De Soto, Missouri

De Soto, Missouri
Country	United States
State	Missouri
Settled	1857
Population	6,400 (2010 census)
Area (sq mi)	4.30 mi²
Current mayor	Jim Akers

De Soto is a city in southern Jefferson County, Missouri, one of eleven towns in the United States to be named for the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto. It had a population of 6,400 at the 2010 census.

History[edit]

De Soto is among the oldest-settled areas in Jefferson County. It can trace its existence back to a pioneer by the name of Van Horne, who cleared a farmstead along Joachim Creek in 1808. However, it did not really come into its own as a community until the arrival of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway in 1857, at which time it was laid out by Thomas C. Fletcher, a local lawyer and railroad agent and later governor of Missouri (1865-69). The new town was named De Soto in honor of the 16th-century Spanish conquistador, who explored the lower Mississippi Valley and is thought to have ventured as far north as present-day Missouri (though it is unlikely he ever visited the future town named for him).^[1]

First incorporated in 1869, the new town grew rapidly after the Civil War, thanks in part to the railroad's relocation of its car works and machine shops to that site. Other significant businesses, such as a bottling works, an ice plant, and a wagon factory, soon followed.^[2] De Soto was also blessed with the presence of a number of artesian wells, whose water was shipped to the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. These varying livelihoods, balanced against the city's relative isolation from the St. Louis metropolitan area, have given De Soto a remarkable stability; after reaching the 5,000 mark in 1920, it has grown at a very slow rate ever since.

Tornado Activity

One occasional problem for the De Soto community has been an unusual frequency of damaging tornadoes. Two deadly storms struck the surrounding area in the 1960s, and in April 1981, another tornado destroyed two businesses in the town itself, killing one person. Most recently, an F3 tornado hit De Soto on May 6, 2003, part of a broader outbreak of severe weather in the Midwest. This storm destroyed 58 houses and badly damaged several facilities of the De Soto school district, inflicting a total of $12.8 million in damage. Nine people were killed, and 23 were injured, making it the worst natural disaster in the town's history.^[3]

Geography[edit]

De Soto is located in southern Jefferson County, just south of the junction of Missouri State Highways 21 and 110. It is about 15 miles north of Bonne Terre, and six miles south of Hillsboro. Its exact coordinates are 38°08’26”N 90°33’27”W.

The city lies in low but rolling hills along both banks of Joachim Creek (though most of the newer section is built farther to the west). Walther Park, at the south end of town, has a scenic riverwalk along the stream. De Soto has a total area of 4.30 square miles, and an average elevation of 528 feet.^[4]

Demographics[edit]

At the 2010 census, De Soto had a total of 6,400 inhabitants, grouped into 2,629 households, with a population density of 1,488.4 people per square mile. This figure was practically unchanged from the 2000 census, when De Soto had a population of 6,375. 95.80% of the inhabitants were White, 1.61% were African-American, 0.41% were Native American, 0.42% were Asian, 0.02% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 0.34% were from some other race, and 1.41% were from two or more races. Hispanics of any race were 0.80% of the population.

The median age in De Soto was 36.8 years, with 24.8% of inhabitants under the age of 18, 8.9% between 18 and 24 years old, 26.0% between 25 and 44, 24.2% between 45 and 64, and 16.1% 65 years old or older. The sex ratio was 47.2% male, 52.8% female.^[5]

According to the 2018 American Community Survey, De Soto had a median household income of $38,585, and a median family income of $58,247. The unemployment rate was 9.6%. The per capita income was $20,995. About 21.2% of the population lived below the poverty line, including 23.2% of people under the age of 18 and 13.4% of people 65 years old or older.^[6]

Government[edit]

De Soto has a mayor-council form of government, with a city manager included for administrative assistance. Members of the city council, including the mayor, are typically elected to three-year terms. The city's current mayor is Jim Akers, elected to the post in April 2021.^[7]

Education[edit]

De Soto and the surrounding area are served by De Soto School District 73, a PK-12 public institution with a total enrollment of approximately 3,100 students. Its campuses include an early childhood center (PK), Athena and Vineland Elementary Schools (K-06), De Soto Junior High School (07-08), and De Soto Senior High School (09-12). Its mascot is the Dragons, and the school colors are green and white.^[8]

The mostly rural area south of De Soto is included within the Sunrise R-IX School District, which serves grades PK through 8, with those grade 9 and up attending De Soto High School as well. Its mascot and school colors are identical to those of School District 73.^[9]

De Soto also has one private institution, St. Rose of Lima Catholic School, with about 70 students in grades K-7.^[10]

Community Life[edit]

Unlike many communities whose ties with it have been cut in recent years, the railroad industry continues to be important in De Soto today, with the Union Pacific Railroad maintaining a car-repair facility in town. This is a major source of employment and partly accounts for the city's population and economic stability, despite its relative isolation. Other important economic sectors in the De Soto area include education and retail trade, with Wal-Mart and the De Soto School District being the other large-scale employers.

The city operates a number of public parks, totaling over 56 acres in area, with multiple sports facilities and picnic locations. These include a historical railroad memorial on Fountain City Road, detailing the significance of the rail industry to the community. De Soto's past as a railroad city is further commemorated in its annual "Train Days," typically held each July.^[11]

Notable People[edit]

• Thomas Clement Fletcher (1827-1899), Republican governor of Missouri from 1865 to 1869, spent early career in De Soto area and among its founders
• Benjamin Francis "Whitey" Ford (1901-1986), comedian and radio host known as "The Duke of Paducah," born in De Soto
• Juanita Hamel (1891-1939), prominent newspaper illustrator in the 1910s and '20s, born in De Soto
• Jeremiah W. "Jay" Nixon (born 1956), Democratic governor of Missouri from 2009 to 2017, born and raised in De Soto

References[edit]