In the Heartland/South Central Region of Florida, DeSoto County was formed in 1887 from Manatee County. In 1921, parts of DeSoto were split off to form Charlotte, Glades, Hardee and Highlands counties. Its county seat, Arcadia, is on US-17 about 60 miles southeast of Tampa and 90 miles SSW of Orlando. DeSoto is bordered by the counties of Hardee, Highlands, Charlotte, Sarasota and Manatee.