is the...
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area
The Shreveport-Bossier City Metropolitan Statistical Area is a metropolitan area in northwestern Louisiana that covers three parishes – Caddo, Bossier, and De Soto. As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 375,965...
.
History
The Battle of MansfieldBattle of Mansfield
The Battle of Mansfield, also known as the Battle of Sabine Crossroads, occurred on April 8, 1864, in De Soto Parish, Louisiana. Confederate forces commanded by Richard Taylor attacked a Union army commanded by Nathaniel Banks a few miles outside the town of Mansfield, near Sabine Crossroads...
, a Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
victory under General Richard Taylor
Richard Taylor (general)
Richard Taylor was a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He was the son of United States President Zachary Taylor and First Lady Margaret Taylor.-Early life:...
(son of Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...
), was fought here on April 8, 1864. This battle turned 42,000 Union troops away from their conquest of the Louisiana Confederate capital, Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
, and sent them in retreat to New Orleans. The battle is commemorated at the Mansfield State Historic Site
Mansfield State Historic Site
Mansfield State Historic Site is a Louisiana state historic site which preserves the site of the 1864 Battle of Mansfield in the American Civil War. It is located four miles south of Mansfield, the seat of DeSoto Parish in northwestern Louisiana...
some four miles south of Mansfield off Louisiana Highway 175.
The first woman's college west of the Mississippi River, Mansfield Female College, was founded by the Methodist Church there in 1855. A two-year college, its first class graduated in 1856. Financial difficulties and the threat of war closed the college from 1860 to the end of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, during which its buildings served as a hospital for soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s wounded in the battle of Mansfield; it reopened in 1865. In 1930, Mansfield Female College merged with Centenary College of Louisiana
Centenary College of Louisiana
Centenary College of Louisiana is a primarily undergraduate, liberal arts and sciences college in Shreveport, Louisiana. The college is one of the founding members of the Associated Colleges of the South, a pedagogical organization consisting of sixteen Southern liberal arts colleges...
in Shreveport and closed its doors permanently. In 2003, the Louisiana State Legislature
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
moved to convert the main building of Mansfield Female College, the Lyceum, into a future museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
.
The film The Great Debaters
The Great Debaters
The Great Debaters is a 2007 American biopic period drama film directed by and starring two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington and produced by Oprah Winfrey and her production company, Harpo Productions...
was partially shot in Mansfield and released on December 25, 2007. The story line involves a 1930s debate team from Marshall, Texas
Marshall, Texas
Marshall is a city in Harrison County in the northeastern corner of Texas. Marshall is a major cultural and educational center in East Texas and the tri-state area. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Marshall was about 23,523...
. The downtown scenes of Marshall, however, were actually shot on location in downtown Mansfield. The film stars Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr...
and Forest Whitaker
Forest Whitaker
Forest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the gritty, award-winning television...
and was nominated for a Golden Globe award in 2008.
Notable residents
Mansfield was the childhood home of Joshua LoganJoshua Logan
Joshua Lockwood Logan III was an American stage and film director and writer.-Early years:Logan was born in Texarkana, Texas, the son of Susan and Joshua Lockwood Logan. When he was three years old his father committed suicide...
(1908–1988). Joshua Logan was an award winning director, producer, playwright and screenwriter for film and stage. He is most famous for directing Hollywood classics such as South Pacific
South Pacific (film)
South Pacific is a 1958 musical romance film adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific, and based on James A. Michener's Tales of the South Pacific...
, Picnic, Paint Your Wagon
Paint Your Wagon (film)
Paint Your Wagon is a 1969 American musical film starring Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood. The movie was adapted by Paddy Chayefsky from the 1951 stage musical by Lerner and Loewe, set in a mining camp in Gold Rush-era California.-Plot:...
, Sayonara
Sayonara
Sayonara is a 1957 color American film starring Marlon Brando. It tells the story of an American Air Force flier who was an "ace" fighter pilot during the Korean War....
, Bus Stop
Bus Stop (film)
Bus Stop is a 1956 film directed by Joshua Logan for 20th Century Fox, starring Marilyn Monroe, Don Murray, Arthur O'Connell, Betty Field, Eileen Heckart, Robert Bray and Hope Lange...
and Fanny. Logan received the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
at the age of forty for the libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
of South Pacific
South Pacific (musical)
South Pacific is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The story draws from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific, weaving together characters and elements from several of its...
, which he cowrote with Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
. Logan used Mansfield as the setting for his play The Wisteria Trees. O.C. Smith (Ocie Lee Smith) was born in Mansfield on June 21, 1932. He was an American singer, who performed with Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
's band from 1961 to 1965 and sang on the 1969 Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-winning recording of the song "Little Green Apples
Little Green Apples
"Little Green Apples" is a song written by Bobby Russell which was most successful as a 1968 hit single by O. C. Smith.According to Buzz Cason, who partnered Bobby Russell in the Nashville-based Rising Sons music publishing firm, Russell wrote both the songs "Honey" and "Little Green Apples" as "an...
". Mansfield is the birthplace of major league baseball player Vida Blue
Vida Blue
Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. During a 17-year career, he pitched for the Oakland Athletics , San Francisco Giants , and Kansas City Royals He won the American League Cy Young award and Most Valuable Player Award in 1971...
(born Vida Rochelle Blue, Jr. on July 28, 1949) who was a left-handed starting pitcher. In a 17-year career, he played for the Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants, and Kansas City Royals. It is also the birthplace of Albert Lewis
Albert Lewis (American football)
Albert Ray Lewis is a former American football player who played in the National Football League for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders...
(born Albert Ray Lewis on October 6, 1960). Lewis made his professional debut in the NFL in 1983 with the Kansas City Chiefs. He played for the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
, Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, and Los Angeles Raiders over the course of his 16-year career.
Others affiliated with Mansfield by birth or residence include:
- John T. "Tommy" Allen, staff photographer for the Washington Post from 1960–2004
- John H. EastmanJohn H. EastmanJohn H. Eastman was a businessman who served from 1910-1914 as the mayor of Shreveport, the third largest city in Louisiana and the largest in the northwestern section of the state....
(1861–1938), mayor of ShreveportShreveport, LouisianaShreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
from 1910 to 1914, was born in Mansfield in 1861. - Charles Wheaton Elam (1866–1917), state representative
- Joseph Barton ElamJoseph Barton ElamJoseph Barton Elam, Sr. , was a two-term Democratic U.S. representative from Louisiana.-Early life and education:...
(1821–1885), U.S. representative - Joe Henry CooperJoe Henry CooperJoe Henry Cooper was a businessman in Mansfield, the seat of DeSoto Parish in northwestwen Louisiana, who served five consecutive terms in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1960 to 1980, having at various times represented DeSoto, Red River, Sabine, and Caddo parishes...
(1920–1980) state representative - Walter M. LowreyWalter M. LowreyWalter M. Lowrey was an historian affiliated with Centenary College, a Methodist-institution in Shreveport, Louisiana, who was also a founding member of the Louisiana Historical Association....
(1921–1980), historian - Sidney Maiden (born 1923), bluesBluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
musician, a singer and harmonica player who played with guitarist K.C. Douglas - Sammy Joe OdomSammy Joe OdomSamuel Joseph Odom, known as Sammy Joe Odom , was an American football player for the Houston Oilers, the Northwestern State University Demons in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and the Minden High School Crimson Tide in Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana.Odom was born in...
(1941–2001) professional football player. Odom was a college football standout at Northwestern State UniversityNorthwestern State UniversityNorthwestern State University, known as NSU, is a four-year public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the University of Louisiana System.NSU was founded in 1884 as...
in NatchitochesNatchitoches, LouisianaNatchitoches is a city in and the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. Established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana, the community was named after the Natchitoches Indian tribe. The City of Natchitoches was first incorporated on February...
and played a season for the Houston Oilers in 1964. - Mack Charles Reynolds (1935–1991), professional football player
- H.O. West (1900–1981), department storeDepartment storeA department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
retailer opened first store in Mansfield before relocating to MindenMinden, LouisianaMinden is a city in the American state of Louisiana. It serves as the parish seat of Webster Parish and is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish. The population, which has been stable since 1960, was 13,027 at the 2000 census...
Geography
Mansfield is located at 32°1′58"N 93°42′9"W (32.032782, -93.702475) and has an elevation of 335 feet (102.1 m).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 3.7 square miles (9.6 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2010, there were 5,001 people, 2,054 households, and 1,390 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,515.4 people per square mile (585.7/km²). There were 2,298 housing units at an average density of 623.9 per square mile (241.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 34.13% White, 64.26% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.47% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.59% of the population.
There were 2,054 households out of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.3% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 27.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.20.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.6% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 82.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $21,981, and the median income for a family was $26,683. Males had a median income of $30,239 versus $19,854 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $11,850. About 27.2% of families and 33.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 44.1% of those under age 18 and 26.4% of those age 65 or over.