24/7 Biohazard and Crime Scene Cleanup in Desloge, MO

Desloge (pronounced də-LOHZH) is a city in St. Francois County built entirely around lead mining, in the heart of Missouri's Old Lead Belt about 65 miles south of St. Louis.

The city was founded by Firmin V. Desloge II, whose father Firmin René Desloge immigrated from France, settled in Potosi, and started one of America's notable mining dynasties.

After fire destroyed his concentrating plant near Bonne Terre in 1883, Desloge consolidated several local firms into the Desloge Consolidated Lead Company and sank a new shaft at "Desloge Town," where the plant began operating in 1892.

Desloge and the surrounding Southeast Missouri Lead Mining District became one of the principal lead-producing centers in the entire United States.

The Desloge family ran the operation until 1929, when the company was sold to the St. Joe Lead Company, the giant of the Lead Belt.

Founder Firmin Desloge II left the original 47 acres of hand-dug lead pits and rutted wagon tracks to his family, who donated it as Firmin Desloge Park, dedicated to the area's mining families.

Desloge was not incorporated until March 7, 1941 — decades after the mines opened — with D. E. Brown as its first mayor.

Desloge had 4,823 residents at the 2020 census in about 2,030 households, down slightly from its peak of 5,054 people in 2010.

Desloge City Park packs in an Olympic-size swimming pool, tennis courts, an amphitheater, and a walking path, while Brightwell Park hosts three baseball and softball diamonds.

Children in Desloge attend the North St. Francois County R-I School District — North County Parkside Elementary, Intermediate, and Middle schools are in town, and Mineral Area College in nearby Park Hills was the first college in Missouri to offer the 2+2 degree program.