Florence is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

in Omaha, Nebraska, United States on the city's north end and originally one of the oldest cities in Nebraska. It was incorporated by the Nebraska Territorial Legislature on March 10, 1857. The site of Winter Quarters for Mormon migrants traveling west, it has the oldest cemetery for people of European descent and oldest standing gristmill in Nebraska. Florence was the site of an illegal territorial legislature in 1858. Given the high concentration of National Register of Historic Places in the neighborhood, it is regarded as "the historic front door to Omaha as well as the state."

History

In the spring of 1854 James C. Mitchell, following the advice of the fur trader

Peter A. Sarpy Peter Abadie Sarpy (1805–1865) was the French-American owner and operator of several fur trading posts, essential to the development of the Nebraska Territory, and a thriving ferry business. A prominent businessman, he helped lay out the towns o ...

, platted the village of Florence, including the old buildings and improvements of old Cutler's Park. Cutler's Park was established at the site of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1846 Winter Quarters as a hold-over on their way from

Nauvoo, Illinois Nauvoo ( ; from the ) is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, Iowa. The population of Nauvoo was 950 at the 2020 census. Nauvoo attracts visitors for its historic importance and its ...

to Utah. Due to the harsh conditions, 359 members of the 2,500 person party died and are buried in what is now called the Mormon Pioneer Cemetery. Their community was the first city in the Nebraska Territory. Despite lasting only two years, the city had a mayor and city council, 24 policemen and fireguards, various administrative committees, and a town square for public meetings. The Mormon pioneers left their town once they moved on in 1848. Mitchell platted Florence six years later. The town of Florence was named for one Miss Florence Kilbourn. Late in 1854 the town of Florence made a bid to become the Nebraska State Capitol, which it lost to Omaha.Reeves, R. (n.d.
Douglas County History
University of Nebraska. The Bank of Florence, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was built as a wildcat bank in 1856. It fell in the

Panic of 1857 The Panic of 1857 was a financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. Because of the invention of the telegraph by Samuel F. Morse in 1844, the Panic of 1857 was ...

, leaving thousands of local townspeople and area farmers severely financially drained.

Florence Legislature

In January, 1858 a group of representatives illegally moved the Nebraska Territorial Legislature to Florence following a violent outburst at the Territorial Capitol in Omaha. After repeatedly being dogged out of voting on the removal of the Capitol from Omaha, a skirmish pitted representatives from Nebraska City, Florence, and other communities to convene outside of Omaha. Despite having a majority of members present for the vote to remove the Capitol and all agreeing, the "Florence Legislature" did not succeed in swaying the Nebraska Territory governor, and the Capitol remained in Omaha until 1867 when Nebraska gained

statehood A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "sta ...

.Bristow, D.

Omaha annexation

In 1917, the town was annexed by the City of Omaha. The Fort Omaha Balloon School was established later that year as the first such military school in America. "Florence Field," about a mile () north of Fort Omaha, consisted of .

Historic landmarks

Interesting sites

In addition to these historic landmarks designated by the city, state or federal government, a new attraction is the Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple, constructed in 2001. The opening ceremonies and open house for the large temple drew thousands of visitors. The Mormon Trail Center in Florence is a museum interpreting the

Mormon Trail The Mormon Trail is the long route from Illinois to Utah that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled for 3 months. Today, the Mormon Trail is a part of the United States National Trails System, known as the Mormon ...

and early Mormon-era history of the area. Also of interest are the

Mormon Pioneer Memorial Bridge The Mormon Bridge is a bridge composed of two cantilevers that crosses the Missouri River connecting Pottawattamie County, Iowa with the Florence neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska via Interstate 680 (Iowa-Nebraska). The bridge is officially called ...

, built in 1952; it carries Interstate 680 over the Missouri River. The Mormon Bridge Tollhouse, at 3010 Willit Street, was related to the operations of the toll bridge.

References

External links

Historical Florence
website

of the steamer ''Omaha'' landing Mormon settlers at Florence. {{coord, 41, 20, N, 95, 57, W, format=dms, display=title, type:city_region:US-NE Former municipalities in Nebraska History of North Omaha, Nebraska Neighborhoods in Omaha, Nebraska Landmarks in Nebraska Populated places established in 1854 Nebraska Territory 1854 establishments in Nebraska Territory