The community that became Arcadia began near the Valley County site with the arrival of the first settlers, George McKeller and Porter Brown, in 1873, followed in 1874 by Samuel Hawthorne, his brother Boone, and their families. Mrs. Hawthorne named the community Arcadia after the Greek region of Arcadia, which symbolizes ideal simplicity and contentment. Samuel Hawthorne established a post office and was appointed the first postmaster on June 27, 1874. The first school was established in Boone Hawthorne's house with Mingerson Coombs as teacher. John Wall and Parley Round platted the Arcadia town site, and it was entered into the record on October 3, 1885. The first buildings housed a general store, hardware store, and harness shop. Arcadia's economy improved with the arrival of the Burlington Railroad in 1887, and the Arcadia Roller Mills, established in the late 1880's, also boosted prosperity. Residents of the Arcadia area endured Indian scares and locust attacks in 1874, blizzards in 1888 and 1948-1949, major fires in 1890, 1904, and 1937, and tornados in 1904, 1959, and 1974, yet the community continued to look ahead with simplicity and contentment.