and the Desoto Courthouse
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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, but residents complained of the vast
distances between home and courthouse and it was subdivided to create Hardee,
Charlotte, Highlands, and Glades Counties. The original DeSoto County seat,
which had also served Manatee County since 1866, was located at Pine Level.
Although apparently 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. Arcadia Albritton was the pretty daughter of local settlers. 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 four local citizens. It is probable that this structure was destroyed in a 1905 fire . The current DeSoto County Courthouse was built by the Read-Parker Construction Company in 1912-3. It was designed by the Tampa architectural firm of Bonfoey and Elliot. |
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