De Soto is a village in Jackson County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The population was 1,407 at the 2020 census. It 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 discoverer of 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 in northeastern Jackson County at .

U.S. Route 51 U.S. Route 51 or U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) is a major south–north United States highway that extends from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, to within of the Wisconsin–Michigan state line. As most of the United States Numbered Hi ...

passes through the center of the village, leading north to Du Quoin and south to Carbondale. Illinois Route 149 crosses US-51 in the village center, leading southwest to Murphysboro, the Jackson

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, and east to Hurst. According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, De Soto has a total area of , of which (or 98.70%) is land and (or 1.30%) is water. The

Big Muddy River The Big Muddy River is a river in southern Illinois. It joins the Mississippi River just south of Grand Tower. The Big Muddy has been dammed near Benton, forming Rend Lake. The Big Muddy has a mud bottom for most of its length. Hydrography ...

, a tributary of the

, flows to the east and south of the village limits.

History

De Soto was laid out in 1854 when the railroad was extended to that point. The village's name honors

(c. 1496/1497–1542), a Spanish ''

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

'' who explored the region in 1541–2. A post office has been in operation at De Soto since 1855. De Soto was largely destroyed by the Great

Tri-State Tornado In the midday and afternoon hours of Wednesday, March 18, 1925, the deadliest tornado in United States history and second-deadliest worldwide moved through Eastern Missouri, Southern Illinois and Southern Indiana, killing 695 people and inj ...

of 1925. Sixty-nine people died in De Soto when approximately 30% of the town was destroyed, and of this total 33 were children at a local school that collapsed from the winds. The tornado affected

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, Illinois, and

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, killing 695 and injuring over 2,000.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 1,407 people, 645 households, and 401 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 708 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 87.49%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 4.12%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.43% Native American, 0.00% Asian, 0.00%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.78% from other races, and 7.18% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 3.20% of the population. There were 645 households, out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.90% were married couples living together, 15.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.83% were non-families. 28.68% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.39% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 2.42. The village's age distribution consisted of 24.0% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 29.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.6 males. The median income for a household in the village was $44,744, and the median income for a family was $65,216. Males had a median income of $35,635 versus $27,703 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $23,418. About 5.7% of families and 17.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 21.4% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Village of DeSoto official website
{{authority control Villages in Jackson County, Illinois Populated places established in 1854 1854 establishments in Illinois Villages in Illinois