DeSoto County (pop. 34,862) is east of Sarasota County. It was named for Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto – as was Hernando County, farther north in Florida.
The only other DeSoto County is in Mississippi. Its county seat is the city of Hernando.
In the Memphis metropolitan area
The county seat of DeSoto County, Florida, is the city of Arcadia (pop. 7,636).
DeSoto County Courthouse (1913)
The Arcadia Opera House (1906) is now one of downtown DeSoto’s many antique stores.
The theater was on the second floor.
The Opera House was built after a fire destroyed most of Arcadia’s business district in 1905.
Only two downtown buildings survived
Hurricane Charley in 2004 did extensive damage to Arcadia and DeSoto County. About 95% of downtown buildings were damaged.
Much damage all over southwestern Florida
Carlstrom Field was a military airfield, southwest of Arcadia, that trained pilots from 1917 to 1945.
It became a hospital after WWII.
DeSoto County has the second-most acres in citrus trees (after Polk County) of any county in Florida.
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What a gorgeous courthouse. Glad it survived the hurricane.