Historical: Downtown Barbershop

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The downtown barbershop at 127 N. Main St. was originally owned by Mr. Royal, who owned a Mansfield hotel. C.D. Foster became a partner in 1913. E.A. "Hatch" Rosier bought the shop soon after and ran it for 45 years. The Coleman lamps in the photo were pumped by hand and hung up. The cardboard squares above the chairs were fastened together by a cord and spring. A young boy was hired to pull a cord to make the cardboard sway, serving as a fan and to keep flies away. The lamps and cardboard squares were removed when Mansfield got electric service. Shown in the photo are Hatch Rosier in the first chair and Herman Colp in the second chair. Arthur E. "Bulldog" Curry began barbering in this shop at Christmas 1920 and continued barbering for 64 years, later part-time from his home.

To learn more about Mansfield history, check out the Mansfield Historical Museum, 102 N. Main St., open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is free. For more info, call 817-473-4250, emailmuseum@mansfieldtexas.gov or go to mansfieldhistory.org.

Photo courtesy of the Mansfield Historical Society.