Florence (town), Wisconsin

File:FlorenceCountyWisconsinCourtHouse.jpg]]

Florence and the area surrounding belonged to the Menominee 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, Florence Terry Hulst.

{{blockquote

|text= We all wish to call the new town and the mine Florence, to honor the first white woman who had courage enough to settle (for a while) in that rugged country.

I mean the first white woman known to us.

Will you permit your name to be used?

|author=J. J. Hagerman

|title=in a letter to Florence Terry Hulst (December 15, 1879) }}

The county subsequently took on the same name.{{cite journal |last1=Wood |first1=Howard |title=The History of Florence County |journal=The Wisconsin Magazine of History |date=1920 |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=466–467 |jstor=4630263 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4630263 |access-date=February 19, 2023}}{{cite journal |last1=Usher |first1=Ellis B. |title=Nelson Powell Hulst |journal=The Wisconsin Magazine of History |date=1923 |volume=7 |pages=394–395 |url=https://archive.org/details/wisconsinmagazin7192quai/page/n419/mode/2up |access-date=February 19, 2023}}{{cite web |title=Pioneer Life on the Menominee Iron Range |url=https://www.uproc.lib.mi.us/dclpdf/LH%20File%202/PIONEER%20LIFE%20ON%20THE%20MENOMINEE%20IRON%20RANGE.pdf |website=uproc.lib.mi.us |publisher=Menominee Range Historical Foundation |access-date=February 19, 2023}}

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of {{convert|1282|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} or {{convert|316956|acre|km2|0}}). {{convert|153.6|mi2|km2}} of it is land, {{convert|4.1|mi2|km2}} of it (2.57%) is water, and 80% is forested.

• {{jct|state=WI|US|2}} is concurrent with US 141.
• {{jct|state=WI|US|141}} is concurrent with US 2 through the town. North they travel to Crystal Falls south they continue into Iron Mountain.
• {{jct|state=WI|WI|70}} westbound connects with Eagle River.

{{Weather box

|location = Florence, Wisconsin (Dec 1997–2020 normals, extremes Dec 1997-present)

|single line = Y

|Jan record high F = 50

|Feb record high F = 61

|Mar record high F = 80

|Apr record high F = 83

|May record high F = 90

|Jun record high F = 99

|Jul record high F = 97

|Aug record high F = 95

|Sep record high F = 95

|Oct record high F = 84

|Nov record high F = 74

|Dec record high F = 61

|Jan avg record high F = 41

|Feb avg record high F = 46

|Mar avg record high F = 59

|Apr avg record high F = 73

|May avg record high F = 83

|Jun avg record high F = 87

|Jul avg record high F = 90

|Aug avg record high F = 87

|Sep avg record high F = 84

|Oct avg record high F = 75

|Nov avg record high F = 60

|Dec avg record high F = 45

|year avg record high F= 90

|Jan high F = 22.4

|Feb high F = 26.1

|Mar high F = 37.2

|Apr high F = 50.1

|May high F = 64.3

|Jun high F = 73.0

|Jul high F = 78.3

|Aug high F = 75.9

|Sep high F = 68.4

|Oct high F = 53.7

|Nov high F = 40.1

|Dec high F = 27.2

|year high F= 50.6

|Jan mean F = 13.4

|Feb mean F = 15.2

|Mar mean F = 25.7

|Apr mean F = 38.9

|May mean F = 52.2

|Jun mean F = 61.5

|Jul mean F = 66.6

|Aug mean F = 64.3

|Sep mean F = 56.9

|Oct mean F = 43.9

|Nov mean F = 32.2

|Dec mean F = 19.3

|year mean F= 40.2

|Jan low F = 4.3

|Feb low F = 4.5

|Mar low F = 14.2

|Apr low F = 27.6

|May low F = 40.2

|Jun low F = 50.0

|Jul low F = 54.9

|Aug low F = 52.7

|Sep low F = 45.4

|Oct low F = 34.0

|Nov low F = 24.2

|Dec low F = 11.5

|year low F= 29.8

|Jan avg record low F = -18

|Feb avg record low F = -18

|Mar avg record low F = -12

|Apr avg record low F = 13

|May avg record low F = 25

|Jun avg record low F = 34

|Jul avg record low F = 42

|Aug avg record low F = 39

|Sep avg record low F = 30

|Oct avg record low F = 21

|Nov avg record low F = 6

|Dec avg record low F = -10

|year avg record low F= -22

|Jan record low F = -29

|Feb record low F = -31

|Mar record low F = -29

|Apr record low F = -8

|May record low F = 20

|Jun record low F = 28

|Jul record low F = 34

|Aug record low F = 32

|Sep record low F = 26

|Oct record low F = 11

|Nov record low F = -7

|Dec record low F = -28

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 1.01

|Feb precipitation inch = 1.09

|Mar precipitation inch = 1.36

|Apr precipitation inch = 2.65

|May precipitation inch = 3.32

|Jun precipitation inch = 3.92

|Jul precipitation inch = 3.87

|Aug precipitation inch = 2.91

|Sep precipitation inch = 3.57

|Oct precipitation inch = 3.52

|Nov precipitation inch = 1.70

|Dec precipitation inch = 1.48

|year precipitation inch= 30.61

|Jan snow inch = 14.1

|Feb snow inch = 13.3

|Mar snow inch = 9.1

|Apr snow inch = 8.6

|May snow inch = 0.3

|Jun snow inch = 0

|Jul snow inch = 0

|Aug snow inch = 0

|Sep snow inch = 0

|Oct snow inch = 0.9

|Nov snow inch = 5.8

|Dec snow inch = 13.1

|year snow inch= 66.3

|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in

|unit snow days = 0.1 in

|Jan precipitation days = 8

|Feb precipitation days = 6

|Mar precipitation days = 7

|Apr precipitation days = 10

|May precipitation days = 11

|Jun precipitation days = 11

|Jul precipitation days = 10

|Aug precipitation days = 10

|Sep precipitation days = 11

|Oct precipitation days = 12

|Nov precipitation days = 8

|Dec precipitation days = 8

|year precipitation days= 113

|Jan snow days = 8

|Feb snow days = 6

|Mar snow days = 5

|Apr snow days = 3

|May snow days = 0

|Jun snow days = 0

|Jul snow days = 0

|Aug snow days = 0

|Sep snow days = 0

|Oct snow days = 1

|Nov snow days = 3

|Dec snow days = 7

|year snow days= 32

|Jan snow depth inch = 15

|Feb snow depth inch = 20

|Mar snow depth inch = 19

|Apr snow depth inch = 9

|May snow depth inch = 0

|Jun snow depth inch = 0

|Jul snow depth inch = 0

|Aug snow depth inch = 0

|Sep snow depth inch = 0

|Oct snow depth inch = 1

|Nov snow depth inch = 4

|Dec snow depth inch = 9

|year snow depth inch= 23

|source 1 = NOAA{{cite web |url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=grb |title = NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data |publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date = July 18, 2023}}

}}

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,319 people, 963 households, and 638 families residing in the town. The population density was {{convert|15.1|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 1,724 housing units at an average density of {{convert|11.2|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units |units|}}. The racial makeup of the town was 98.10% White, 0.17% African American, 0.43% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.04% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.26% of the population.

There were 963 households, out of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.3% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.6% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $35,640, and the median income for a family was $42,933. Males had a median income of $31,941 versus $19,621 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,131. About 7.6% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.5% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.

Most residents of Florence county work in nearby Iron Mountain/Kingsford, Michigan. Florence's principal industry is logging. Florence sports the largest ATV and snowmobile trail system in Wisconsin, and is a major county for those wanting to fish, hunt, or camp.

A large paper mill was built in the town in about 1889. Press reports called it the largest such facility in the United States when it was damaged by an earthquake on September 7, 1889.{{cite news |title=Florence, WI Earthquake Damages Mill, Sep 1889 |url=http://www.gendisasters.com/wisconsin/20635/florence-wi-earthquake-damages-mill-sep-1889 |access-date=July 25, 2020 |publisher=Logansport (Indiana) Journal |date=September 11, 1889}}

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

• Mike Grell{{Citation |title=Mike Grell |date=2024-11-20 |work=Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Grell |access-date=2025-01-23 |language=en}} (born September 13, 1947) is an American comic book writer and artist, known for his work on books such as Green Lantern/Green Arrow, The Warlord, and Jon Sable Freelance.
• C. E. McIntosh, Wisconsin State Representative, lived in Florence
• Charles White Whittlesey, Medal of Honor recipient in World War I, was born in Florence

• [http://www.townofflorencewisconsin.com/ Town of Florence Official Website]
• [https://www.myflorence.org/ Florence County School District]

{{Florence County, Wisconsin}}

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Category:Towns in Florence County, Wisconsin

Category:Iron Mountain micropolitan area

Category:Towns in Wisconsin

Category:Logging communities in the United States