Florence, Alabama
Florence is a city in
Lauderdale County which is situated in the northwest corner of
Alabama. According to the
2000 census, the city's population was 36,264. The
seat of Lauderdale County, Florence is the largest and principal city of the Florence - Muscle Shoals
Metropolitan Statistical Area known as "
The Shoals" (which also includes
Muscle Shoals,
Sheffield, and
Tuscumbia metropolitan areas and
Colbert and Lauderdale counties). It is the economic center of northwestern Alabama.
Florence was surveyed for the Cypress Land Company in 1818 by Italian surveyor Ferdinand Sannoner who named it for his favorite city, Tuscany's famous capital, Florence - which also had a prominent river, the Arno. Florence was first incorporated in
1826.
Florence is the birthplace of
W.C. Handy, the "Father of the Blues," as well as of pioneering
record producer Sam Phillips, discoverer of
Elvis Presley.
T.S. Stribling, a 20th century author and Florence resident, wrote a prose trilogy about the city consisting of
The Forge,
The Store (which won the
Pulitzer Prize), and
Unfinished Cathedral. Florence is renowned for its annual tourism events
W.C. Handy Music Festival in the summer, and the
Renaissance Faire in the autumn. Florence landmarks include the
Rosenbaum House, the only
Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home located in the Southeast.
Florence's municipal government is a mayor-council type.
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Location of Florence, Alabama |
Florence is located at (34.820287, -87.662860).
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 64.8
km² (25.0
mi²). 64.6 km² (24.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.40%) is water. Florence is located on
Wilson Lake, a body of water on the North-flowing
Tennessee River that is dammed by
Wheeler and
Wilson Dams.
Wheeler Lake was created by the
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), one of several
alphabet agencies of
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal. Wilson Dam, authorized by
President Woodrow Wilson in 1918, was the first dam constructed on the Tennessee River.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 36,264 people, 15,820 households, and 9,555 families residing in the city. The
population density was 561.6/km² (1,454.6/mi²). There were 17,707 housing units at an average density of 274.2/km² (710.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 78.39%
White, 19.20%
Black or
African American, 0.24%
Native American, 0.62%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 0.54% from
other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. 1.34% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There were 15,820 households out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were
married couples living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.6% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.82.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.4% under the age of 18, 13.7% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 84.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,330, and the median income for a family was $40,577. Males had a median income of $34,398 versus $21,385 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $19,464. About 14.4% of families and 20.4% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 25.9% of those under age 18 and 13.3% of those age 65 or over.
Situated in Florence, and founded in 1830 as LaGrange College, the
University of North Alabama, a public, co-educational, higher education institution, is Alabama's oldest state certified university.
Florence City Schools is the K-12 public school system.
Mars Hill Bible School is a private K-12 Christian school.
Florence's McFarland Park is a resting point for riders in the annual
Trail of Tears Commemorative Motorcycle Ride which terminates in nearby Waterloo. The ride commemorates the final point at which area Cherokee Native Americans were shipped off to Oklahoma and the mid west by the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
The
Florence Indian Burial Mound is the largest of its type in the Tennessee Valley Region. The mound, which measures 310Hx230Wx42D and named "Wawmanona" was built circa 500 A.D. and is thought to be locale for tribal ceremony and ritual. A museum is adjacent the base.
Pope's Tavern, is a renown historical stop, and served as a hospital along the way of many skirmishing Civil War soldiers from the North and South, and is one of Florence's oldest standing structures.
The
Mariott Shoals Hotel & Spa, formerly the Florence Conference Center, also features a revolving restaurant atop the Renaissance Tower, both which are nearby the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail and overlook the Tennessee River and Wilson Dam.
Florence Harbor Marina is situated on Pickwick lake adjacent McFarland Park.
The Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts is the center for numerous cultural activities, exhibits and events, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and provides administrative offices for Florence's six museums.
Florence also has a
Children's Museum.
Florence is home to one of the oldest
Disc Golf courses in the State. It is at Veterans Park, and was established in 1983.
The recently completed and redesigned
Florence/Lauderdale Public Library has a total circulation of 170,525.
The
George Lindsey Film Festival has been ongoing for nine years, and is named in honor of
George Lindsey, an actor who is most famous for his character portrayal of "Goober Pyle" on The Andy Griffith Show. Mr. Lindsey is a UNA (then known as Florence State College) graduate.
Florence is also the current host of the
NCAA Division II National Football Championship Game, an event operated by the Shoals National Championship Committee, the University of North Alabama, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
The
Rosenbaum House on Riverview Drive is the only
Frank Lloyd Wright building in the state.
*
City of Florence, Alabama*
Florence Tourism Board*
WC Handy Music Festival Official Website*
Historical and Current Photographs of Florence*
American Memory's Built in America Collection which has drawings, photographs, and descriptions of old homes and buidings.
