Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The Florence post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Florence’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Florence.
The community was laid out in 1817 under the name New York. A post office was established under this name in 1827, and was renamed to Florence in 1847. The post office is still currently operating.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Florence, cut from the printed page as they were published.
unusual intelligence. If he lacked that practical quality which men who achieve greater pecuniary advancement so often possess, he certainly deserves the credit of sowing the seed from which sprang the present industries of Florence, for his "Northampton Silk Company" led the way for the Community, and the Community was the real beginning of the present village of Florence. Mr. Whitmarsh died in Northampton, April 21, 1875.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A story w as told of Samuel Phelps, the father of Captain Julius, by his grandson, the late Julius. It is a singular fact that the late Moses Warner when interview eel on the subject of Florence history related the very same anecdote, without some of the minor details, but he made the hero his great grandfather, Daniel Warner. One or the other had made some mistake in identifying the principal actor, but, whichever one was correct, the hero was closely connected w ith the first settlers of Florence.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Florence. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Florence.
Nobody well known was born in Florence itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Florence post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
