The Mansfield Area Historical Society and Museum formed in 2003 for the purpose of recording and preserving the history of Mansfield and the surrounding communities. The museum is located at 111 North Street in Mansfield. Housed in a building designed by Mike Roberts to replicate the original Mansfield Depot, the museum is filled with a trove of local memorabilia, including items associated with Laura Ingalls Wilder, Major League baseball player Carl Mays, and local residents who served in the Civil War, World War I, and World War II. Admission is free of charge.
The Ozarks town of Mansfield may not appear much different than any other small, rural town, but one thing makes each town unique – its people. Call them hillbillies, Ozarkers, or just plain country folk, they are a proud, independent people that joined together to carve a town in these wooded hills. That pride and independence still exists today.
The townsite was purchased about 1881 by F. M. Mansfield, a Hartville attorney, and George H. Nettleton, a Kansas City railroad executive, from Johnnie Williams and David Moore. It also included land from Henry Smith. The community was served by the new Kansas City, Ft. Scott & Gulf Railroad, and the Mansfield depot became the mail and freight distribution point for the towns north to Grovespring and south to the Arkansas line.
In 1882 the first railroad office opened with Charles J. Hawk as the agent, and livestock shipments began to average 70 cars per year. A post office with Edward B. Young as postmaster was established, and three merchants – I. I. Hart, M. D. Gorman, and S. W. McNaul – set up general merchandise stores on the east side of the square.
The next year in 1883, the first school was built, consisting of a large frame structure, and was presided over by Prof. Hickman. The building is still standing on East Commercial Street today.
In 1884, a survey of the town was completed, and the first church, the Cumberland Presbyterian, was built, which is still used today. With the establishment of two mining companies outside the city limits, Mansfield began to boom. The Berry Lead and Zinc Mines were shipping ore to St. Louis, and about the turn of the century, the Dodson Lead and Zinc Company of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania was removing considerable lead and zinc from the Lead Hill neighborhood. In the following years, 20 additional mines were added in the Mansfield area. By 1885 the population
of the town was 300, and two years later it had 142 students enrolled in its new school.
In 1885, in addition to the mercantile stores, the following businesses were incorporated into the town: Druggist – Henry Coday; Hardware – J. C. Spence; Hotel Proprietors – M. G. Hensley and Mrs. A. M. Young; Furniture Dealer – E. B. Young; Brickmaker – Ridgeway & Moon; Contractors – Johnson, Rippee, and Newton; Stock Dealers – Day & Dorsey; Produce Dealer – S. Foltz; Liquor – J. B. Hensley; Livery – D. W. Hoover; Physicians – J. B. Stacey (1882) and Dr. Fuson (1886); Leas & Zinc Miners – Higgins & Company; and Flour Mill – George W. Freeman.
In August 1886 Mansfield was officially incorporated as a village. Construction began on the first wood sidewalks, and the town’s first city jail was constructed at a cost of $65.50. G. J. Roote, a mining engineer, was elected as the first mayor, and William Day became the first city marshal, as well as the chief calaboose keeper. J. B. Hensley was appointed inspector of flues.
On into the late 1890’s, Mansfield became the fastest growing city in the county. By 1895 the railroad was bringing more industry to Mansfield, and telephones dotted local homes and businesses. Most of the brick buildings on the east side of the square were completed, using bricks made in the town.
During the years 1896 to 1899, Mansfield became famous for its fairs, circuses, and wild-west shows, including the Buffalo Bill and Frank James Wild West Shows. Spectators traveled here for days from as far as the Arkansas border. According to several citizens, Frank James was notorious for picking the pockets of a number of people.
The years 1898-1899 were probably the wildest and wooliest in Mansfield history. In December 1898, G. W. Freeman and Son’s store was robbed of $10 in cash and $300 in merchandise. Two weeks later the Macomb train robbery occurred; the first hearings of the trial were held in Mansfield. In March, the post office was robbed of “$170 and paper of Postmaster M. F. Gorman.”
(Information courtesy of Larry Dennis)
As the 1900’s approached, more businesses were established, and residents underwent a variety of challenges, including the effects of WWI and WWII.