DeSoto County, Florida

History

DeSoto County was created in 1887 from Manatee County. It was named for Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, whose name was also honored in Hernando County.

DeSoto County originally included several other present-day counties until 1921, when the Florida legislature created the following new counties: Charlotte, Glades, Hardee, and Highlands.

During World War II, DeSoto County operated the Carlstrom Field Air Base, which provided training for both American and British pilots. Twenty-three British pilots were killed while training at the base and are honored at DeSoto County's Oak Ridge Cemetery, which is located in the town of Arcadia. In 1945, the base turned out its last cadets and was decommissioned. The base was then sold to the State of Florida for one dollar and later converted into a mental health facility known as G. Pierce Wood Memorial Hospital. The hospital has since been converted into a facility for juvenile offenders. The facility was closed and is now up for sale.

On August 13, 2004, Hurricane Charley passed directly through DeSoto County. Hurricane-force winds persisted for an hour, damaging most of the structures in the county and causing some to be completely destroyed.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 639 square miles (1,660 km²), of which 637 square miles (1,650 km²) is land and 2.4 square miles (6.2 km²) (0.4%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 32,209 people, 10,746 households, and 7,672 families residing in the county. The population density was 50 people per square mile (20/km²). There were 13,608 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 73.33% White, 12.72% Black or African American, 1.59% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 10.49% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. 24.90% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

2005 estimates showed the population as being 56.3% non-Hispanic white, 31.4% Latino, 11.8% African-American and 2.9% Native American. (Source=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/12/12027.html)

In 2000 there were 10,746 households out of which 26.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.50% were married couples living together, 10.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.60% were non-families. 21.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the county, the population was spread out with 22.70% under the age of 18, 11.20% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 20.50% from 45 to 64, and 19.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 128.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 134.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,714, and the median income for a family was $34,726. Males had a median income of $22,572 versus $20,004 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,000. About 14.20% of families and 23.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.50% of those under age 18 and 7.30% of those age 65 or over.

Voter Registration

According to the Secretary of State's office, Democrats are a plurality of registered voters in DeSoto County.

Library

DeSoto County is part of the Heartland Library Cooperative which has 7 branches that serve DeSoto County and some of the surrounding counties, including Glades, Highlands, Hardee, and Okeechobee.

Newspaper

The Charlotte Sun produces a section dedicated to Desoto County called The Arcadian. Locally, the section is offered as a standalone for residential delivery.

Television

Desoto County is part of the Fort Myers/Naples DMA. Almost all stations from Fort Myers and Naples are receivable within the county, as well as some stations from the Tampa/St. Petersburg/Sarasota DMA. There was formerly a low-power television station, WALM-LD on channel 34. However, the station is currently silent, and is not receivable on television sets.

Radio

DeSoto County has three radio stations licensed to locations within the county:

WFLN (1480 AM NewsRadio - News/Talk) WZSP (105.3 FM La Zeta - Mexican)

City

Census-designated place

Unincorporated communities

Ghost town

Airports

Arcadia Municipal Airport is the only public-use airport in DeSoto County.

Major highways

I-75 runs only a short section in the very southwestern tip of the county and has no major junctions within the county.