De Soto is a city in Sumter County,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, United States. The population was 214 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Americus micropolitan statistical area.

History

The

Georgia General Assembly The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directl ...

incorporated the place in 1889 as the "Town of De Soto". The community is named for

Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1497 – 21 May 1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru, ...

, the explorer who discovered the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

Geography

De Soto is located at (31.954674, -84.067633). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 214 people, 78 households, and 53 families residing in the city. By 2020, its population was 124.

Politics

In 2010, the city was cited by the Georgia Secretary of State's office for failing to hold regular elections in 2009, as well as being unable to document any elections from 2005 through 2007. A De Soto councilmember apologized by saying that the city simply "forgot" about the need to hold an election. Facing a number of state violations, the city promised to remedy the situation permanently by outsourcing the elections process to a third party. The state provided that the 2009 election must be held by March 2010.Jeffers, Wainwright (2010-01-14). City forgot to hold 2009 election. WALB News 10, 14 January 2010. Retrieved on 2010-01-17 from http://www.walb.com/global/story.asp?s=11819734.

References

{{authority control Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Sumter County, Georgia Americus, Georgia micropolitan area