Florence’s post office opened in 1853, and 8 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 46% of U.S. towns · #67 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it
Most of Florence was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. 8 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 38 buildings. Below: 21 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1880.
The Florence post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Ebenezer (1872), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,914 in 18802020 census: 39,899173 years
How historic is Florence?
B−
More historic than 46% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
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 46% of U.S. towns, #67 of 169 in South Carolina. Its National Register listings hold 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.
South Carolina towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical South Carolina town has 3.2 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Florence’s 11.4 sits above most of its state (66% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 46 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% 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 (±1.1 points) is firm at this size. 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.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Florence’s post office has been open since 1853. Another post office, Ebenezer, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Florence
1853–today
Ebenezer
1872–1939
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BelleviewBurch CrossroadsCamellia GardensCloistersColes CrossingCollege ParkCountry Club EstatesCountry Club ForestCountry ManorCrownland EstatesCypress PointDeerfieldEbenezerFairlane EstatesHighland ParkHuntington PlaceJavaKirkwoodLakesideLakewoodLandmark WoodsLazar PlaceLongleafNob Hill
Gone or out of use
Church of God by Faith HolinesschurchChurch of JesuschurchGate City Methodist ChurchchurchMcLeod InfirmaryhospitalMount Carmel Baptist ChurchchurchNazarene ChurchchurchSaint Peters Holiness ChurchchurchSanctified ChurchchurchWesleyan Methodist ChurchchurchWilson Junior High Schoolschool
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Florence
BurchFlorence NationalFraternityHoweMount HopeNorth Vista
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
By decade
Florence, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
The City of Florence was chartered in 1871 by the Reconstruction government and incorporated in 1890 following the 1888 creation of Florence County. Prior to its charter, the city was part of one of the original townships laid out by the Lords Proprietors in 1719. The area was gradually settled through the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Early settlers practiced subsistence farming and produced indigo, cotton, naval stores, and timber, which were shipped down the Great Pee Dee River to the port at Georgetown and exported. In the mid-19th century, two intersecting railroads were built, the Wilmington and Manchester (W&M) and the Northeastern. General William Harllee, the president of the W&M, built his home at the junction, and named the community "Florence", after his daughter.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Florence. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1940Florence West sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Florence.
Every building
Florence, building by building, 1884–1924
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.
1884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
On the National Register
8 listings protect 46 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
The Florence post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Florence rank for history?
Florence is more historic than 46% of U.S. towns, #67 of 169 in South Carolina. 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?
8 listings: 6 buildings, among them the U.S. Post Office (listed 1977, the first), 1 historic district, the Florence Downtown Historic District, with 38 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 46 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Florence?
5% of Florence’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (17), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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.
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c. 1908
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c. 1909
