ARCADIA, TEXAS (Galveston County). Arcadia, on State Highway 6 in northwest Galveston County, was established around 1889 near Hall's Bayou on the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway and named for Arcadia, Louisiana. The townsite was laid out by Henry Rungeqv in 1890 and originally named Hall's Station. It included land for a school and a public park. Early families included the Halls, the Owenses, the Perrys, and the Dauras. The post office was founded in 1891. Several churches were organized in the 1890s, and in 1892 the White Horse Inn was built to impress prospective land buyers. The site of Arcadia was on Stephen F. Austin'sqv fourth land grant. The area had been occupied by the Coco Indians and explored by Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca.qv By 1900 Arcadia had a population of 168, and in 1907 its school had eighty-nine pupils and two teachers. The town grew to 300 by 1920. Dairying became the largest industry. During the 1920s the Arcadia Creamery was founded, and the Farmer's Cooperative Feed and Grocery Store opened. In 1947 Arcadia had a post office, ten businesses, and a population of 275. By the 1980s Arcadia was within the boundaries of Santa Fe, an incorporated town. Arcadia hosted the annual county fair at Runge Park.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Galveston Daily News, January 31, 1966, February 22, 1970. Kathleen E. and Clifton R. St. Clair, eds., Little Towns of Texas (Jacksonville, Texas: Jayroe Graphic Arts, 1982).
Leigh Gard
