Editing Desloge, Missouri (section)

==History==
The city was founded by [[Firmin V. Desloge]] II, son of [[Firmin Rene Desloge|Firmin René Desloge]], who migrated from France, settled in [[Potosi, Missouri|Potosi]], and began the [[Desloge Family in America]].<ref>Sieur Robert Desloge who died before April 23, 1754</ref> Firmin V. Desloge II learned about mining from his father and acquired many claims in the area of what is today Desloge and [[Bonne Terre, Missouri|Bonne Terre]]. A
Desloge developed one of his claims just north of Bonne Terre and built a concentrating plant there. After the plant was destroyed by fire in 1883, Desloge explored his properties in the present area of Desloge and consolidated several local mining companies which became known as the [[Desloge Consolidated Lead Company]]. In 1887, the land was cleared and company houses for his staff were constructed in an area referred to as "Desloge Town", just west of the present-day railroad tracks. Here, Desloge sank a shaft and built a concentrating plant which began operations in 1892. Desloge Missouri and the regional [[Southeast Missouri Lead District|Southeast Missouri Lead Mining District]] became one of the principal lead mining centers in the US.<ref>"Southeast Missouri Mining and Milling". Doe Run Company. 2004. http://www.doerun.com/SEMO/tabid/94/language/en-US/Default.aspx {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100302193311/http://www.doerun.com/SEMO/tabid/94/language/en-US/Default.aspx |date=2010-03-02 }}. Retrieved 2010-04-05.</ref> In 1929, the family sold the Desloge Consolidated Lead Company to the St. Joe Lead Company.<ref>http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mostfran/mine_history/stjoe_desloge_lead.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081231053416/http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mostfran/mine_history/stjoe_desloge_lead.htm |date=December 31, 2008 }} {{User-generated source|certain=yes|date=June 2022}}</ref><ref>Desloge Consolidated Lead Company records at Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis, MO</ref><ref>May 31, 1929 The Lead Belt News</ref>

Firmin Desloge II, who died in 1930, willed to his family the original {{convert|47|acre|m2}} of the hand-dug pits of the original lead mining operations and the deeply rutted wagon tracks on a property. The family then donated this land for a park, today named Firmin Desloge Park, and dedicated it to the mining families in the area.

Firmin Desloge moved to St. Louis in the early 1900s. His son, Firmin Desloge III, was superintendent of mines until he moved his family — including his sons Firmin V. Desloge IV, William Livingston Desloge, and Theodore P. Desloge — to St. Louis in 1921.

The city of Desloge was incorporated on March 7, 1941, with D.E. Brown as its first mayor.

In June 2012, three great-great-grandsons of city founder Firmin Desloge II attended a dedication of a bronze medallion donated by great-grandson Steven Rockwell Desloge.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dailyjournalonline.com/news/local/relatives-of-city-s-founder-attend-meeting/article_71433470-b482-11e1-a56b-001a4bcf887a.html|title=Relatives of city's founder attend meeting|access-date=May 25, 2016|archive-date=March 4, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304165320/https://dailyjournalonline.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>