Mansfield, Texas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mansfield, Texas
City
City of Mansfield, Texas
Downtown Mansfield, Texas
Location of Mansfield in Tarrant County, Texas
Country	United States
State	Texas
Counties	Tarrant and Johnson
Government
• Type	Council-Manager
Area
• City	36.66 sq mi (94.96 km2)
• Land	36.62 sq mi (94.85 km2)
• Water	0.04 sq mi (0.11 km2)
Elevation	591 ft (180 m)
Population  (2020)
• City	72,602
• Estimate  (2022)	76,724
• Rank	(US: 478th)
• Density	1,980.41/sq mi (764.55/km2)
• Urban	5,732,354 (6th)
• Metro	7,637,387 (4th)
Demonym(s)	Mansfielder
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	76063
Area code(s)	817, 682
FIPS code	48-46452
GNIS feature ID	2411023
Website	mansfieldtexas.gov

Mansfield is a city in Texas, USA. It's a suburban area and part of the big Dallas-Fort Worth area. Most of Mansfield is in Tarrant County. Smaller parts are in Ellis and Johnson counties.

Mansfield is about 30 miles from Dallas and 20 miles from Fort Worth. It is also next to Arlington. In 2020, about 72,602 people lived there. This was a big jump from 56,368 people in 2010.

History of Mansfield

Early Settlers and Native Americans

The first European settlers came to north central Texas in the 1840s. These farmers were mostly from Scotch-Irish families. They moved west from the Mississippi area. Before them, Native Americans had lived there for thousands of years.

The Comanche people were a threat to the new settlers. So, in 1849, the U.S. Army built Fort Worth. This fort helped protect the farms in the area.

Founding the Community

By the early 1850s, the area southeast of Fort Worth was well settled. In 1853, eight families moved there from Illinois. Three brothers, the Gibsons, started farms about 4 miles northwest of where Mansfield is today. This area became known as the Gibson Community. It had a school and a church by 1860.

Around 1856, Ralph Sandiford Man and Julian Feild arrived. They built a grist mill where Mansfield's center is now. The community likely started in the oak trees near Walnut Creek. A church group, the Walnut Creek Congregation, formed in 1854. They met in homes, suggesting houses were already close by.

The Mill and Growth

In 1856, Julian Feild bought 540 acres in the Mansfield area. Man and Feild finished their three-story brick grist mill between 1856 and 1859. This mill made flour and meal. It was the first mill in North Texas to use steam power. People from as far as San Antonio and Oklahoma used its services. The mill's location was good because there was a lot of wheat and wood for its steam engines.

Feild also opened a general store near the mill. He built a log house for his family. This house also served as a place for travelers and customers to stay. By 1860, the basic parts of the future city were in place. The first post office opened that year, with Julian Feild as the postmaster.

Mansfield During the Civil War

During the American Civil War, the Man and Feild Mill helped the Confederate States Army. It sent meal and flour to places like Shreveport, Louisiana, and Jefferson City, Missouri. The mill owners gave ten percent of their production to the Confederacy. The small community around the mill did well during the Civil War. "Feild's Freighters" used ox-drawn wagons to carry goods. They even went to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, during the Indian Wars in the late 1860s and 1870s.

Naming the Town

The growing community around the mill was first called "Mansfeild." This name combined parts of the founders' names: Man and Feild. Over time, people often misspelled it. So, the name "Mansfield" became the accepted spelling. The town officially became a city in 1890. It continued to be an important center for the farms around it.

School History and Equality

In 1956, a federal court ordered the Mansfield Independent School District to allow all students to attend the same schools, regardless of their race. This was the first such order in Texas. After some challenges, Mansfield's schools quietly became integrated in 1965. This happened as the district needed to follow federal rules to get funding. This was an important step for equal rights in education.

Geography

Mansfield covers about 36.4 square miles (94.3 square kilometers). Most of this area is land, about 36.3 square miles (94.2 square kilometers). A very small part, about 0.04 square miles (0.1 square kilometers), is water.

People of Mansfield (Demographics)

The table below shows the different groups of people living in Mansfield in 2020. "NH" means Non-Hispanic.

In 2020, there were 72,602 people living in Mansfield. There were 22,760 households and 18,066 families. About 5,996 people in the city were born in other countries.

Economy

Mansfield has many businesses that provide jobs. Here are some of the biggest employers in the city as of 2021:

Arts and Culture

Katherine Rose Park and its pecan groves in late winter

Entertainment Venues

The Farr Best Theater opened in 1917. It is a historic place for concerts, music shows, and live performances. The Farr family still lives in Mansfield, even though the theater has had many owners.

The Mansfield Historical Museum tells the story of the city. It shows how Mansfield grew from a small outpost to a busy community.

Fun Activities and Parks

Hawaiian Falls Water Park is a great place to visit in the hot summer. It covers 10 acres. Historic Mansfield is also being improved to be a fun place all year.

Downtown Mansfield hosts yearly festivals. These include the Hot Beats and Cold Brews Festival and the Hometown Holiday Parade. There's also a St. Patrick's Day Pickle Parade. This parade celebrates the BestMaid Pickles company, which operates in the city.

Mansfield has many parks, with 11 parks in total. There are 3.5 miles of hiking and biking trails. An 80-acre nature park is also available. The city has an activity center and four sports fields. Mansfield also has two well-known golf courses: Mansfield National Golf Course and Walnut Creek Country Club.

Education

Mansfield Legacy High School

Vernon Newsom Stadium

Most of Mansfield is part of the Mansfield Independent School District. This includes parts in Tarrant and Johnson counties. The small part of Mansfield in Ellis County is served by the Midlothian Independent School District.

The high schools in the Mansfield district are:

• Mansfield High School
• Mansfield Summit High School
• Mansfield Timberview High School
• Mansfield Legacy High School
• Frontier High School
• Mansfield Lake Ridge High School
• Mansfield Early College High School
• The Alternative Education Center (with ACE and BIC programs)

There are also 24 elementary schools, seven intermediate schools, and seven middle schools. The Jerry Knight STEM Academy is for 6th to 8th graders.

The school district has great sports facilities. These include the Vernon Newsom Stadium and the MISD Natatorium. They are part of the MISD Multi-Purpose Athletics Complex. The RL Anderson Football Stadium is also used for football.

For performing arts, there is the Center for Performing Arts. It has two venues: the Claude H. Cunningham Performance Hall, which seats 5,500 people, and the John Washington Professional Development Center.

Colleges Near Mansfield

If you live in Tarrant County, you can go to Tarrant County College. If you live in Ellis County, you can go to Navarro College. For those in Johnson County, Hill College is an option.

Infrastructure

Highways

Major roads that go through Mansfield include:

• SH 360
• US 287

Healthcare

Methodist Mansfield Medical Center

Mansfield has two main hospitals. Methodist Mansfield Medical Center has 262 beds. Texas Health Hospital Mansfield opened in 2020. It is a partnership between Texas Health Resources and AdventHealth.

The city also has five nursing homes and several urgent care centers. There is Kindred Hospital, which is for acute care rehab. Baylor Surgicare at Mansfield is a center for day surgeries. Mansfield also has three assisted living places for seniors. There are two Cook Children's clinics, and a Cook Children's Specialty Care Facility is being built.

Twin Towns

Mansfield has a special connection with another city:

• – Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England

Notable People

Many interesting people have come from Mansfield, including:

• Paulson Adebo, a football player
• Chennedy Carter, a WNBA player
• Brandon Bantz, a baseball player
• Burley Bearden (1917–1997), a football coach
• Tex Bradford (1899–1975), a football player and doctor
• Kennedy Brooks, a football player
• John Anthony Castro, a tax consultant
• John Chiles, a football player
• David Cook, a politician and former mayor of Mansfield
• Marcus Cromartie, a football player
• Josh Doctson, a football player
• Troy Dorsey, a boxer
• John Howard Griffin (1920–1980), a civil rights activist and author of Black Like Me
• Mickey Guyton, a country singer
• Chris Harris, a politician and lawyer
• Sam Hilliard, a baseball player
• David Mann, an actor and singer
• Tamela Mann, an actress and singer
• Gil Meche, a baseball player
• Drake Milligan, a country singer
• Tevin Mitchel, a football player
• Ella Mae Morse, a pop singer
• Rees Odhiambo, a football player
• Lenzy Pipkins, a football player
• Hassan Ridgeway, a football player
• Quinn Sharp, a football player
• John Hall Stephens (1847–1924), a U.S. Congressman from Texas
• Noah Syndergaard, a baseball player
• Stepfan Taylor, a football player
• Jordan Walden, a baseball player
• Keith L. Williams, an actor

Images for kids

• 

  US 287 South at Broad Street

• 

  Mansfield water tower

See also

In Spanish: Mansfield (Texas) para niños