Florence is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Florence County,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, United States. Florence is located in northern Florence County, in the town of

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. Florence has a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

with ZIP code 54121. The community was named a

in 2010. As of the 2010 census, its population was 592.

History

Florence and the area surrounding belonged to the

Menominee The Menominee ( ; meaning ''"Menominee People"'', also spelled Menomini, derived from the Ojibwe language word for "Wild Rice People"; known as ''Mamaceqtaw'', "the people", in the Menominee language) are a federally recognized tribe of Na ...

and was a hunting and trapping region until iron was discovered there in the 1870s. The Florence Mine was discovered in October 1874 by H. D. Fisher. The mine was named in 1879 after the wife of

Nelson Powell Hulst Nelson Powell Hulst (February 8, 1842 - January 11, 1923) was an industrialist, engineer, chemist, and a leader in the development of the Menominee Iron Range. He discovered and developed six major mines in Upper Michigan (Vulcan, Cyclops, Norw ...

, Florence Terry Hulst. The county subsequently took on the same name.

Geography

Florence is located at at an elevation of . Florence is situated in the

Northern Highland The Northern Highland is a geographical region in the East North Central States, north central United States covering much of the northern territory of the state of Wisconsin. The region stretches from the state border with Minnesota in the wes ...

region of Wisconsin near the

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

border. Fisher Lake is located to the south of the community, and Fisher Creek runs to its east. The community of

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

is south of Florence. The nearest city to Florence is Iron Mountain, which is to the southeast; Florence County has no incorporated communities. US Highway 2 and US Highway 141 run through the community, and Wisconsin Highway 70 and Wisconsin Highway 101 terminate in western Florence; County Highway N also serves the community.

Education

Florence High School is the area's public high school.

Notable people

* Kenneth L. Greenquist, member of the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those o ...

, was born in Florence. *

Charles White Whittlesey Charles White Whittlesey (January 20, 1884 – November 26, 1921) was a United States Army Medal of Honor recipient who led the Lost Battalion (World War I), Lost Battalion in the Meuse–Argonne offensive during World War I. He committed suicid ...

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, was born in Florence.

Images

File:FlorenceCountyWisconsinCourtHouse.jpg, Florence County Courthouse and Jail File:FlorenceWisonsinSignUS2US141.jpg, Welcome sign File:WIS70WIS101NorthAndEastTerminusUS2US141Florence.jpg,

WIS 70 State Trunk Highway 70 (often called Highway 70, STH-70 or WIS 70) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It runs east–west in northern Wisconsin from a shared terminus with WIS 101 at US Highway 2 (US 2) and ...

WIS 101 State Trunk Highway 101 (often called Highway 101, STH-101 or WIS 101) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It runs south–north in northeast Wisconsin from US 8 in Armstrong Creek to WIS 70, US 2 and US 141 in Florence. WI ...

termini File:Florence Wisconsin Fire Department.jpg, Fire department File:Florence Wisconsin Post Office.jpg, Post office File:Florence Wisconsin Sign US2 US141 Looking East.jpg, Looking east at Florence on US2 / US141 File:Robert B. and Estelle J. Webb House, 200 Central Ave. Florence, WI - now a law office..JPG, Robert B. and Estelle J. Webb House

References

External links

* Sanborn fire insurance maps
1884189118981904
{{authority control Census-designated places in Florence County, Wisconsin Census-designated places in Wisconsin County seats in Wisconsin Iron Mountain micropolitan area