March 1, 2025 | Brittney J. Miller
Arcadia, the 7,500-resident seat for DeSoto County, can be described as charming and quaint. Its 3,400-acre historic district is flush with architecture spanning a century, including the red brick Classical Revival county courthouse and the 1920s Rosin Arcade with its arched windows and gothic spires.
Adding to the city’s nostalgic ambiance are the dozen-plus antique stores dotting downtown — a rare and mighty density amid small-town Florida.
Since 1995, on the fourth Saturday of every month, the Antique Association of Arcadia hosts one of the largest antique fairs in the state. (The fair was initiated and implemented by the late Florence Rife, a fourth-generation antique dealer in Arcadia.) More than 100 dealers — and even more attendees — flock to the tiny town in hopes of a new find.
“We’re like a haven for antiques,” says Pam Ames, executive director of nonprofit Arcadia Main Street Program. “People come from all over. ... It’s great for our town.”
Arcadia can also add “resilient” to its description, as it has faced repeated destruction from hurricanes.
Hurricane Charley destroyed or significantly damaged 3,600 homes in 2004, with the town’s central street and its “Antiques Row” among the hardest hit. It was struck again by Hurricane Ian in 2022, which damaged an estimated 32% of properties in town, according to Tampa Bay Times reporting.
Since September 2022, a dozen new businesses or nonprofits have been added to downtown Arcadia. Five others have been rebuilt or expanded since the storm. The city received a $50,000 Hometown Grant from T-Mobile to help repair historic architecture instead of condemning it.
Arcadia’s 1906 Historic Heard Opera House, for example, was nearly condemned after Hurricane Ian ravaged its structural integrity and blew in windows. After two years of repairs, it’s now fully operational.
“Part of the charm of our town is that it’s not modernized ... 2024 architectural design has not hit downtown,” says Arcadia Main Street Program’s event and social media staffer Jen Scharf. “We work with the historical society to make sure we’re preserving the buildings as much as possible. ... For recovery, it takes time.”