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A−History
History · Florence

Florence’s post office opened in 1873, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #8 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 56 buildings. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1900.

1873first post office
4on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
8old photos & papers
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Florence’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Florence began

When was Florence founded?

1873

The Florence post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 3,728 in 19002020 census: 3,822153 years

How historic is Florence?

A−

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Florence post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Florence’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Florence is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #8 of 159 in Colorado. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Florence’s overall grade.
Founding era1873, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194021.9% of homes (±5.8) · typical CO town 2.5% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register4 listings, 59 historic buildings, 152 per 10,000 residents · typical CO town 1.1 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 78%
NewerOlder
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 96%

Few Colorado towns list much on the Register (a typical Colorado town has 1.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Florence’s 152 sits above most of its state (96% of Colorado towns have fewer) while its 59 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Florence’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Downtown Florence Historic District takes in 56 historic buildings.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1890 to 1912, drew every building in Florence.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

4 listings protect 59 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
59
each building in a district counts
first listed
1986
US Post Office-Florence Main
US Post Office-Florence MainMain Street BridgeDowntown Florence Historic DistrictFlorence High School
BuildingsDistrictsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Beaux Arts1
Starved Classical1
Concrete filled spandrel arch1
US Post Office-Florence MainBeaux Arts
Main Street BridgeConcrete filled spandrel arch
Downtown Florence Historic DistrictDistrict
All 4 listings
Florence High SchoolBuilding · listed 2022

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Every building

Florence, building by building, 1890–1912

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Florence fire insurance map, 1890, sheet 11890Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Florence came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Florence.

Read it all →

Florence was built as a transportation center, with three railroads including a small railroad depot for the trains that hauled coal from the neighboring towns of Rockvale and Coal Creek. After a small oil discovery north of Canon City at Oil Spring, commercial quantity oil was discovered near Florence in 1862, Florence became the first significant oil center west of the Mississippi.

The Florence, Colorado Territory, post office opened on May 8, 1873, and the Town of Florence was incorporated on September 13, 1887. The city was named after Florence, the daughter of local settler James McCandless. After incorporation, the town grew rapidly.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Florence, 1873 to 1995

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873Post officeThe Florence post office opens
  3. 1889Born hereEd McCreery is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1901Born hereDonald Howard Menzel is born here
  6. 1901Born hereErnest Pagano is born here
  7. 1905In the archiveAwaiting the President at Florence, Colo
  8. 1910Born hereRichard M. Eakin is born here
  9. 1940In the archiveColorado
  10. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1980In the archiveCommercial building, Main Street
  12. 1995In the archiveGold Belt Tour Scenic and Historic Byway - Historic Smelter
By decade

Florence, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Awaiting the President at Florence, Colo1905Awaiting the President at Florence, Colo
1910s–1930snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1940s5 items
Colorado1940ColoradoColorado1940ColoradoColorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]1940Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]1940Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]1940Colorado [Adams County - Las Animas County (part)]
1950s–1970snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1980s–1990s2 items
Commercial building, Main Street1980Commercial building, Main StreetGold Belt Tour Scenic and Historic Byway - Historic Smelter1995Gold Belt Tour Scenic and Historic Byway - Historic S…
Today4 recent
Colorado2015ColoradoUS Post Office Florence Main2012US Post Office Florence MainMain Street Bridge2012Main Street BridgeFremont RE-2 School District School Bus2007Fremont RE-2 School District School Bus
On the map

Florence on the map, 1959 to 1975

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Florence. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Florence on the 1959 USGS mapFlorence on the 1975 USGS map1959Florence sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Florence.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Awaiting the President at Florence, Colo
Retake this viewAwaiting the President at Florence, Colo, 1905

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Florence’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Florence, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,881

Between 2,475 and 3,881 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Florence’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Florence

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Donald Howard MenzelAmerican astronomer · b. 1901
E
Ernest PaganoScreenwriter · b. 1901
E
Ed McCreeryAmerican baseball player · b. 1889
R
Richard M. EakinAmerican biologist · b. 1910
T
Thyra ThomsonAmerican politician · b. 1916
J
Joseph M. ClaryAmerican philatelist · b. 1905
Help out

Finish Florence’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAwaiting the President at Florence, Colo: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Florence’s history

What year was Florence founded?

The Florence post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Florence rank for history?

Florence is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #8 of 159 in Colorado. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Florence?

4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the US Post Office-Florence Main (listed 1986, the first), 1 historic district, the Downtown Florence Historic District, with 56 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 59 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Florence?

22% of Florence’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 2.5% for a Colorado town; the median home was built in 1974.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (11), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.