MANSFIELD, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — To celebrate Women’s History Month, we are taking you to one of the first women’s colleges west of the Mississippi River.

Artifacts from an early era of progress for women are found inside a historic center in Desoto Parish, Louisiana. Mansfield Female College, founded in 1855 by the Methodist church, was dedicated to educating young women.

“Typically, it would be planter’s daughters or wealthy merchants. People who were interested in their daughter’s having a more well-rounded education,” said Van Reech, Mansfield Female College Museum manager.

The college offered various curriculums, including a two-year teaching degree.

“But they also had a four-year Fine Arts degree, which included the higher maths of Calculus, Algebra, and Geometry. They didn’t think women were smart enough to do Geometry back in the day, but they taught it here at this college. They also had Romance languages, music, piano, and violin,” Reech said.

In the 1920s, women held plays and theater productions on the lawn. The college is now a museum housing the many items donated by descendants throughout the area.

“I still get stuff from time to time. Most recently, I got a spinning wheel. A descendant’s great aunt went here,” Reech said.

Van Reech supervises tours, taking guests through the various rooms that were once classrooms, now repurposed to show what life was like. These include dormitories decked out with the latest fashion of the era, where girls would stay and forge lifelong friendships.

A genealogical library featuring works over the century.

“From the Mayflower Manifest up to present-day authors of Desoto Parish,” Reech said.

Mansfield Female College has been part of this area for 169 years, celebrating women in education and being a part of pivotal moments in history.

Mansfield is famous for one of the last battles of the Civil War: the Battle of Sabine Cross Roads, better known as the Battle of Mansfield during the Red River campaign.

“The battle was all around them. They heard cannons all around the parish as the army advanced, so it was quite a scary time. After the battle, there were 3,500 casualties,” Reech said.

The college was turned into a triage hospital during the Civil War, and rumors circulated that amputations were so frequent that arms and legs had to be thrown out the window into shallow graves. The Civil War room includes medical supplies from the era and the various flags flown under Louisiana.

“The Union doctors stayed here after the battle and helped the Confederate doctors. So we had Union and Confederate soldiers side by side,” Reech said.

After the campus closed in the 30s’, the buildings were abandoned for many years until the Calhoun family of Mansfield purchased them to donate to the state to become a museum in 2002. The Mansfield Female College defines its legacy as a place of educational advancement that’s part of the American story of furthering women’s rights and role in society.

“Back in the mid-1800s, this college was getting young ladies an education when they didn’t think that was too important,” Reech said.

The museum offers tours to the public and family reunions. Just give them a call at (318) 871-9978 to schedule a visit.