De Soto, Missouri
Encyclopedia
De Soto is a city in Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Missouri
Jefferson County is a county located in East Central Missouri in the United States. The county was included as the mean center of U.S. population in 1980. It is the sixth most-populous county in Missouri. Census 2010 put the population at 218,733 Its county seat is Hillsboro. The county was...

, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 6,477 at the estimated 2008 census. 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
Hernando de Soto (explorer)
Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who, while leading the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States, was the first European documented to have crossed the Mississippi River....

, who claimed the Louisiana Territory
Louisiana Territory
The Territory of Louisiana or Louisiana Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1805 until June 4, 1812, when it was renamed to Missouri Territory...

 for Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. De Soto was the city closest to the mean center of U.S. population
Mean center of U.S. population
The mean center of U.S. population is determined by the United States Census Bureau from the results of each census. The Bureau defines it to be:...

 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 38.140481°N 90.557585°W. According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 3.8 square miles (9.8 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 6,375 people, 2,544 households, and 1,656 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 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
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 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
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 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
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 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
Artesian aquifer
An artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer containing groundwater under positive pressure. This causes the water level in a well to rise to a point where hydrostatic equilibrium has been reached. This type of well is called an artesian well...

. Water from these wells and springs was bottled and shipped by tank car to the 1904 World Fair
Louisiana Purchase Exposition
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the Saint Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States in 1904.- Background :...

 in St. Louis.

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
Hillsboro, Missouri
Hillsboro is a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. The estimated population as of 2008 is 2,062. The population was 1,675 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Jefferson County.- Origin of name :...

 at Jefferson College
Jefferson College
Jefferson College is a public, two-year community college located in Hillsboro, Missouri. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Jefferson College was founded in 1963. It is coeducational and has a semester-based academic calendar. It was granted a Phi Theta Kappa chapter in 1965...

.

Notable natives

  • Jay Nixon
    Jay Nixon
    Jeremiah Wilson "Jay" Nixon, Sr. is the 55th and current Governor of the U.S. state of Missouri. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as Missouri's Attorney General before his election in 2008.-Political career:...

     — Current Governor of Missouri and former state Attorney General
  • Thomas Clement Fletcher
    Thomas Clement Fletcher
    Thomas Clement Fletcher was the 18th Governor of Missouri during the latter stages of the American Civil War and the early part of Reconstruction. He was the first Missouri governor to be born in the state....

     — Governor of Missouri
  • Whitey Ford, "The Duke of Paducah"
  • Jose Oquendo
    José Oquendo
    José Manuel Roberto Guillermo Oquendo Contreras is a former Major League Baseball infielder and the current third base coach for the St. Louis Cardinals...

     - 3rd base coach for St. Louis Cardinals
    St. Louis Cardinals
    The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...

     lives in rural De Soto.
  • Trudy (Tru) Bequette - Equity Actress, resides in London, England, raised in De Soto
  • Mel Bay's childhood home "publisher of music instructional manuals and sheet music"

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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