The Mansfield Enterprise Archive

Mansfield, incorporated in 1847, is a small town near Louisiana's western border with Texas. In the 19th century, its economy was based on cotton. The arrival of the railroad in the 1880s opened the area to lumber milling. In the early 20th century, it experienced a brief oil and gas boom. Mansfield was perhaps best known as the site, from 1855 to 1930, of the Mansfield Female College, one of the earliest women's colleges west of the Mississippi River.

The Mansfield Enterprise was founded in 1906. Its first editor was John E. Hewitt (1851-1936), grandson of one of Mansfield's founders. Published twice a week in four to eight pages, the paper carried mostly local news of a miscellaneous nature. In the 1910s and '20s, each issue typically printed the proceedings of the town council and school board, minutes of the De Soto Parish police jury (similar to county councils in other states), information on elections and local politics, announcements regarding clubs and other social organizations, and the charters of local businesses. Historical sketches of Mansfield and De Soto Parish, as well as information on local landmarks, were regularly included.

Fenn A. Leaming (1878-1968), a native of Missouri who came to Mansfield as a railroad surveyor, took over the Enterprise from Hewitt and published it into the 1950s. In 1993, it was consolidated with the Logansport Interstate Progress to form the Enterprise and Interstate Progress.