The Desert Inn began as a trading post in the late 1880s, and the present building dates from before 1925. During a time when much of Osceola County was still undeveloped wilderness, it served as a supply and recreational center for cattle drovers, lumber men, and tourists. Cowmen working free-ranging cattle on the palmetto prairie and lumber men cutting timber in nearby pine lands came there to eat, drink, and dance at an “oasis” that offered relief from their arduous labor. Local patrons included African Americans and Seminoles, who had separate dining facilities during the era of segregation. Road construction in the 1930s brought tourists to the area, and overnight cabins were built behind the original building. The Desert Inn remains a popular destination for tourists and local residents and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.