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BHistory
History · Arcadia

Arcadia’s post office opened in 1883, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns · #35 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Arcadia was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 293 buildings. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1909 on, and the census since 1900.

1883first post office
4on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Arcadia’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Arcadia began

When was Arcadia founded?

1883

The Arcadia post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1886.

First census: 799 in 19002020 census: 7,420143 years

How historic is Arcadia?

B

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Arcadia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1886.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Arcadia’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Arcadia is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #35 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Arcadia’s overall grade.
Founding era1883, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19407.8% of homes (±3.4) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register4 listings, 296 historic buildings, 384 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 64%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 95%

Few Florida towns list much on the Register (a typical Florida town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Arcadia’s 384 sits above most of its state (99% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 296 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1886 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Arcadia’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Arcadia Historic District takes in 293 historic buildings.A town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers, 1880–1940.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1909 to 1923, drew every building in Arcadia.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

4 listings protect 296 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
296
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Arcadia Historic District
Arcadia Historic DistrictWilliam Oswell Ralls HouseJohnson-Smith HouseMicajah T. Singleton House
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Victorian Gothic1
Queen Anne1
Classical Revival1
Romanesque Revival1
Mediterranean Revival1
Bungalow1
Arcadia Historic DistrictVictorian Gothic
William Oswell Ralls HouseWood Frame Vernacular
Johnson-Smith HouseBuilding
Micajah T. Singleton HouseBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

By decade

Arcadia, decade by decade

6 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s7 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida - DeSoto County - Arcadia - ED 14-3, ED 14-4, ED 14-5, ED 14-6, ED 14-718801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida - DeS…1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida - DeSoto County - Arcadia - ED 14-3, ED 14-4, ED 14-5, ED 14-6, ED 14-718801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida - DeS…1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida - DeSoto County - Arcadia - ED 14-3, ED 14-4, ED 14-5, ED 14-6, ED 14-718801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida - DeS…1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida - DeSoto County - Arcadia - ED 14-3, ED 14-4, ED 14-5, ED 14-6, ED 14-718801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida - DeS…1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida - DeSoto County - Arcadia - ED 14-3, ED 14-4, ED 14-5, ED 14-6, ED 14-718801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida - DeS…1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida - DeSoto County - Arcadia - ED 14-3, ED 14-4, ED 14-5, ED 14-6, ED 14-718801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida - DeS…1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida (FL) - De Soto County - Arcadia - ED 14-1 to 818801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida (FL) …
1900s–1920s7 items
Arcadia19051905Arcadia1905An Army "Jenny" crashed in a tree1915An Army "Jenny" crashed in a treeAirplanes - Accidents - Airplane falls. Wreck of signal corps engine No. 1, Carlstrom Fields, Arcadia, Fla1917Airplanes - Accidents - Airplane falls. Wreck of sign…Untitled photo1918Untitled photoCooking barbecue at a Tin Can Tourists conventionc. 1920Cooking barbecue at a Tin Can Tourists conventionCooking barbecue at a Tin Can Tourists convention1925Cooking barbecue at a Tin Can Tourists conventionTin Can Tourists convention1929Tin Can Tourists convention
1930s–1940s4 items
Tin Can Tourists convention1931Tin Can Tourists conventionMotoring tourists homecoming1932Motoring tourists homecomingConnecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District of Columbia -- Florida -Alachua…1940Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- D…Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District of Columbia -- Florida -Alachua…1940Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- D…
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Every building

Arcadia, building by building, 1909–1923

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Arcadia fire insurance map, 1909, sheet 11909Sheet 1 of 5
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Arcadia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Arcadia.

Read it all →

According to The Atlas of Florida, "The Rev. James Madison ("Boss") Hendry (1839–1922) named the town in honor of Arcadia Albritton (1861–1932), a daughter of Thomas H. and Fannie (Waldron) Albritton, pioneer settlers. Arcadia had baked him a cake for his birthday, and he appreciated it so much that he named the city after her."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Arcadia, 1880 to 1977

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida - DeSoto County - Arcadia - ED 14-3, ED 1…
  3. 1883Post officeThe Arcadia post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1905In the archiveArcadia1905
  6. 1915In the archiveAn Army "Jenny" crashed in a tree
  7. 1917Born hereChesterfield Smith is born here
  8. 1920In the archiveCooking barbecue at a Tin Can Tourists convention
  9. 1931In the archiveTin Can Tourists convention
  10. 1937Born hereErnie Clark is born here
  11. 1938Born hereJay Garner is born here
  12. 1940In the archiveConnecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District o…
  13. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 1977Born hereEric Eisnaugle is born here
On the map

Arcadia on the map, 1957 to 1988

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Arcadia. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Arcadia on the 1957 USGS mapArcadia on the 1972 USGS mapArcadia on the 1988 USGS map1957Arcadia sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Arcadia.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida - DeSoto County - Arcadia - ED 14-3, ED 14-4, ED 14-5, ED 14-6, ED 14-7
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Florida - DeSoto County - Arcadia - ED 14-3, ED 14-4, ED 14-5, ED 14-6, ED 14-7, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Arcadia’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Arcadia, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 7,637

Between 799 and 7,637 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Arcadia’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

9 famous people were born in Arcadia

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Jay GarnerUnited States Army general and United States Ma… · b. 1938
E
Ernie ClarkAmerican football player · b. 1937
Chesterfield SmithRecipient of the Purple Heart medal · b. 1917
Eric EisnaugleFlorida State Representative · b. 1977
Perry McGriffAll-American college baseball player, college f… · b. 1937
B
Brad ScottAmerican football player and coach · b. 1954
Help out

Finish Arcadia’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
5 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Southeast ArcadiaIts storyC−

Questions about Arcadia’s history

What year was Arcadia founded?

The Arcadia post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1886.

How does Arcadia rank for history?

Arcadia is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #35 of 638 in Florida. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Arcadia?

4 listings: 3 buildings and 1 historic district, the Arcadia Historic District, with 293 contributing buildings. 296 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Arcadia?

8% of Arcadia’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1973.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (17), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.