Kiss Country Towns We Love – Mansfield, Louisiana

This week, we've got a big Kiss Country "Kiss" for the seat of Desoto Parish!  Mansfield, Louisiana. The city was first platted in 1843 but wasn't officially incorporated into the City of Mansfield until 1948. Pictured here, the first parish courthouse which was erected in the early 1850's.

The Battle of Mansfield, 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 each  year at the Mansfield State Historic Site four miles south of Mansfield off Louisiana Highway 175.

Mansfield was also home to the first woman's college west of the Mississippi River, Mansfield Female College, which was founded by the Methodist Church in 1855.  However, in 1930, Mansfield Female College merged with Centenary College of Louisiana in Shreveport and closed its doors permanently.

In the 1890’s, the town was a junction of two railroads, the Texas Central, later the Texas Pacific Railroad, was built from Marshall, Texas, to Alexandria and beyond to New Orleans. In 1895 the Kansas City Southern Railroad built through Mansfield en route to Leesville, and by 1908, the Mansfield Railway Transportation Company rails had reached the Sabine River, en route to Center, Texas.

Mansfield was also home to some of America's finest citizens including Joshua Logan who was an award winning director, producer, playwright and screenwriter and is most famous for directing 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 South Pacific, which he co-wrote with Oscar Hammerstein.  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.  Mansfield is the birthplace of major league baseball player Vida Blue who was a left-handed starting pitcher and was revered as one of the hardest throwing southpaws of all time. In his a 17-year career, he played for the Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants, and Kansas City Royals

It is also the birthplace of former NFL great Albert Lewis. Lewis made his professional debut in 1983 with the Kansas City Chiefs.  Over his 16 year career he also played for the Oakland Raiders and Los Angeles Raiders.  Mansfield made several other contributions to the NFL in the likes of Sammy Joe Odom who played for the Houston Oilers in 1964.  Bobby Simon played for the Houston Oilers.  Charles Johnson played for the San Francisco 49ers.  Quarterback Mack Charles “MC” Reynolds played for the Buffalo Bills, Oakland Raiders and Washington Redskins.  Floyd Turner, a former New Orleans Saint, attended Mansfield High School.  Fred Collins, played pro ball for the San Diego Chargers.  Ed Jackson, now at coach at La Tech, played for the Oakland Raiders and Fakhir Brown, who grew up in Mansfield, currently plays for the St. Louis Rams.  The NBA can also thank Mansfield for Orlando Woolridge, who grew up in Mansfield and played for the Chicago Bulls, New Jersey Nets, and Los Angeles Lakers.

In recent history, Mansfield has played a role in Louisiana's thriving film industry with the movies The Great Debaters being partially shot in Mansfield and released on December 25, 2007.

Mansfield, Louisiana - Another Kiss Country Town We Love