Gertie was located on the Mansfield-Cedar Hill road, about a mile east of the Friendship Baptist Church. There was a post office located in Gertie from 1895-1901, a cotton gin and a store operated by a Mr. Fowler.
The first school in Gertie was a white wooden building (photo on file at the Mansfield Historical Society). This building was demolished in 1918 and replaced by a two-room brick building. It had two teachers and 67 pupils in 1935.