De Soto, Missouri

De Soto, Missouri
—  City  —
Location of De Soto, Missouri
Coordinates: 38°8′26″N 90°33′27″W / 38.14056°N 90.5575°W / 38.14056; -90.5575Coordinates: 38°8′26″N 90°33′27″W / 38.14056°N 90.5575°W / 38.14056; -90.5575
Country	United States
State	Missouri
County	Jefferson
Incorporated	1869
Area
– Total	3.8 sq mi (9.9 km2)
– Land	3.8 sq mi (9.9 km2)
– Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation[1]	503 ft (153 m)
Population (2008)[1]
– Total	6,477
– Density	1,704.5/sq mi (654.2/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
– Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	63020
Area code(s)	636
FIPS code	29-19252[2]
GNIS feature ID	0716761[3]

De Soto is a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 6,477 at the estimated 2008 census.^[1] The Van Metre family were first to settle in 1803 .The town was organized in 1857 and is named for the explorer Hernando De Soto, who claimed the Louisiana Territory for Spain. De Soto was the city closest to the mean center of U.S. population in 1980. The city celebrated its Bicentennial in 2003. The city made national news on and after May 6, 2003, when straightline winds/tornado struck.

Geography

De Soto is located at 38°08′26″N 90°33′27″W / 38.140481°N 90.557585°W / 38.140481; -90.557585.^[4] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.8 square miles (9.8 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 6,375 people, 2,544 households, and 1,656 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,673.6 people per square mile (646.0/km²). There were 2,741 housing units at an average density of 719.6 per square mile (277.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.71% White, 1.71% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.27% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.02% of the population.

There were 2,544 households out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.9% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 87.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,725, and the median income for a family was $37,486. Males had a median income of $33,163 versus $20,039 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,971. About 11.4% of families and 14.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.1% of those under age 18 and 12.1% of those age 65 or over.

History

Incorporated in 1869, the City of De Soto is a third-class city with a population of 6,375 which utilizes the council-manager form of government.

De Soto is located in the southeastern part of Missouri, approximately 45 miles south of St. Louis. De Soto is in Jefferson County, which is one of the fastest growing counties in Missouri.

De Soto was part of the Louisiana Territory and was transferred from France to Spain and back to France again, and in 1803 was sold to the United States. During that same year, Isaac Van Metre came to the place that was later named De Soto and erected a cabin. A marker now stands to commemorate the first log cabin built in De Soto.

In 1859, the St. Louis Iron Mountain Railroad built a depot. Later named the Missouri Pacific Railroad, it established a major rail car repair facility in De Soto.

The city is known as "Fountain City" because of the numerous artesian wells. Water from these wells and springs was bottled and shipped by tank car to the 1904 World Fair in St. Louis.^[5]

Economy

The local economy is fuelled by Union Pacific Railroad which operates a car repair shop on the east side of Main Street. Wal Mart, and De Soto School District #73 are the largest employers.

Education

Public schools are run by the De Soto School District #73: De Soto High School, De Soto Junior High, Vineland Elementary, Athena Elementary.

St. Rose of Lima School is the only private school in town ran by St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church.

The closest institution of higher education is in Hillsboro, Missouri at Jefferson College.

Notable natives

• Jay Nixon — Current Governor of Missouri and former state Attorney General
• Thomas Clement Fletcher — Governor of Missouri
• Whitey Ford, "The Duke of Paducah"
• Jose Oquendo - 3rd base coach for St. Louis Cardinals lives in rural De Soto.
• Trudy (Tru) Bequette - Equity Actress, resides in London, England, raised in De Soto^[6]
• Mel Bay's childhood home "publisher of music instructional manuals and sheet music"^[7]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} De Soto, Missouri (City-Data.com)
2. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
4. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
5. ^ http://www.desotomo.com/desoto_history.htm
6. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1267735/
7. ^ http://www.americanprofile.com/article/37391.html

External links

• City website
• RootsWeb history of De Soto
• [1]
• [2]
• Historic maps of De Soto in the Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection at the University of Missouri