De Soto Nebraska

Former town · Washington County · 1854–1934

About De Soto

De Soto is a ghost town on the Missouri River bottoms about 4 miles southeast of Blair and 4 miles north of Fort Calhoun, just east of US 75. The site is farmland. The DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, named for the town by way of DeSoto Bend, lies just to the east, and the DeSoto Townsite marker stands on US 75.

History

Mormons on their way west camped here, and in 1847 they farmed the Summer Quarters nearby. De Soto was platted in the fall of 1854 by Dr. John Glover, Potter C. Sullivan and others, named for the explorer Hernando de Soto, and incorporated on March 7, 1855; the post office opened on March 2, 1855. By 1857 it had several hundred people, three banks, three newspapers and nearly a dozen saloons and stores. In 1858 the county seat was moved here from Fort Calhoun, after an armed standoff, and it stayed until 1866.

The Panic of 1857 closed the banks, the Pike's Peak gold rush drew people away, and in 1869 the railroad crossed the Missouri three miles upriver and founded Blair. By 1881 only three families lived on the townsite; the post office lasted until 1934. The steamboat Bertrand sank in the river about 2 miles northeast in 1865; it was found in 1968, and about 250,000 of its artifacts are shown at the refuge visitor center.

Things to see

DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge and the Bertrand collection at the visitor center · DeSoto Townsite historical marker on US 75 · the old De Soto cemetery is on private land and not open to visitors