Florence
History/Websites/Newspapers/
Books/Manuscripts/Weather
"Elevation 1493 feet. One of the first settlments in Pinal County. County seat. Levi Ruggles settled here, 1866, as Indian Agent. Elliot Says: "Charles G. Mason built the first house, 1866. Town named by Governor Safford in honor of his sister, Florence." Hinton says: "Regular stages leave here for Silver City, Pioneer, Globe, San Carlos, Camp Apaceh; also East Phoenix, Wickenburg, and Prescott." Of Florence, Poston writes: "Fair Florence Wreathed in Green, A City yet to be, I ween For here, e'en more than at Tucson It's always, always afternoon."

Barnes, Will C. Arizona Place Names. University of Arizona Press 1997
p. 164

"Levi Ruggles (b. Ohio), who came to Arizona as an Indian ageny in 1866, patented land from which he transferred title for the town of Florence on October 30, 1875. The first house had already been built in 1866 and the town was firmly established by 1869. Ruggles had three daughters, whose names were Cynthia, Flora, and Florence, and having deeded the land, he named the town to honor at least two of them. According to another story, Governor Richard McCormick, asked to name the town, did so after his wife. Others belive that Anson Pacely Kileen Safford named it for his sister. In 1921 completion of the Ashurst-Hayden Diversion Dam made irrigation water available and the town developed into an agricultural center. Florence became Pinal County seat on February 1, 1875. P.O. Est Aug 19, 1869, Thomas R Ewing pm."

Barnes, Will C.; Granger, Byrd (ed.) Arizona's names : X marks the place Falconer Pub. Co. : distributed by Treasure Chest Publications, c1983. P. 239

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Websites

Arizona Department of Commerce Community Profiles- Florence, Arizona
http://www.commerce.state.az.us/pdf/commasst/comm/florence.pdf

Florence, Arizona Local Government Website
http://www.florenceaz.org/

The Arizonan.com Florence, Arizona
http://www.arizonan.com/Florence/

Florence Community Library
1000 South Willow P.O. Box 985 Florence, AZ 85232
(520) 868-9471
http://co.pinal.az.us/Library/florence/

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Newspaper

TriValleyCentral
http://www.trivalleycentral.com/

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Books/Manuscripts found in the ASU Library Catalog

Florence Townsite A. T. : a guide to Territorial Florence, Arizona.
F819 .F58 F56x

Florence Townsite, A.T. : final report of Florence Townsite HistoricDistrict study / prepared by Harris Sobin & Associates for the town of Florence & the Industrial Development Authority of the Town of Florence, inc. ; Harris J. Sobin, editor/ project director.
F819 .F54 G7x

Good men, bad men, law men and a few rowdy ladies : humor, tragedy and drama in the birth of a frontier town / [written by John A. Swearengin]
F819.F58 S94x 1991

A history of Florence, Arizona / by A. W. Gressinger.
F819 .F54 G7x

History of Florence, Arizona, 1866-1940, by Ava S. Baldwin.
F819 .F54 B3x

La historia de la familia Robles de Florence, Arizona / by Marcella Robles Kuamoo.
F819.F58 K83x 1998b

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Items found on the Arizona and Southwest Index

Florence Valley-Of-The-Gila, 1925
CE EPH DTO-FLORENCE.2

Advantages Offered by Florence as A Site for The Territorial-Prison, 1900
CE EPH WN-19

Florence Capital of Pinal-County Story of A Western Town
CE EPH DTO-FLORENCE.7

Florence Townsite Historic District
CE EPH DTO-FLORENCE.5

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Last Updated: July 16, 2002
If you would like to know more about the author of this site, Jeffrey Scott, feel free to visit his homepage.
In addition, if you have any questions about this site or Arizona History, feel free to e-mail Jeffrey