DeSoto County is a county located in the Florida Heartland region of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,976. Its county seat is Arcadia. DeSoto County comprises the Arcadia, FL Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the North Port-Sarasota, FL Combined Statistical Area. History Prior to the arrival of the Spanish, what is now DeSoto County was within the territory of the Calusa Indians. In 1513, Ponce De Leon sailed into present-day Charlotte Harbor near the mouth of the Peace River to put in for repairs and maintenance on his ships. While there the Spanish encountered Calusa Indians and soon after an argument broke out and several died on both sides. Then the Spanish kidnapped several Calusa and departed Charlotte Harbor and sailed S.W. away from the west coast of Florida. This occurred within the original boundaries of DeSoto County. In 1521, Ponce De Leon attempted to establish a colony at or near Charlotte Harbor but again was turned away by the Calusa who wounded him. Shortly after, he died and was buried in Puerto Rico. In 1528 the Spanish Conquistadors Panfilo De Narvaez and Cabeza De Vaca came to present-day Arcadia where they captured several Calusa Indians who told them of great quantities of gold located to the north and offered to guide them there. In 1539 the Spanish Explorer Hernando DeSoto, for whom the county is named, anchored in Charlotte Harbor and set about to explore the region with mixed results. Eventually, he made his way up the coast to present-day Manatee County and went inland from there. While Florida was claimed by Spain the moment it was discovered, the territory of La Florida was not formalized until 1565 with the founding of St. Augustine. At that point, what is now DeSoto County became part of La Florida. In 1763, the region became part of East Florida under British Rule. In 1783, East Florida was returned to Spain at which point today's DeSoto county was once again Spanish territory. In 1821 it became U.S. Territory. In 1841 Camp Ogden, later Fort Ogden was built as a staging area for the U.S. Army during the 2nd Seminole War, in the southwestern part of present-day DeSoto County. In 1870, the Joshua Creek Church and neighboring cemetery was founded. In the 1870s John W. Whidden, a Confederate veteran and former Manatee county clerk,