De Soto, Kansas

In 1943, nearby Sunflower Village was built to house workers for nearby Sunflower Ordnance Works. The west side "Old Village" had 853 dwellings in 1943, and the east side "New Village" had 580 pre-fab units that was completed by 1945. Housing, a school and traffic were filled and overflowing. Highway 10, the main street which is now currently 83rd Street. As people came in, it was getting harder to find room and places to room, bored and to dwell in, to a point that people were living in the chicken house and sleeping under quilts on the ground where the current Scout House is sitting on Wea Street. It was so unbearable that rooms that were rented out "by the shift" that other people were bring in trailers and tents. In 1955, the housing units transferred to Sunflower Ordnance Worker (SOW), then sold to private buyers. In 1961, Sunflower was sold to Quick Way Homes and renamed as Clearview City. In 1998, Clearview City was annexed by the city of De Soto, boosting the city's population by 339 people.[11]

In mid-July 1951, heavy rains led to a great rise of water in the Kansas River and other surrounding areas of the central United States, known as the Great Flood of 1951. De Soto, along the south side of the river, was severely damaged. The river crest at De Soto was 42.3 feet (12.9 m), the highest recorded on the Kansas River during the flood.[12] Most of the downtown area was completely flooded, with over 4 feet (1.2 m) of standing water in some places.

De Soto welcome sign, off K-10 highway

Since the 2008 recession came to an end, growth in De Soto has steadily picked up, with substantial commercial development in the K-10 Business District.

The number of single-family building permits approved each year has more than tripled in the past decade, with 61 homes constructed in 2019, the city's all-time record for housing starts.[13] In 2019, the Kansas City Star reported that De Soto was, and is expected to remain the fastest-growing city in the Kansas City metro area.[14]

After the closure of the Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant in 1993, plans for potential development of the 15.5 square mile lot south of De Soto [15] began to make rounds around locals, plans for an Oz Entertainment amusement park consumed seven futile years, after which the land was transferred to the Sunflower Redevelopment Group in 2005.[16] At that time, about 3,700 acres were transferred clean, but much of that land was targeted for open space, buffer and parkland.[16] Another plan that was set to open in 2002 was the newly announced Kansas Speedway and Kansas City Wizards stadiums. Recently, a master use plan has been adopted by the cities of Olathe, De Soto, Johnson County, the State of Kansas and Sunflower Redevelopment Group.[16] The master plan calls for high density housing, major commercial zoning, a "downtown" area for offices, high density commercial and civic uses, and land promised to The University of Kansas, Kansas State University and the City of De Soto, as well as land being reserved for the army reserves, parks and other public spaces.[16] However, the cleanup is expected to be completed by 2038. Recently, The Kansas City Star reported that Kansas state lawmakers urged the acceleration of cleanup efforts of the lot and announced that the northeastern portion of the plant, closest to De Soto, would be ready for light commercial and industrial development by 2020.[16]

As of the census[3] of 2010, there were 5,720 people, 2,007 households, and 1,523 families residing in the city. The population density was 516.7 inhabitants per square mile (199.5/km²). There were 2,204 housing units at an average density of 199.1 per square mile (76.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.7% White, 0.8% African American, 0.8% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 5.9% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.6% of the population.

There were 2,007 households, of which 41.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.4% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 24.1% were non-families. 19.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.25.

The median age in the city was 35.4 years. 28.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.5% were from 25 to 44; 26.3% were from 45 to 64; and 9.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.2% male and 49.8% female.

As of the census[5] of 2000, here were 4,561 people, 1,642 households, and 1,246 families residing in the city. The population density was 403.0/mi² (155.6/km²). There were 1,730 housing units at an average density of 152.9/mi² (59.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.80% White, 0.20% African American, 0.94% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.69% from other races, and 1.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.86% of the population.

There were 1,642 households, out of which 41.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.1% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.5% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $46,426, and the median income for a family was $52,219. Males had a median income of $36,203 versus $31,682 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,141. About 3.2% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.1% of those under age 18 and 13.1% of those age 65 or over.

as of January 2020, the largest employers in the city are:

The city has been the host of the annual De Soto Days Festival. The fair begins on the Thursday before Labor Day and runs until the holiday itself, making it the third longest Labor Day festival in the County.[23] The fair has booths and three stages, entertaining 10,000 patrons annually on the 3 operating days.[24]

Winesong at Riverfest is a major cultural attraction for the Kansas City area. The event, which began in 2012, is a wine festival hosted by the De Soto Rotary Club annually in early June. The event features wineries from the Midwest, and includes samples, appetizers, music and art competitions.[25] Annual attendance is 1,000.

An effort to recall Mayor Tim Maniez and City Councilmember Bill McDaniel from their positions was launched in February 2016, and garnered national attention.[26] Recall supporters submitted their petition applications against Maniez and McDaniel to the Johnson County Elections Board on February 18, 2016. Judy Macy and other De Soto residents filed petitions against Maniez and McDaniel due to concerns about meeting decorum. The petition against Maniez noted his lack of control over meetings, while the McDaniel's petition cited argumentative and negative behavior. Recall organizers also expressed frustration with the firing of city administrator Cynthia Wagner in February 2016. As of June 2017, the Johnson County Elections Board has not taken any action. The matter was considered abandoned on November 7, 2017 when both parties were voted against additional terms.[26]

The Johnson County Library System maintains the De Soto Downtown Library.

In a 2006 downtown revitalization plan, the city states that it plans to open a municipal-maintained library.[27]

The De Soto Explorer was started in 1998 and served as De Soto's main news source for 14 years, until the closure of the printing facility and website in 2012. In the fall of 2015, Discovering De Soto magazine released its first preview edition.[28] In 2017, the De Soto City Council motioned to fund issues of Discovering De Soto in order to distribute the magazine by mail and around local businesses. In 2018, the De Soto City Council once again motioned to fund upcoming issues of Discovering De Soto for the year.[29]

The Kansas City Star and the Lawrence Journal-World both cover and deliver to De Soto.

De Soto is served by several highways:

• K-10 runs through most portions of southern De Soto. Two exits have a direct connection to De Soto.
  • Exit – Edgerton Road
  • Exit – Lexington Avenue, formerly K-285 (Decommissioned in 1999)
  • Exit – Kill Creek Road
• K-32 runs about 5 miles (8 km) north of De Soto. Two junctions have a direct connection to De Soto.
  • Junction – 189th Street CR-26(Leavenworth County)
  • Junction – 158th Street CR-2(Leavenworth County)
• S. Wyandotte Road / 158th Street CR-2(Leavenworth County)
• CR-3(Leavenworth County)
• CR-26(Leavenworth County)
• CR-32(Leavenworth County)
• West 103rd Street / Lexington Avenue / West 83rd Street runs through De Soto. East on 83rd Street is Lenexa and Overland Park, west is Lawrence. West 103rd Street comes in from Lawrence, runs south of the city, turns into a four-lane road near Sunflower Nature Park and travels north into the city as Lexington Avenue until an intersection with West 83rd Street, and then turns east towards Lenexa.
• Kill Creek Road runs through eastern portions De Soto. South on Kill Creek Road is a connector road to Olathe and Gardner. Kill Creek Road comes in from rural Johnson County, runs into the city, and end at an intersection with West 83rd Street.

De Soto was settled in 1828 as a city along the Kansas River. Several years later, in 1857, the Atchison, Topeka, Santa Fe Railway constructed track through northern portions of town, parallel to the river. De Soto's train depot was constructed along a siding around 1860.[30] In 1900, a railyard was constructed east of town to allow the switching of freight cars from Topeka to Kansas City. The yard consisted of seven rails along the main line and siding. Portions of the yard are still in use today to store unused freight cars.[30] However, only three lines remain, as the others were removed to save on maintenance.[30]

In 1942, during the construction of the Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant, the U.S. army constructed a spur through De Soto to connect the plant to a main rail line. To this day the spur is used for the industrial district shipments.[30]