The Arcadia Historic District comprises fifty-eight blocks within 340 acres that embody the city's development from the founding of its post office in 1883 through the late 1920s. The Town of Arcadia was incorporated in 1886 following the arrival of the first train that year and the area's subsequent growth. In November 1888, voters selected Arcadia as the county seat of DeSoto County, which was established in 1887. The City of Arcadia was incorporated in 1901. The heart of the district is a commercial zone extending 18 blocks and consisting of buildings constructed between 1900 and the late 1920s. Three buildings that survived the devastating 1905 downtown fire, and those that were rebuilt, are generally masonry vernacular in style. The district's most imposing structure is the 1912 Classical Revival courthouse. Residential neighborhoods of mostly frame vernacular homes from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries surround the commercial area. Listed on the National Register in 1984, the district retains remarkable historical and architectural integrity as reflected in its churches, residences, and schools, as well as commercial, governmental, and industrial buildings.
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