Florence

History

For millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. These tribes considered native included: the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Kansa, Kiowa, Osage, Pawnee, and Wichita. From the 16th century to 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau. In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France. In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre. 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. The first settlers in Marion County located on Doyle Creek, near the site of Florence. They were Moses Shane, who came in 1858, and whose death the next year was the first in the county; Patrick Doyle, in 1859, for whom Doyle Creek and Township were named, and a family by the name of Welsh, in which occurred the first birth in the county in August 1859. A post office existed in Doyle from November 26, 1866 to March 13, 1871. The Florence Town Company was a group of men who learned of the proposed route of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, extended from Emporia, who decided on a town site where the railroad would cross the Cottonwood River. On September 23, 1870, there was…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally cold, chilly winters with snowfall.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  428
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  410
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  388
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  334
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  330
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  308
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  303
• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  301

Largest nearby schools

• Marion Elem
  Elementary · Marion · 244 students · 12.8:1 ratio
• Marion High
  High · Marion · 142 students · 10.1:1 ratio
• Marion Middle
  Middle · Marion · 127 students · 15.9:1 ratio