Potosi is a city and the

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 ...

Washington County, Missouri Washington County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 23,514. The county seat and largest city is Potosi. The county was officially organized on ...

, United States. Potosi is southwest of

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. The population was 2,538 as of the 2020 census. Located in the Lead Belt, the city was founded in 1763 by French colonists as ''Mine à Breton'' or ''Mine au Breton''. After the United States acquired this area, American

Moses Austin Moses Austin (October 4, 1761 – June 10, 1821) was an American businessman and pioneer who played a large part in the development of the lead industry in the early United States, especially in southwest Virginia and Missouri. He was the fa ...

renamed the community for the

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

n silver-mining city of

Potosí Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Potosí Department, Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the list of highest cities in the world, highest cities in the wo ...

. He was involved in lead mining.

Geography

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. Potosi is located in the

Lead Belt The Southeast Missouri Lead District, commonly called the Lead Belt, is a lead mining district in the southeastern part of Missouri. Counties in the Lead Belt include Saint Francois County, Missouri, Saint Francois, Crawford County, Misso ...

region of Missouri; as such, it has mining operations in the area. It is also geographically considered part of the St. Francois Mountain Range, meaning it has hilly terrain typical of the region. The city is within proximity to many nature areas, including

Mark Twain National Forest Mark Twain National Forest (MTNF) is a U.S. National Forest located in the southern half of Missouri, composed of nine disconnected parcels. MTNF was established on September 11, 1939. It is named for author Mark Twain, a Missouri native. The ...

and Washington State Park.

Climate

History

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

mining settlement at this spot, "Mine à Breton" or ''Mine au Breton'', was founded between 1760 and 1780 by Francis Azor, of

Brittany, France The region Brittany ( ; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is an Regions of France, administrative region of Metropolitan France, comprising the departments of Côtes-d'Armor, Finistère, Ille-et-Vilaine, and Morbihan. Its capital and l ...

came here in 1798 with his family, including his son Stephen F. Austin. Moses obtained a grant of 7,153

arpent An arpent (, sometimes called arpen) is a unit of length and a unit of area. It is a pre-metric French unit based on the Roman ''actus''. It is used in Quebec, some areas of the United States that were part of French Louisiana, and in Mauritius ...

s of land from the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

and started large-scale mining operations, building his town to support it. Moses named the town after

, which was famous for its vast

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

mines. Austin's tomb and the foundation of his home Durham Hall can still be seen. Another mining entrepreneur in Potosi at the time of Moses Austin was James Bryan. Firmin Rene Desloge, who emigrated from Nantes, France in 1822 as the progenitor of the Desloge Family in America, settled in Potosi and established a mercantile, distillery, fur trading and lead smelting business. The Desloge lead mining business, Desloge Lead Company (later

Desloge Consolidated Lead Company Desloge Consolidated Lead Company was a lead mining company in the Southeast Missouri Lead District that was operated by the Desloge family in the 19th and early 20th century. The Desloge lead operations in the "Southeast Missouri Lead District, O ...

) was eventually relocated to Bonne Terre, and eventually Desloge, by Firmin V. Desloge. Potosi was designated county seat in 1814. Potosi is also home to the oldest standing Presbyterian church west 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 ...

. It is located on West Breton Street, also home to the graveyard that contains the tomb of

and his wife Maria Brown Austin. The

Potosi Correctional Center Potosi Correctional Center (PCC) is a Missouri Department of Corrections prison located in unincorporated Washington County, Missouri, near Mineral Point. The facility houses 897 inmates as of the 2020 U.S. census. It is a Level 5 maximum secu ...

, which opened in 1989, housed Missouri's

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting executio ...

until 2005. The Potosi Center conducted all but one of the sixty-two Missouri executions between 1989 and 2005, when executions were moved to the

Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center The Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center (ERDCC) is a 2,684-bed prison located in a detached eastern section of Bonne Terre, Missouri, Bonne Terre, Missouri. It is home to adult males who are awaiting Beds at other facilities, Is ...

in Bonne Terre. The George Cresswell Furnace, Palmer Historic Mining District, Washington County Courthouse, and Washington State Park CCC Historic District are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Demographics

2010 census

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 2010, there were 2,660 people, 1,114 households, and 657 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 1,230 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.2%

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 ...

, 2.2%

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 ...

, 0.4% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.6% 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 1.6% of the population. There were 1,114 households, of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 17.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.0% were non-families. 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.86. The median age in the city was 39.1 years. 24.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.9% were from 25 to 44; 24.3% were from 45 to 64; and 18.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 44.1% male and 55.9% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 2,662 people, 1,103 households, and 677 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,211 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.60%

, 2.14%

, 0.45% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.23% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.83% of the population. There were 1,103 households, out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were

living together, 17.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 35.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.97. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.7% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 81.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $17,702, and the median income for a family was $23,958. Males had a median income of $31,548 versus $16,976 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 city was $12,417. About 28.1% of families and 31.4% 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 42.7% of those under age 18 and 13.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

Potosi is the county seat of Washington County, and therefore contains both city and county government offices in City Hall and the Washington County Courthouse, respectively. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

operates the Potosi Post Office. The

of the

Missouri Department of Corrections The Missouri Department of Corrections is the state law enforcement agency that operates state prisons in the U.S. state of Missouri. It has its headquarters in Missouri's capital of Jefferson City. The Missouri Department of Corrections has ...

is located in an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Washington County, near Potosi. The prison houses male

inmates.

Education

Public education in Potosi is administered by the Potosi R-III School District. Potosi has a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

, the Washington County Library.

Notable people

, American settlement colonizer in St. Genevieve, Missouri and father of

Stephen Austin Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo-Americans, Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the success ...

of the Republic of Texas *

Jeremy Boyer Jeremy A. Boyer (born May 12, 1980) is an American musician best known for being the stadium organist for the National Hockey League's St. Louis Blues. Early life Boyer was born and raised in Potosi, Missouri. He was a self-taught organist as ...

, NHL & MLB organist * Dylan Coleman, MLB pitcher * Firmin Rene Desloge, progenitor of the Desloge Family in America * Firmin V. Desloge, founder

and

Desloge, Missouri Desloge ( ) is a city in St. Francois County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,054 as of the 2010 census. History The city was founded by Firmin V. Desloge II, son of Firmin René Desloge, who migrated from France, settled in Pot ...

and

Bonne Terre, Missouri Bonne Terre ( ) is a city in St. Francois County, Missouri, St. Francois County, Missouri, United States with a population of 6,864 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Situated in the Southeast Missouri Lead District, lead mining shape ...

* Tom Huck, artist/printmaker * John A. Lankford, architect *Rodney Wilson, founder of LGBTQ History Month, in October 1994, and first openly gay Missouri public school teacher to be granted tenure. *

Donne Wall Donnell Lee Wall (born July 11, 1967) is an American former professional baseball player who pitched in Major League Baseball for the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, New York Mets, and Anaheim Angels, primarily in relief from 1995 to 2002. Wa ...

, baseball player

References

External links

* Historic maps of Potosi in th
Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection
at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

{{Authority control Cities in Washington County, Missouri County seats in Missouri Populated places established in 1799 French colonial settlements of Illinois Country 1799 establishments in the Spanish Empire 1799 establishments in North America Cities in Missouri