Biohazard Cleanup Near Downtown Arcadia Arcadia, FL

Arcadia is a city and the county seat of DeSoto County in inland Southwest Florida, with a long history of cattle ranching and citrus growing, and it is the principal city of the Arcadia micropolitan area.

Arcadia began in 1883 as a post office settlement on the Peace River, known earlier as Waldron's Landing, Raulerson's Landing and Tater Hill Bluff; the first train on the Florida Southern Railway arrived in 1886, the town was incorporated that same year, voters made it the county seat in November 1888, and it was reincorporated as a city in 1901.

Arcadia was named by the Reverend James Madison 'Boss' Hendry for Arcadia Albritton, daughter of pioneer settlers Thomas H. and Fannie Waldron Albritton - local legend says he named it in gratitude for a birthday cake she baked for him.

DeSoto County was created in 1887 out of Manatee County and named for Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto; in 1921 the once roughly 3,000-square-mile county was split by the legislature to create Charlotte, Hardee, Glades and Highlands counties, with Arcadia remaining the seat of the smaller DeSoto County.

On Thanksgiving night in 1905, a fire that started in a mid-town livery stable destroyed Arcadia - only three brick stores survived, and the rebuilt town afterward required brick or block construction downtown.

Arcadia's historic district covers 58 blocks and 340 acres, and more than 370 of its historic buildings were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Arcadia had a population of 7,420 at the 2020 census, down from 7,637 in 2010, with about 3,189 households counted in Census Bureau QuickFacts for 2020-2024.

Arcadia hosted Florida's first official rodeo in November 1929, born as an American Legion fundraiser, and its All-Florida Championship Rodeo still runs every March.

The Peace River Valley around Arcadia was classic Florida cracker cowboy country - artist Frederic Remington passed through in 1895 and published his famous illustrated account of Florida's cracker cowboys.

Arcadia's historic downtown is known across Florida for its antique shops and monthly antique street fair, and the city holds an annual Watermelon Festival each May.