Decorative drawing: a small American settlement seen from a low hill. Not a photograph of this place.

Arcadia, Ohio

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1903 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Washington Township. It lies in ZIP code area 44804. The Survey maps it on the Arcadia quadrangle. 564 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 807 feet above sea level.

Arcadia within Hancock County

Population over time

2 figures

Arcadia fell from 590 to 564 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

Year	People	Change
2010	590
2020	564	-26 (-4%)

Then and now

1903 to 1986

The same ground, surveyed 83 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Arcadia, surveyed 1986

Topographic sheet of Arcadia, surveyed 1903

Compare 1903 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

12 sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

In the county-history sources

11,762 words on this township

History of Hancock County [Ohio] from Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, Together with Remeiniscenses of Pioneer Life, Incidents, Statistical Tables, and Biographical Sketches, published 1881 names this settlement in its chapter on Washington Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

At the meeting of the County Commissioners, on the 5th day of March, 1832, Charles McKinnis and Robert L. Strother, two of the Commissioners being present, the following record was made : " It appearing to the Board of Commissioners necessary, they have set off the original township two north, in range twelve east, which shall be a body corporate and politic, and known by the name of Washington Township."

Passage source: History of Hancock County [Ohio] from Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, Together with Remeiniscenses of Pioneer Life, Incidents, Statistical Tables, and Biographical Sketches, published 1881.

The first entry of land in this township was made November 24th, 1830, by Joseph Long, of Fairfield County, Ohio, who made entry of the west half of the north-west quarter oi section four, and on the same day, Caleb Roller, of the same county, entered the east half of the south-east quarter of section five.

This township, like almost all the others in the county,, was very heavily timbered, indeed, was a dense forest. The principal kind of timber were white, red, burr and swamp oak; white, red and hickory elm; white, black and blue ash ;; white and black walnut; wild cherry; hard and soft maple; beech, shellbark and white hickory, basswood, cottonwood, sycamore and buckeye. In the early settlement of the township, nearly all this timber was valueless except for fencing, and was regarded as a serious drawback in improvments, but such is the demand for timber at this day, that such as was then destroyed, utterly wasted, would now bring fortunes to the lucky owners.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Washington Township - it names this place 18 more 18 times.

Fires near this place

2 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 2 fires within 5 miles of Arcadia between 2002 and 2002, burning about 0 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
19 August 2002	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Ohio State Fire Marshal's Office	not named
13 July 2002	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Ohio State Fire Marshal's Office	not named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Hancock County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 187 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 187 specimens collected within 10 miles of Arcadia between 1883 and 1975: 177 Animalia, 10 Fungi. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by CLARENCE CLARK, Collector(s): David E. Ferguson, D.C. Eades and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Species	Year	Collected by	Where, as recorded
Notropis boops Gilbert, 1884	1883	Kirsch, P. H	Blanchard River, Findlay
Esox americanus vermiculatus Lesueur, 1846	1893	P. Kirsch	Blanchard River, Findlay, Ohio
Micropterus dolomieu Lacepède, 1802	1893	P. Kirsch	Blanchard River, Findley, Ohio
Regina septemvittata (Say, 1825)	1893	not recorded	Findlay, Blanchard River
Fusarium culmorum (Wm.G.Sm.) Sacc.	1919	Lewis H. L.	Findlay
Helminthosporium gramineum Rabenh. ex Schltdl.	1919	Lewis H. L.	Findlay
Helminthosporium sorokinianum Sacc.	1919	Lewis H. L.	Findlay
Puccinia graminis Pers.	1919	Lewis H. L.	Findlay
Etheostoma blennioides blennioides Rafinesque, 1819	1929	Trautman, M. B. (Milton Bernard)	The Outlet of Springville Marsh, within Biglick township, near Vanlue, Biglick township
Gibberella saubinetii (Durieu & Mont.) Sacc.	1929	Dickson J. S.	Findlay
Ictalurus natalis (Lesueur, 1819)	1929	Trautman, M. B. (Milton Bernard)	The Outlet of Springville Marsh, within Biglick township, near Vanlue, Biglick township
Pimephales notatus (Rafinesque, 1820)	1929	Trautman, M. B. (Milton Bernard)	The Outlet of Springville Marsh, within Biglick township, near Vanlue, Biglick township

All 187 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Storms near this place

13 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Arcadia in 13 storm reports between 1999 and 2025: 10 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 1 hail. The reports record 6 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
May 2008	Tornado (EF2)	Arcadia	6 hurt, $1,000,000	A tornado touched down in northeastern Hancock County about two miles southwest of Arcadia near the intersection of Township Roads 214 and 254. The tornado continued northeast for about six miles before moving into Seneca County on the south end of Fostoria. The total tornado path length was over eight miles. The track was parallel to State Route 12 and about a mile to the south of the road. The tornado was initially an EF1 but strengthened to EF2 intensity after crossing County Road 330. The tornado returned to EF1 intensity just before reaching County Road 23 on the southwest edge of Fostoria. The damage path had a maximum width of around 100 yards. Around a dozen properties sustained damage from this tornado. At least two homes were destroyed with several others heavily damaged. Many outbuildings were also damaged. Hundreds of trees were toppled along the damage path. At least six people were treated at a Fostoria hospital for cuts and bruises.
November 2002	Tornado (F2)	Arcadia	$11,000,000	An F1 tornado touched down to the northeast of Arcadia in northeastern Hancock County. The initial touchdown occurred just south of State Route 12 and to the east of County Road 330. From this location the tornado moved northeast and strengthened to F2 intensity as it entered the southwest end of Fostoria. Two businesses were heavily damaged on the outskirts of Fostoria along State Route 12. One of the two, a fertilizer business, had two of it's four buildings completely leveled and the remaining two heavily damaged. A nearby gas storage facility had two large storage tanks damaged. Nearby, the tornado derailed two railroad cars near the West Tiffin Street crossing and toppled 19 high voltage transmission poles interrupting power for a large area. Extensive damage was done to neighborhoods on the southwest side of Tiffin with Jeannette Drive, Vickie Lane and West Tiffin Streets hardest hit. As the tornado neared downtown Fostoria it tore the roof off of a high school which allowed rain water to enter the building and damage all three floors. Total damage to the school was estimated to be well over $500,000. Just east of the school, the community hospital was hit and sustained over $1 million in damage. The tornado lifted just east of the hospital and touched down a second time on the northeast side of Fostoria (Seneca County). In Fostoria, eight homes were destroyed with nine more homes damaged enough to be declared uninhabitable. An additional 60 to 70 homes sustained minor damage with dozens of cars damaged in varying amounts. Hundreds of trees and power poles were downed along the damage path which was around 50 yards in width.
May 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Arcadia	$50,000	A barn was destroyed in the northeast part of the county near the Wood County line.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Arcadia	$40,000	Many trees were uprooted and a barn was destroyed by thunderstorm winds.
June 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Arcadia	$35,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several trees and at least two utility poles west of Fostoria in extreme northeast Hancock County.
July 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Arcadia	$15,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several large trees limbs and a power pole near Arcadia.
June 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Arcadia	$5,000	A social media report revealed several trees were downed in the Arcadia area.
August 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Arcadia	$2,000	A barn was destroyed and some trees were blown down near Fostoria.
May 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Arcadia	$1,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a tree.
June 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Arcadia	-	Mesonet station in Arcadia recorded a peak straight-line convective wind gust of 71-mph from a line of thunderstorms.
August 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Arcadia	-	Mesonet station in Arcadia recorded a peak convective wind gust of 61-mph from thunderstorms.
August 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Arcadia	-	A tree was blown down near Highway 224.
May 2006	Hail	Arcadia	-	Nickel size hail was observed.

Every storm recorded in Hancock County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Wineland (historical)	4.0 miles	12
West Independence	4.6 miles	11
Westgate Village Park	5.7 miles	11
Eastowne Estates	6.0 miles	12
Chateau East	6.0 miles	12
Highland Estates	6.8 miles	13
Cedar Tree Estates	7.0 miles	13
Mortimer	7.1 miles	13

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Arcadia	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2499360	The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1064338. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.