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Office: DeSoto Parish Communications District/Emergency Preparedness – 264 Oak St, Mansfield, LA 71052 | (318) 872-4600; consolidated 911, fire, EMS, and Sheriff’s dispatch under one roof; also handles 911 addressing.
Sheriff: DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Office – 205 Franklin Street, Mansfield, LA 71052 | (318) 872-3956 | Fax (318) 872-2304; Sheriff Jayson Richardson, in office since 2018; 169 regular deputies; specialized units include Air Support, K-9, Drone, and a Drug Task Force. DeSoto Parish Detention Center – 1528 Old Jefferson Hwy, Mansfield, LA | (318) 872-2295 | Fax (318) 872-1814.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-171 and LA-509 serve Mansfield, the parish seat, in Northwest Louisiana near the Texas border; Stonewall is the parish’s largest municipality by area.
Notes: DeSoto Parish, founded in 1843, spans roughly 895 square miles and is named for early settler Marcel DeSoto.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: DeSoto Parish Courthouse – Mansfield, LA.
Notes: DeSoto Parish is genuinely the site of the Battle of Mansfield (also called the Battle of Sabine Crossroads), fought April 8, 1864 – the decisive engagement of the Union’s Red River Campaign and the last major Confederate victory of the Civil War. Confederate Major General Richard Taylor’s roughly 8,800-9,000 troops, though significantly outnumbered, routed Union Major General Nathaniel Banks’s advancing column, inflicting more than 2,200 Union casualties (including over 1,500 captured), seizing 20 artillery pieces and 200+ supply wagons, and halting the entire Union offensive toward Shreveport. With a combined total of nearly 30,000 troops engaged across the campaign, Mansfield ranks among the largest Civil War battles fought west of the Mississippi River. The Mansfield State Historic Site, established by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1924 and later transferred to the state, preserves the battlefield and a visitor center roughly three miles southeast of town.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: DeSoto Parish Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via louisiana.gov/local-louisiana/desoto-parish.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
DeSoto Parish Library (main branch, Mansfield) – confirm current address/phone via desotoparishla.gov.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Mansfield State Historic Site and its Civil War museum, Battlefield Trail, and monuments are the parish’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine Battle of Mansfield – the last major Confederate victory of the Civil War – is among the most historically significant Civil War facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: DeSoto Parish Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via louisiana.gov/local-louisiana/desoto-parish.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
DeSoto Parish Animal Services – 404 Liberty Lane, Grand Cane, LA 71032 | (318) 871-2900 | Email: [email protected]; an open-admission animal control and adoption facility; partners with the nonprofit BFF of DeSoto for fundraising and adoption support. Hours: Mon-Fri 10:30 AM-5 PM (some sources list 4:30 PM close), Sat by appointment only, closed Sun and holidays.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: DeSoto Parish Police Jury Public Works – confirm current contact via louisiana.gov/local-louisiana/desoto-parish.
NOTES: DeSoto Parish is the fourth parish in the third batch of the Louisiana v2 A+ sourced standard. The genuine Battle of Mansfield – the last major Confederate victory of the Civil War – is among the most historically significant Civil War facts covered anywhere in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About De Soto Parish County
De Soto Parish is northwest Louisiana’s Battle of Mansfield and Haynesville Shale parish – the decisive 1864 Confederate victory that stopped the Union’s Red River Campaign and the massive natural gas formation discovered in 2008 define a parish where Mansfield serves the surrounding communities between Shreveport and the Texas border.
Mansfield (the parish seat, population ~5,000) is De Soto Parish’s governmental hub on US 171, a northwest Louisiana community whose Civil War battlefield, Haynesville Shale heritage, and Sabine River proximity anchor its identity.
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De Soto Parish Assessor at 101 Texas Street, Mansfield, LA 71052, phone 318-872-3610. LA assessed at 10% of fair market value.
Courts & Legal
De Soto Parish District Court at 101 Texas Street, Mansfield, LA 71052, phone 318-872-3110, handles successions.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF COURT (Records, Vital Records, Mortgages)
101 Franklin Ave., Mansfield, LA 71052
(318) 872-3110
Genealogy
Parish-level record sources
DeSoto Parish Clerk of Court (succession/estate case files – see Succession section above).
Local societies
No dedicated DeSoto Parish genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
A NOTE ON LOUISIANA LAW: Louisiana is the only U.S. state built on a civil-law tradition (rooted in the Napoleonic Code) rather than English common law. Louisiana doesn’t use the word “probate” – the equivalent process is called a “succession,” and its 64 parishes are the equivalent of counties elsewhere. Community property and separate property rules also work differently here than in common-law states, which can affect what’s actually part of the succession.
Where to go
DeSoto Parish 42nd Judicial District Court, Clerk of Court 101 Texas Street (P.O. Box 1206), Mansfield, LA 71052 (318) 872-3110 DeSoto Parish is in northwestern Louisiana near the Texas border, seated in Mansfield.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Small Succession Affidavit – under La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 3421 et seq., available for estates with a gross value of $125,000 or less at the date of death (or of any value if the decedent has been dead more than 20 years). No court proceeding is required. At least two people must sign – typically the surviving spouse (if any) plus one or more heirs, sworn before a notary. If the estate includes immovable property (real estate), the affidavit can’t be recorded until 90 days after the date of death, and it must be recorded with the Clerk of Court/Recorder in every parish where the decedent owned real estate.
Succession Without Administration (“simple possession”) – used when there are no debts to pay and all heirs agree; commonly resolved in 30 to 90 days via a Petition for Possession.
Administered Succession – required when a court-appointed succession representative needs to inventory assets and pay debts before distribution; typically takes 3 to 9 months, longer if contested.
Important: for anything beyond a small succession affidavit, Louisiana courts generally require a licensed Louisiana attorney to represent the succession – self-representation and generic online forms are not accepted the way they are in many other states.
Step 2: filing a regular succession
File a Petition for Possession (simple cases) or a Petition for Administration (if a representative and formal administration are needed) in the district court of the parish where the decedent was domiciled at death.
The court admits any will and, where needed, appoints an executor (testate) or administrator (intestate), issuing Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
In an administered succession, the representative prepares a sworn descriptive list of assets, pays valid debts, and accounts to the court.
The court issues a Judgment of Possession, which must then be recorded in the parish conveyance/land records and with the parish tax assessor to clear title.
What it costs
Filing fees vary by parish and case type; publication costs apply when legal notices are required.
A full administered succession typically requires attorney representation – flat fees for straightforward matters often run in the low thousands of dollars, more if contested or complex.
A small succession affidavit is far less expensive and, when no real estate is involved, can often be handled without an attorney – though even small errors can cause a bank, title company, or the Louisiana OMV to reject the affidavit.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Willis-Knighton Health (Shreveport)
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
212 Don Hathaway Dr., Mansfield, LA 71052
(318) 872-1976
SHERIFF / TAX COLLECTOR
212 Don Hathaway Dr., Mansfield, LA 71052
(318) 872-1976
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
REGISTRAR OF VOTERS (Elections)
101 Franklin Ave., Mansfield, LA 71052
(318) 872-1147
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: DeSoto Parish Health Unit – confirm current contact via Louisiana Department of Health regional office listings.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
Population: 27,000
Area: 877 sq mi
Established: 1843
Public Records
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