De Soto, Illinois

De Soto was laid out in 1854 when the railroad was extended to that point. The village's name honors Hernando de Soto (c. 1496/1497–1542), a Spanish conquistador 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 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, Illinois, and Indiana, killing 695 and injuring over 2,000. ==Geography==

De Soto is located in northeastern Jackson County. U.S. Route 51 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, 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, a tributary of the Mississippi River, flows to the east and south of the village limits. ==Demographics==

2020 census As of the 2020 census, De Soto had a population of 1,407. There were 401 families residing in the village. 0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas. There were 618 households in De Soto, of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 40.3% were married-couple households, 19.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 31.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The population density was . There were 708 housing units at an average density of . Of the 708 housing units, 12.7% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 13.7%. Income and poverty 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 for the village was $23,418. About 5.7% of families and 17.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 21.4% of those age 65 or over. ==References==