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History · Florence

Florence’s post office opened in 1871, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940

5 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 2 old photos and papers from 1893 on.

1871first post office
5on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Florence’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Florence began

When was Florence founded?

1871

The Florence post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1872. Another post office, Doyle (1866), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

2020 census: 394155 years
Founding year: the first Florence post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1872.The full story ↓

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 history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Florence’s homes were built before 1949.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Florence’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Florence’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view19500701-OP1943 - ATSF No. 3780: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Florence came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Florence.

Read it all →

In 1806, Zebulon Pike led the Pike Expedition westward from St Louis, Missouri, of which part of their journey followed the Cottonwood River through Marion County near the future cities of Florence, Marion, and Durham.

In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. In 1855, Marion County was established within the Kansas Territory, which included the land for modern day Florence.

ChaptersEarly history19th century20th century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the National Register

5 historic places in Florence

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

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Harvey House
Harvey House, built 1876Doyle PlaceFlorence Water TowerFlorence Opera HouseBattey House
BuildingsStructures
Harvey HouseBuilt 1876
Doyle PlaceBuilding
Florence Water TowerStructure
Florence Opera HouseBuilding
All 5 listings
Battey HouseBuilding · listed 2025

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

Timeline

Florence, 1866 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866Post officeThe Doyle post office opens
  3. 1871Post officeThe Doyle post office closes
  4. 1871Post officeThe Florence post office opens
  5. 1876BuiltHarvey House is built
  6. 1893In the archiveMap elk chase kansas
  7. 20th century
  8. 1950In the archive19500701-OP1943 - ATSF No. 3780
By decade

Florence, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s1 item
Map elk chase kansas1893Map elk chase kansasMap
1900s–1940snothing 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
1950s1 item
19500701-OP1943 - ATSF No. 3780195019500701-OP1943 - ATSF No. 3780
1960s–1990snothing 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
Today3 recent
US-KS-Marian-Dist.34.Schoolhouse-EofFlorence-2006.012008US-KS-Marian-Dist.34.Schoolhouse-EofFlorence-2006.01Map of Marion Co, Ks, USA2005Map of Marion Co, Ks, USAMapKSMap-doton-Florence2004KSMap-doton-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.

19500701-OP1943 - ATSF No. 3780
Retake this view19500701-OP1943 - ATSF No. 3780, 1950

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
Famous people

Famous people close to Florence

Nobody well known was born in Florence itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Emil KapaunKorean War US Army chaplain, POW, Medal of Hono… · b. 1916
F
Fay MoultonAthletics and American football competitor · b. 1876
Lyle TayoAmerican actress · b. 1889
Randolph CarpenterAmerican politician · b. 1894
Homer HochAmerican politician · b. 1879
Charlie FaustAmerican baseball player · b. 1880
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Florence’s post office has been open since 1871. Another post office, Doyle, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Doyle
1866–1871
Florence
1871–today
18601940today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Doyle Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFairplay TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Florence’s history

What year was Florence founded?

The Florence post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1872.

What is on the National Register in Florence?

5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Harvey House (listed 1973, the first), and 1 structure.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.