A Quick History

In 1682, the explorer LaSalle claimed, in the name of France, all the land drained by the Mississippi River and its tributaries. This area included about half of what is now DeSoto Parish.

Following the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 the land that is now DeSoto Parish was a neutral strip, and remained so after the Sabine River became the western boundary between the US and the Republic of Texas. It became a haven for those fleeing from the law.

In the 1820s, communities began to develop. The first was Cow Pens and the second was Screamerville. Both are now just a part of the parish’s written history.

In 1835, the US bought the land that is now DeSoto Parish from the Caddo Indians. Forty thousand dollars in cash or goods was paid in one year’s time and $10,000 was paid annually for four years.

In 1843, land that had been in the parishes of Caddo and Natchitoches became DeSoto Parish. The first courthouse was built in 1843 and is now a site maintained by the DeSoto Parish Historical Society. The first jail was built in 1844. The parish seat, Mansfield, was incorporated in 1847.