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History · De Soto

De Soto’s post office opened in 1887, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1900.

1887first post office
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How De Soto began

When was De Soto founded?

1887

The De Soto post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 250 in 19002020 census: 124139 years
Founding year: the first De Soto post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about De Soto’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of De Soto are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 373 in 1930; 124 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start De Soto’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how De Soto’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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People over time

De Soto, census by census

01002003004001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 373

Peaked at 373 in 1930; 124 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on De Soto’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How De Soto came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of De Soto.

Read it all →

The Georgia General Assembly incorporated the place in 1889 as the "Town of De Soto". The community is named for Hernando de Soto, the explorer who discovered the Mississippi River.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

De Soto, 1887 to 1956

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe De Soto post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 373
  5. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

De Soto, decade by decade

Today2 recent
US280EB, Desoto City limit2019US280EB, Desoto City limitUntitled photo2019Untitled photo
On the map

De Soto on the map, 1956 to 1973

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of De Soto. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

De Soto on the 1956 USGS mapDe Soto on the 1973 USGS map1956Leslie sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of De Soto.

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

De Soto’s post office has been open since 1887.

Hamlets and corners on the map
DeSoto
1cemetery inside De Soto
Desoto

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about De Soto’s history

What year was De Soto founded?

The De Soto post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.