DeSoto County was split off from Manatee County in 1887. The new county included what is now Hardee, Highlands, Glades, Charlotte, and DeSoto counties. Pine Level had been the county seat of Manatee County and initially remained so in the...
Elections
DeSoto County Seat Moves from Pine Level to Arcadia
Avon Park City Council Throws Out All Black Votes in 1951 Election
The good old boy system of Avon Park was shaken to its core in 1949. That September, five out of six incumbents were voted out of office. Among the newly-elected was young Wiley Sauls, who was just 21. The story...
Ocoee On Fire: The 1920 Election Day Massacre
A quiet Florida citrus town became the scene of a gruesome racial cleansing that purged the black population for over 60 years. It must have seemed like a lifetime ago to Julius “July” Perry since he first arrived in Ocoee. More...