In 1800, an English settler from Rhode Island named Asa Mann cleared a large amount of forest, and in 1804 laid out the plan for a town on this estate—Mann's field.

Mansfield is the place where the first night football game was played under electric lights, on September 28, 1892 sponsored by the Edison Illuminating Company.The 1892 Wyoming Seminary vs. Mansfield State Normal football game is celebrated in an annual festival which celebrates the 1890s.

The Mansfield Armory was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

[5] According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.9 square miles (4.9 km2), all land.

There were 1,012 housing units at an average density of 538.5 per square mile (207.9/km2).

34.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.