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B−History
History · Florence

Florence was first counted by the census in 1830, and 6 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns · #87 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it

Most of Florence was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1866 on and the census since 1830.

1830first census
6on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Florence began

When was Florence founded?

1830

Florence first appears in the census in 1830. Two smaller post offices, Connersville (1828) and Gunpowder (1883), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 62 in 18302020 census: 31,946196 years

How historic is Florence?

B−

More historic than 47% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.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 47% of U.S. towns, #87 of 142 in Kentucky. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Florence’s overall grade.
Founding era1830, from the first census: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19401.8% of homes (±1.0) · typical KY town 5.9% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register6 listings, 9 historic buildings, 2.7 per 10,000 residents · typical KY town 29.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 47%
NewerOlder
Kentucky towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 39%

Kentucky towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kentucky town has 29.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Florence’s 2.7 sits below most of its state (28% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 9 historic buildings outnumber those of 75% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: the first census (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 history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1870 and 1910, then grew more than tenfold.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Florence, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Landmarks on the Register6 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
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewA. B. Price, carte-de-visite photograph…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Florence, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,0001850190019502000374 in 1870Low: 250

Lost a third of its people between 1870 and 1910, then grew more than tenfold.

17 censuses, 1830–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Florence’s post office has been open since 1830. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Connersville
1828–1830
Florence
1830–today
Gunpowder
1883–1907
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Marydale
Gone or out of use
Gunpowder Post Officepost officeKentucky RacewaylocaleNorthern Kentucky State Collegeschool
1cemetery inside Florence
Florence

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

The story

How Florence came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Florence.

Read it all →

The Florence area was originally known as Crossroads, because of the convergence of several roads from Burlington and Union at Ridge Road (now U.S. 25). By 1821, the area was known as Maddentown for Thomas Madden, a Covington attorney who owned a farm on the Burlington Pike. When Madden moved away, the area became known as Connersville in 1828 for Jacob Conner, a settler who assumed responsibility for the growing town. The town was finally renamed Florence because there was another Connersville in Harrison County. The name presumably is for Florence, Italy, but the specific etymology is unclear. It was incorporated on January 27, 1830, and grew quickly after the completion of the Covington-Lexington Turnpike in 1836. Florence was also known as Stringtown at some point earlier than 1900.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Florence, 1828 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1828Post officeThe Connersville post office opens
  3. 1830Post officeThe Connersville post office closes
  4. 1830Post officeThe Florence post office opens
  5. 1843Born hereOwen Thomas Rouse is born here
  6. 1859Born hereCurtis Gates Lloyd is born here
  7. 1866In the archiveA. B. Price, carte-de-visite photograph, 1866
  8. 1883Post officeThe Gunpowder post office opens
  9. 20th century
  10. 1907Post officeThe Gunpowder post office closes
  11. 1931Born hereKenny Price is born here
  12. 1977Born hereShaun Alexander is born here
  13. 21st century
  14. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 31,946
By decade

Florence, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
A. B. Price, carte-de-visite photograph, 18661866A. B. Price, carte-de-visite photograph, 1866
Today8 recent
Meijer (Florence, Kentucky) 12023Meijer (Florence, Kentucky) 1Boone County High School 9.18.20212021Boone County High School 9.18.2021Welcome sign to2017Welcome sign toThe Lake at Woodspring apartments2014The Lake at Woodspring apartmentsFlorence Hotel2014Florence HotelFlorence Fire Station2014Florence Fire StationFlorence-20120212-000872012Florence-20120212-00087BFWC Water Tower, Dixie Highway at Spruce Drive2011BFWC Water Tower, Dixie Highway at Spruce Drive
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.

A. B. Price, carte-de-visite photograph, 1866
Retake this viewA. B. Price, carte-de-visite photograph, 1866, 1866

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
On the National Register

6 historic places in Florence

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

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
9
each building in a district counts
first listed
1989
Clinton Blankenbeker House
Clinton Blankenbeker HouseFlorence Fire StationFlorence HotelHopeful Lutheran ChurchJohn Delehunty HouseDr. Gladys Rouse Office and House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Tudor Revival2
Craftsman/Bungalow1
Georgian Revival1
Colonial Revival1
Queen Anne1
Vernacular1
Clinton Blankenbeker HouseCraftsman/Bungalow
Florence Fire StationGeorgian Revival
Florence HotelQueen Anne
Hopeful Lutheran ChurchLate Gothic Revival
John Delehunty HouseTudor Revival
Dr. Gladys Rouse Office and HouseTudor Revival

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Florence

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

See all →
Curtis Gates LloydAmerican mycologist · b. 1859
Shaun AlexanderAmerican football player · b. 1977
K
Kenny PriceAmerican musician · b. 1931
O
Owen Thomas RouseAmerican jurist · b. 1843
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Union5 historic placesB−OakbrookIts storyDErlanger1 historic placeB−

Questions about Florence’s history

What year was Florence founded?

The Florence post office opened in 1830, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Florence rank for history?

Florence is more historic than 47% of U.S. towns, #87 of 142 in Kentucky. 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?

6 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Clinton Blankenbeker House (listed 1989, the first). 9 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Florence?

2% of Florence’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1985.

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 (9), Wikidata (7), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Census counts (via 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.