De Soto, IA

De Soto is a Dallas County city that got its start in 1868 after the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad crossed the area. The name came from a railroad official, giving the town a rail-era connection before the interstate entered the picture. South Raccoon River and Bulger Creek add the water side of the surrounding map, while Interstate 80 supplies the modern line. De Soto was incorporated in 1875 and counted 915 residents in the 2020 census. It is a central Iowa place whose story is easy to read in three lines: railroad, water, and the highway that followed.