The story
Read it all →How De Soto came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of De Soto.
De Soto was named after Hernando de Soto, the explorer who discovered the Mississippi.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · De Soto
De Soto’s post office opened in 1855, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1929 on and the census since 1880.
1855first post office
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How De Soto began
When was De Soto founded?
1855
The De Soto post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 301 in 18802020 census: 309171 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.
★ 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.From the old history books
What they wrote about De Soto in 1884
Passages that mention De Soto, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Vernon county, Wisconsin ..1884 · page 722Read the page →
Read the text
De Soto union schools, located within the village of De Soto, are kept in a fine two story building, which accommodated three departments until within a few years, but of late, only two. Very earnest and efiicient work ha* been performed in these schools, which have always been of much credit to De Soto.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Vernon county, Wisconsin ..1884 · page 725Read the page →
Read the text
1855, and remained until 1873, when he removed to Iowa. He was a painter by trade ; C. B. Stevens, who was a tinner, came into the village of De Soto in the spring of 1855, and continued to live there until 1882, when he moved to Dakota. Also, Dennis Powers, Sidney R. Gage, Hugh McDill, R. F. Lemen, A.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
De Soto, decade by decade
2023
2016
2010
2009
2009On the map
De Soto on the map, 1929 to 1983
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of De Soto. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1929Ferryville sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of De Soto.
People over time
De Soto, census by census
Between 287 and 400 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on De Soto’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to De Soto
Nobody well known was born in De Soto itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about De Soto’s history
What year was De Soto founded?
The De Soto post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (5), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.