BlockFlorence, Alabama
19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1914 and the latest in 1986. It stands in the Florence census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35630. It lies near River Hill (historical). The Survey maps it on the Florence quadrangle. 40,184 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 548 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Florence
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 12 of 36 shown
William Bowen Lustron Houselisted 2000
Cherry Street Historic Districtlisted 1997
College Place Historic Districtlisted 1995
College Place Historic District (Boundary Increase)listed 1998
George Coulter Houselisted 1982
Courtviewlisted 1974
E. H. Darby Lustron Houselisted 2000
Downtown Florence Historic Districtlisted 1995
Downtown Florence Historic District (Boundary Increase)listed 2001
Forks of Cypresslisted 1997
Forks of Cypress Cemeterylisted 2000
Karsner-Carroll Houselisted 1970
Every listing in Lauderdale County
Surveyed buildings and structures 12 of 13 shown
- Ashcraft House, 461 North Pine Street, Florencefederal building survey, 8 photographs
- Courtview, 505 North Court Street, University of North Alabama Campus, Florencefederal building survey, 27 photographs
- First Presbyterian Church, 224 East Mobile Street, Florencefederal building survey, 2 photographs
- Forks of Cypress, Savannah Road (Jackson Road), Florencefederal building survey, 25 photographs
- Hawkins-Sample House, 219 Hermitage Drive, Florencefederal building survey, 5 photographs
- Irvine House, 459 North Court Street, Florencefederal building survey, 10 photographs
- James Hood House, County Road 14 & Savannah Highway, Florencefederal building survey, 16 photographs
- Lambeth House, 203 Hermitage Drive, Florencefederal building survey, 6 photographs
- Mary McFarland House, 420 South Pine Street, Florencefederal building survey, 3 photographs
- Perry House, North Pine & Tuscaloosa Streets, Florencefederal building survey, 6 photographs
- Sweetwater, Sweetwater Avenue & Florence Boulevard, Florencefederal building survey, 12 photographs
- Tennessee River Railroad Bridge, Spanning Tennessee River at Alabama Highway 43, Florencefederal building survey, 10 photographs
Population over time
2 figuresFlorence grew from 39,319 to 40,184 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 39,319 | |
| 2020 | 40,184 | +865 (+2%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 19 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1914 USGS Muscle Shoals quadrangle1:48000
- 1916 USGS Muscle Shoals quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1936 USGS Florence quadrangle1:24000
- 1956 USGS Gadsden quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Florence quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Gadsden quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Gadsden quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1963 USGS Gadsden quadrangle1:250000
- 1971 USGS Florence quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1986 USGS Tuscumbia quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings
Photographs
8 of 11 photographs shown, 1939 to 1942Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.
Delano, Jack, 1942. Library of Congress
Delano, Jack, 1942. Library of Congress
Delano, Jack, 1942. Library of Congress
Delano, Jack, 1942. Library of Congress
Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1939. Library of Congress
Delano, Jack, 1942. Library of Congress
Rothstein, Arthur, 1942. Library of Congress
Delano, Jack, 1942. Library of Congress
Every photograph of Lauderdale County
Fires near this place
65 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 65 fires within 5 miles of Florence between 1994 and 2019, burning about 224 acres in total. None started naturally. 21 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Arson/incendiarism | 21 |
| Debris and open burning | 20 |
| Smoking | 6 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 4 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 September 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20190929-11 |
| 29 September 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | 115 COUNTY ROAD 249, AL |
| 28 September 2010 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 25 September 2008 | Smoking | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | COUNTY ROAD 200, AL |
| 2 September 2011 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 673 CR 72, AL |
| 10 September 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 10 September 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 August 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Florence: 1 producer, 1 plant. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Silica, Aluminum. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colbert County Hwy. Dept. Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Lister Hill Reduction Plant | Silica, Aluminum | Plant |
Storms near this place
60 of 289 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Florence in 289 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 188 thunderstorm wind, 46 hail, 34 flash flood, 8 lightning. The reports record 3 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2001 | Lightning | Florence | 1 hurt, $8,000 | Thunderstorms moving through Florence produced frequent to continuous cloud to ground lightning. This lightning struck several trees and power lines in the area and a few were knocked down. One woman was struck by lightning around 7:33 pm CDT but the extent of her injuries was unknown. |
| July 2016 | Lightning | North Florence | 1 hurt | Broadcast media and ema reported a man struck by lightning near Florence on the afternoon of 7/14. The man was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. |
| July 2008 | Lightning | Florence | 1 hurt | A lightning bolt hit a tree in McFarland Park in the City of Florence. The lightning bolt also affected a female teenager standing beneath this tree, who was taken to the hospital for treatment with minor injuries. |
| March 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $5,400,000 | A bow echo from an embedded supercell within a line of thunderstorms intensified and produced a long-lived and at times wide swath of wind damage as it entered the Shoals, including Florence and Killen, to the east central part of Lauderdale County north of Elgin. Widespread wind damage occurred in south, southeast and eastern Florence to Killen, becoming more sporadic further east. Wind speeds of 60-65 mph occurred in much of this area, with a few gusts of 80-90 mph in a few locations. One of the hardest hit locations was between Killen and Florence where the entire roof was taken off of antique mall, a sign was blown out at a church, and roofing was taken off of a fire station. Trees, power poles and power lines were taken down in numerous locations, stormwater and gas lines were damaged, and debris and utility restoration costs were extensive. Schools buses were damaged, parks were damaged with extensive cleanup. A significant number of residences experienced damage due to falling trees. Damage, cleanup and repair costs are in the millions of dollars. |
| March 2023 | Tornado (EF2) | Florence | $3,900,000 | The tornado touched down near the intersection of Sweetwater Avenue and Huntsville Road in southeast Florence. The tornado nearly paralleled Sweetwater Creek as it tracked northward. Along Sweetwater Creek and Sweetwater Avenue, numerous trees were uprooted and snapped and structures and small outbuildings were damaged. There was also minor room damage to a single family home. As the tornado crossed Highway 43, more trees and minor structure damage was observed near Mall Road and north of Hough Road. The tornado approached Hunter Ridge subdivision northeast of Florence and south of Saint Florian along County Road 61, removing part of a roof at the back of the neighborhood. The tornado then moved northeast into the Plantation Springs subdivision, damaging roofs to two homes on the southeastern corner of Plantation Springs Drive around the Blackberry Trail Golf Course. The tornado then strengthened to its strongest and widest point between Cottonwood Trail and Karley Lane, producing the most widespread structure damage along its path here. About half of the roofs of several homes were destroyed, and the backside of the homes sustained severe damage as the tornado moved through the area. At this point, the tornado was about 100 yards wide, and produced peak winds of 120 mph at this location. The last house on the northeast corner of Plantation Springs Drive sustained the worst damage near the golf course, with more than half the roof destroyed and two rooms with walls collapsed at this location. The tornado lifted shortly after this point. |
| March 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Florence | $1,600,000 | A bow echo from an embedded supercell within a line of thunderstorms intensified and produced destructive winds in a narrow swath of north and northeast Florence.|Wind speeds of 60-65 mph occurred in much of this area, with a few gusts of 80-90 mph in a few locations. Trees, power poles and power lines were taken down in multiple locations. Trees were knocked down onto multiple homes and vehicles. The Seven Points district and areas just north and northeast of the University of North Alabama campus were hit particular hard. Along this long swath, a significant number of trees, power lines and power pols were knocked down. Many residences experience minor to severe damage from trees falling onto their homes or vehicles. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $295,000 | Widespread power outages across the city of Florence. Numerous trees and powerlines were knocked down. Thirty to fiffty power poles knocked down, which cut power to 20000 customers. |
| May 2003 | Tornado (F1) | Florence | $200,000 | five homes with roof damage and three barns destroyed along with at least 100 trees uprooted and twisted. |
| May 1995 | Tornado (F1) | Florence | $200,000 | Funnel clouds were reported with a storm that moved from the northern portion of Florence northeastward to the area of the Green Hill community about 14 miles northeast of Florence. Just south of the Green Hill community, a small tornado damaged about 10 houses in the vicinity of County Road 47 and United States 43. Ten houses were damaged including several homes that lost roofs or portions of roofs and several barns were destroyed. Numerous trees and power lines were down. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $50,000 | A tree was knocked down on two vehicles at 321 North Seminary Street. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Florence | $50,000 | A tree was knocked down on two vehicles at 1247 Graham Avenue. |
| April 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $50,000 | Thunderstorms dumped heavy rain and three-quarter inch hail on the Florence area. The Florence Country Club suffered substantial damage when high winds uprooted about nine trees. |
| June 1996 | Lightning | Florence | $35,000 | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Tornado (F1) | Florence | $30,000 | A F1 tornado touched down 6 miles west of Florence and tracked eastward, just north of the Tennessee River into McFarland Park in Florence. Hundreds of trees were snapped with several of them falling on structures. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $25,000 | A tree was knocked down onto a vehicle and power lines were knocked down at 528 Tombigbee. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $25,000 | Multiple trees and four power poles were knocked down at Palisade Drive and Sorrento Road. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $25,000 | A tree was knocked down onto a vehicle at Pine Street at Tuscaloosa. |
| March 1996 | Flash Flood | Florence | $25,000 | no account filed |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | East Florence | $20,000 | A tree was knocked down onto two residence at 140 North Weakly. |
| May 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $20,000 | One home had its roof torn off in Florence on CR 200 and a few large trees were blown over. Several outbuildings were overturned. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $20,000 | A number of trees were downed. One tree fell on a home in downtown Florence. |
| February 1997 | Lightning | Florence | $20,000 | no account filed |
| April 1996 | Hail | Florence | $20,000 | no account filed |
| March 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Florence | $15,000 | A tree was knocked down onto an automobile in the Seven Points area. Person inside vehicle. |
| July 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $15,000 | Two trees were downed due to thunderstorm winds onto a residential structure on Lakeside Drive near Florence, Alabama. |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $15,000 | A power pole was broken and a few powerlines were downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $15,000 | A few small trees were downed due to thunderstorm winds. |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Florence | $15,000 | Around a 100 foot tree was blown down onto a house on Decatur Avenue landing on the home's utility box. This caused the box to smoke which caused residents to call the power company to turn off the power temporarily to the house until the box was replaced. |
| July 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Florence | $15,000 | A tree was blown down onto a house on Hermitage Drive. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $10,000 | Power poles were broken at Veterans at Oak Street. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Florence | $10,000 | A tree was knocked down onto a house at 1110 Glen Avenue. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Florence | $10,000 | Multiple trees and power poles were knocked down at 220 Roosevelt Avenue. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | East Florence | $10,000 | Trees were knocked down and power poles were broken at Dudley Avenue at Hudson Street. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Florence | $10,000 | A tree was knocked down onto a house at 536 Malone Circle. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $10,000 | A tree was knocked down onto a house at 415 North Cypress Street. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $10,000 | A day use dock was dislodged from the bank damaging two docks. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Florence | $10,000 | A power pole was broken and lines down at 1831 Shade Avenue. A gas line also ruptured. |
| March 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Florence | $10,000 | The roof was torn off of the El Politos restaurant. Multiple trees and power lines were also knocked down along Chisholm Road. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $10,000 | Several trees were downed by thunderstorm winds in Florence, Alabama. |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $10,000 | Widespread straight line wind damage occurred from just east of Florence into the Killen area. Numerous trees and power lines were knocked down. |
| June 1996 | Flash Flood | Florence | $10,000 | no account filed |
| August 1996 | Flash Flood | Florence | $10,000 | no account filed |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | East Florence | $8,000 | Trees were blown down. |
| October 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Florence | $8,000 | A tree was uprooted and fell on a house in Florence producing minor damage. Time was estimated by radar. |
| April 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $8,000 | Winds with a thunderstorm tore off a portion of the roof at the Underwood School in Petersville. The storm blew away the tar-and-gravel roof covering four classrooms in the school's annex. A large light fixture fell from the ceiling in one room and ceiling tiles fell in another classroom. The students were not in the classrooms affected when the winds struck. |
| May 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $6,000 | Several trees were blown down in and around Florence. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $5,000 | A large oak tree was knocked down at Seminary at Tombigbee. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Florence | $5,000 | Trees and power lines were knocked down at Wildwood Park Road and Cumberland. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $5,000 | A tree was knocked down breaking a water line at Sherrod Avenue at Circular Road. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Florence | $5,000 | A tree and power pole were knocked down at 2210 Houston Street. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $5,000 | A tree was knocked down onto a house at 1022 Bellemeade Avenue. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $5,000 | A tree was knocked down and on fire at 526 Virginia. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $5,000 | A tree was knocked down onto a house along Poplar Street. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $5,000 | Utility poles were broken with lines down at South Cedar Street at West Alabama Street. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $5,000 | A tree and power poles were knocked down at Wildwood and Cumberland. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $5,000 | A utility pole was broken with lines down at 1211 Waterloo Road. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $5,000 | A tree was knocked down onto a house and road at 731 Prospect Street. Time estimated by radar. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $5,000 | A tree was reported down onto a truck in downtown Florence. |
| November 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $5,000 | Thunderstorm winds knocked out power for nearly 4000 residents in Florence and adjacent communities. Time was estimated from radar. |
| October 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Florence | $5,000 | A few trees were downed by thunderstorm winds. |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canaan (historical) | 0.7 miles | 19 | |
| North Port (historical) | 0.8 miles | 19 | |
| Six Points | 1.2 miles | 19 | |
| North Florence | 1.3 miles | 19 | |
| East Florence | 1.6 miles | 19 | |
| Windsor Heights | 1.7 miles | 19 | |
| Edgemont | 1.8 miles | 19 | |
| Three Forks | 2.1 miles | 19 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Florence | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q79743 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 118442. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.