Mansfield, Texas


Mansfield is a suburban city in the U.S. state of Texas, and is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex area. The city is located mostly in Tarrant county, with small parts in Ellis and Johnson counties. Its location is approximately 30 miles from Dallas and 20 miles from Fort Worth, and is adjacent to Arlington. As of the 2010 census, the population was 56,368, up from 28,031 in 2000. The estimated population in 2020 is 73,550.
CNN/Money Magazine ranked Mansfield at #17 in 2014 in its annual "Best Places To Live" list. Mansfield has been in that list in the recent past: in 2007, 2009, and 2012, ranking it 83rd, 24th, and 30th, respectively. It is currently the 15th most affluent location in all of Texas.

History

The first wave of European settlers arrived in the rolling Cross Timbers country of north central Texas in the 1840s. Primarily of Scotch-Irish origins, these pioneer farmers came for the most part from southern states, following the frontier as it shifted west of the Mississippi. They entered an area where Native Americans had been living for thousands of years. The Comanche posed a serious threat to the settlers, and in 1849, the U.S. Army established Fort Worth to protect the farms along the sparsely populated frontier.
The area southeast of the fort was well protected and presumably fairly well settled by the early 1850s. In one well-documented case, eight related families migrated to the area in 1853 from Illinois. Three of the four Gibson brothers in this group established homesteads about northwest of present-day Mansfield. This settlement, which became known as the Gibson Community, included a school and a church building by 1860.
When R.S. Man and Julian Feild arrived around 1856 and built a grist mill at the crossroads that was to become the center of Mansfield, the beginnings of the community probably existed in the oak groves bordering Walnut Creek. The Walnut Creek Congregation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church had organized itself in 1854. Members met in each other's homes, so it is suspected that there was a cluster of houses in the area.
In 1856, Julian Feild purchased in the Mansfield area. Man and Feild completed their three-story brick grist mill sometime between 1856 and 1859. The mill, which produced flour and meal, was the first built in North Texas to utilize steam power and enjoyed patronage as far south as San Antonio and as far north as Oklahoma. The location of the mill in southeastern Tarrant County perhaps reflects the advanced state of wheat cultivation in the area and the ready availability of wood to feed the mill's steam boilers.
Feild opened a general merchandise store at the same time as the mill, located across Broad Street. He built a log house for his family, which also served as an inn for travelers and customers. By 1860, the nucleus of the future city existed. The first post office was established that year, with Julian Feild as postmaster.
During the American Civil War, the Man and Feild Mill supplied meal and flour to the Confederate States Army, hauling it to Shreveport, Louisiana, and Jefferson City, Missouri. As was common practice, the owners tithed ten percent of the mill's production to the Confederacy. The small community around the mill was unique in Tarrant County in that it prospered throughout the Civil War. "Feild's Freighters", assembled in ox-drawn wagon trains, went as far as Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where a part of the Indian Wars raged in the southern plains in the late 1860s and 1870s.
The prospering community which had grown up around the Man and Feild mill took on the name of "Mansfeild", a combination of the names of the founders. Repeated misspellings over the years resulted in the acceptance of the conventional spelling of "Mansfield." The town incorporated in 1909, continuing to be a hub for the surrounding farmland.
In 1956, a federal court ordered the Mansfield Independent School District to desegregate; the first such order in Texas. Protests by 300 whites in front of Mansfield High School, to prevent three black students from enrolling, touched off one of the longest-running desegregation battles of the Civil Rights Movement. Mansfield's school quietly desegregated in 1965 as it faced a lack of federal funds.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and, or 0.12%, is water.

Demographics

In the 2016 EST, Mansfield will have a population of 67,628, making it the largest city in the United States named Mansfield. The median age will be 35.2. The racial and ethnic composition of the population will be 68.80% White 60.45% non-Hispanic white, 17.81% black or African American, 0.52% Native American, 4.32% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 5.06% some other race, 3.40% from two or more races and 15.66% Hispanic or Latino. Language spoken at home English only 82.62%, Spanish 10.62%, Asian/Pacific 3.09%, Indoeuropean 2.32%, and Other 1.35%.
The 2016 Estimated overall median age will be 35.2 with males coming in at 33.9 and females at 36.1. Residents under the age of 18 will make up 28.32% of population, between the ages of 18-35 will be 21.4%, 35-55 will be 30.74%, and anyone over the age of 55 will make up 19.54% of the residents. Education Est. for residents 25 and over will be. Less than 9th Grade 2.82%, Some High school 4.67%, High school graduate 20.30%, some college 25.21%, associate degree 7.39%, bachelor's degree 27.10%, master's degree 10.21%, professional degree 1.05%, doctorate degree 1.25%.
The 2016 Estimated Average household income will be $111,177. Of which 16.42% will be $50,000-75,000, 14.75% $100,000-125,000, and 12.16% $125,000-150,000. Families living below poverty will make up 4.86%. The average household size will be 3.18. Median owner occupied housing value will be $201,170 and the median constructed year will be 2002.
In 2010, Mansfield had a population of 56,368, making it the largest city in the United States named Mansfield. The median age was 34.0. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 64.4% non-Hispanic white, 14.2% black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 1.5% Vietnamese, 2.2% other Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.2% non-Hispanic from some other race, 2.8% from two or more races and 15.4% Hispanic or Latino. 5,996 of the city's population are foreign-born.
According to the 2010 Census, there were 18,305 households, out of which 66.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.5% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.9% were non-families. 14.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 1.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.06 and the average family size was 3.39.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 34.5% under the age of 19, 4.9% from 20 to 24, 34.6% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 6.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.1 males.
As of 2010, the median family income in Mansfield was $100,762 and median household income of $93,906. Males had a median income of $65,229 versus $48,578 for females. The per capita income for the city was $34,103. About 2.7% of families.
There were 19,106 housing units in the city as of the 2010 Census, with average home value of $197,559 and average new home value of $243,000. About 91% of the population has attained high school or higher, and there were 5,524 companies located in the city.

Religion

Over 55% of Mansfield residents claim a religious affiliation, of which 21% identify as Baptist. Over 11% identify as Catholic, 6% as Methodist, and approximately 12% are affiliated with other Protestant denominations. Notable large churches in Mansfield include Crossroads Christian Church, First Baptist Church, Walnut Ridge Baptist Church, Creekwood Church, Bethlehem Baptist Church, St.Jude Catholic Church, Church on the Hill, First United Methodist Church, St.Gregory's Episcopal Church, St. John Lutheran Church, and .

Economy

According to the city's 2017-2018 Annual Operating Budget and Program of Services. The top employers in the city are:
#Employer# of Employees
1Mansfield Independent School District4,448
2Mouser Electronics1,700
3Methodist Mansfield Medical Center1,240
4City of Mansfield, TX512
5Klein Tools452
6Wal-Mart Super center400*
7SJ Louis Construction of TX366
8Kroger320*
9Hoffman Cabinets302
10Pier 1 Distribution Center300
11Super Target250*
12BCB Transport214
13Lifetime Fitness200*
14Walnut Creek Country Club190*
15Intermedix183
16Best Buy180*
17Trinity Forge180
18Kindred Hospital155*
19Sam's Club150*
20Lowe's146*

Information provided by the Mansfield Economic Development Corporation.
Employee numbers marked with a * Last updated August 2016.

Arts and culture

Established in 1917, Farr Best Theater is the city's historical venue for concerts, musical revue and live performances. Even though the owners of the theater have changed hands many times since its inception, the Farr family still resides in Mansfield.
For softball and baseball tournaments, Big League Dreams has eight replica baseball fields and an indoor soccer pavilion.
The Mansfield Historical Museum chronicles the city's history from a prairie outpost in the past to a thriving community now.
Hawaiian Falls Water Park is a destination during the hot summer months; while Historic Mansfield is being revitalized to be a year-round destination. Downtown hosts annual festivals such as the Hot Beats and Cold Brews Festival, the Hometown Holiday Parade and St. Patrick's Day Pickle Parade.
Mansfield also has an extensive park system including 11 parks, of hiking/biking trail, an nature park, an activity center, four athletics fields and two golf courses: Mansfield National Golf Course and Walnut Creek Country Club.

Education

Students living in the Tarrant County portion of Mansfield, as well as most of those living in the Johnson County portion, are served by the Mansfield Independent School District with total enrollment of 32,638 students. The high schools in the 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, and the Alternative Education Center consisting of the ACE program and the BIC program. There are 23 elementary schools, 6 intermediate schools, and 6 middle schools. Most district schools are named after notable former teachers and educators from the Mansfield School District.
The district's athletic facilities are the Vernon Newsom Stadium and MISD Natatorium which make up the MISD Multi-Purpose Athletics Complex and the RL Anderson Football Stadium located near downtown. The recently opened Center for Performing Arts consists of two venues: the 5,500-seat Claude H. Cunningham Performance Hall and the John Washington Professional Development Center which accommodates 500.
Beginning in the fall semester of 2011, Frontier High School opened its doors to students who applied and were accepted to the school. Frontier High School, located within the Ben Barber Career Tech Academy, will feature state-of-the-art technology with individual laptops provided for each student enrolled in its programs. The focus of the campus is to provide students with a college experience by allowing technology to be more easily integrated into the classroom. Cellphones are allowed to be used throughout the entire campus and in the classroom at teacher discretion. The library has also been turned into a student area referred to as the "cube". Designed as an area for students to do work, Frontier students have found that it is severely overcrowded and concerns have been voiced.
The district also has programs with Tarrant County College to provide students with dual credit options to allow them to gain college hours in high school.

Mansfield school desegregation incident

Infrastructure

Highways

Mansfield has one acute-care hospital, Methodist Mansfield Medical Center, a 200+-bed hospital of the Methodist Health System in Dallas. Mansfield also has five nursing homes, several urgent care centers, Kindred Hospital - an acute care rehab hospital, Baylor Surgicare at Mansfield - a day surgery center, three assisted living/senior apartments, two Cook Children's clinics and a Cook Children's Specialty Care Facility under construction.

Twin towns and sister cities