Twin Cities

The town of Arcadia has formed a friendship with another Arcadia, of Florida. Provided here is information on our Twin City.

Telephone:
Chamber of Commerce (863) 494-4033
City Hall (863) 494-4349 / (863) 494-2514

E-mail:
chamber@strato.net
cityclerk@desoto.net  

 Visit Online:
www.DesotoChamber.net
www.CityOfArcadia.org

Arcadia, FL has a population of 6,604 (census of the year 2000).  It is located in Southwest Florida region in the heartland (central) area, due East of Sarasota, FL.  The best time to visit Arcadia, FL is anytime during the winter tourist season from approximately Halloween to Easter week.  

-  There are parades an average of once a month.
-  The oldest rodeo in the State of Florida is held 3 times a year in March, in July and in October.  
-  The Watermelon festival, which is a big local event, is held in May of each year.  
-  The downtown area has many antique stores, which draw people from miles around.
 -  There are a number of restaurants, ranging from the European style Arcadia Tea Room in the downtown area to the Southern style Plantation in the near suburbs.

The Historic District of Arcadia along Oak St. has soaring oak trees and many fine Southern Colonial style homes.  There is a self-guided walking tour of the Historic District, available free at the Chamber of Commerce.  More than 370 historic homes and businesses were placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1984.  Arcadia became a Main Street city in 1985.  It was named the best small town in Florida.  Stroll the sidewalks of Arcadia's historic downtown area for a day of antique shopping and dining.

Originally a frontier gateway to Southwest Florida, Arcadia has survived through the range wars of the area's turbulent early days, the disastrous fire of 1905, the boom and bust of the 1920's and the state's explosive growth since the 1970s.  Florida is now the fourth largest state in population.  Within Arcadia's  58 block  historic district are some of Florida's best examples of early 1900's and boomtown architecture.  Many of the 374 buildings and homes in the historic district are unchanged from their original appearance.  Known first as "Tater Hill Bluff", Arcadia became a town when a post office was established here in 1883.  It was incorporated in 1886, which was shortly after the arrival of Atlantic Coastline Railroad down the Peace River Valley.  Arcadia became the DeSoto County seat in 1888.

DeSoto County is named for the Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto.  It was created from Manatee County  in 1887.  Until 1921 DeSoto was one of the largest counties in the state of Florida, but residents complained of the vast distance between home and the courthouse.  It was then divided to create DeSoto Hardee, Charlotte, Highlands and Glades counties.

The originaly DeSoto County seat, which has also served Manatee County since 1866, was located at Pine Level.  Although built of brick, the Pine Level courthouse, or at least its jail, was derided as "flimsy", allowing  the escape of prisoners to such an extent that vigilantism was rampant in the large and undeveloped county. Eventually a new county seat was created at "Tater Hill Bluff", renamed Arcadia in 1888 after Arcadia Albritton, the pretty daughter of local settlers.

In the 1870's the railroads were completed through DeSoto County, and it changed the growth of the county and bought wealth for many.  In 1881 phosphate was discovered on the banks of the Peace River that flows through the county.  Mining of this mineral brought much prosperity for many years.  Ruins of the old phosphate docks can be found today near Liverpool on Hunter Creek, just a few 100 yards from the Peace River in south DeSoto County.

The first courthouse in Arcadia was constructed by Peyton Read at a cost of $6,000, half of which had been donated to the county by 4 local citizens.  This structure was destroyed in the 1905 fire; only 3 brick buildings survived that conflagration.  The current DeSoto County Courthouse was built by the Read-Parker Construction Company in 1912-1913.  It was designed by the Tampa, Florida architectural firm of Bonfoey and Elliot.