Florence, Colorado

City in Colorado, United States

Statutory City in Colorado, United States

Florence, Colorado

Statutory City[1]

City of Florence[1]

Entering Florence from the east on Colorado State Highway 115.

Flag

Location of the City of Florence in Fremont County, Colorado.

Florence

Location of the City of Florence in the United States.

Coordinates: 38°23′01″N 105°06′41″W﻿ / ﻿38.38361°N 105.11139°W﻿ / 38.38361; -105.11139
Country|  United States
State|  Colorado
County| Fremont County[1]
Incorporated| September 13, 1887[2]
Government

• Type| Statutory City[1]
• Mayor| Steve Wolfe, Mayor-elect [3]
• City Manager| Amy Nasta[3]
• City Clerk| Cortlyne Huppe[3]
Area

[4]

• Total

| 4.282 sq mi (11.091 km2)
• Land| 4.276 sq mi (11.076 km2)
• Water| 0.006 sq mi (0.015 km2)
Elevation

[5]

| 5,200 ft (1,600 m)
Population

(2020)[4]

• Total

| 3,822
• Density| 894/sq mi (345/km2)
• Metro

| 48,939
• CSA

| 217,101
• Front Range

| 5,055,344
Time zone| UTC−07:00 (MST)
• Summer (DST)| UTC−06:00 (MDT)
ZIP codes[6]|

81226 & 81290

Area code| 719
FIPS code| 08-27040
GNIS feature ID| 2410510[5]
Website| cityofflorence.colorado.gov

Florence is a statutory city in Fremont County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 3,822 at the 2020 United States census.[4] Florence is a part of the Cañon City, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corridor.

The city lies along the Arkansas River in eastern Fremont County. It is near Federal Correctional Complex, Florence, a major U.S. federal prison complex that includes a supermax prison, ADX Florence.

## History

[edit]

See also: Early history of Fremont County, Colorado

Florence was built as a transportation center, with three railroads including a small railroad depot for the trains that hauled coal from the neighboring towns of Rockvale and Coal Creek. After a small oil was discovered north of Canon City at Oil Spring, commercial quantity oil was discovered in Florence in 1862, Florence became the first significant oil center west of the Mississippi. In the early 1880s the town grew rapidly.[7] The city was named after Florence, the daughter of local settler James McCandless.[8] The town was incorporated in 1887.[9]

The Downtown Florence Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.

Downtown Florence, in 2017

## Geography

[edit]

Florence is in eastern Fremont County, on the south side of the Arkansas River. It is bordered to the west by the town of Williamsburg, and the town of Coal Creek is 3 miles (5 km) to the southwest. Colorado State Highway 115 runs northwest 9 miles (14 km) to Cañon City and northeast 6 miles (10 km) to Penrose, intersecting U.S. Route 50 in each direction. Colorado State Highway 67 leads north 3.5 miles (5.6 km) to US 50 and south 11 miles (18 km) to Wetmore. Pueblo is 33 miles (53 km) to the east via CO 115 and US 50.

At the 2020 United States census, the town had a total area of 2,741 acres (11.091 km2) including 3.7 acres (0.015 km2) of water.[4]

Florence sits in the semi-arid high desert lands of southern Colorado.

## Demographics

[edit]

Historical population Census| Pop.| Note| %±

|
|
|

1900| 3,728| | —
1910| 2,712| | −27.3%
1920| 2,629| | −3.1%
1930| 2,475| | −5.9%
1940| 2,632| | 6.3%
1950| 2,773| | 5.4%
1960| 2,821| | 1.7%
1970| 2,846| | 0.9%
1980| 2,987| | 5.0%
1990| 2,990| | 0.1%
2000| 3,653| | 22.2%
2010| 3,881| | 6.2%
2020| 3,822| | −1.5%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census[10] of 2000, there were 3,653 people, 1,488 households, and 973 families residing in the city. The population density was 897.7 inhabitants per square mile (346.6/km2). There were 1,622 housing units at an average density of 398.6 per square mile (153.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 92.77% White, 0.30% African American, 1.23% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 2.63% from other races, and 2.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.66% of the population.

There were 1,488 households, out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.5% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,628, and the median income for a family was $39,276. Males had a median income of $33,750 versus $22,042 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,969. About 12.5% of families and 17.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.0% of those under age 18 and 11.3% of those age 65 or over.

## Government

[edit]

Federal Correctional Complex, Florence, including USP Florence ADMAX, the only federal supermax prison in the United States, is located near Florence in unincorporated Fremont County.[11][12]

## Education

[edit]

Fremont RE-2 School District operates public schools, including Penrose Elementary School, Florence Elementary School and Florence Junior/Senior High School.

## Notable person

[edit]

* Thyra Thomson, Wyoming Secretary of State[13]

## See also

[edit]

* Cities portal
* United States portal
* Colorado portal

* Bibliography of Colorado
* Geography of Colorado
* History of Colorado
* Index of Colorado-related articles
* List of Colorado-related lists
* List of municipalities in Colorado
* List of statistical areas in Colorado
* Outline of Colorado
* Front Range Urban Corridor

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d "Active Colorado Municipalities". Colorado Department of Local Affairs. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
2. ^ "Colorado Municipal Incorporations". State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives. December 1, 2004. Archived from the original on August 23, 2003. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
3. ^ a b c "City Council | City of Florence". cityofflorence.colorado.gov. Archived from the original on December 2, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
4. ^ a b c d "Decennial Census P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data". United States Census Bureau, United States Department of Commerce. August 12, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
5. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Florence, Colorado
6. ^ "ZIP Code Lookup". United States Postal Service. Archived from the original (JavaScript/HTML) on December 14, 2006. Retrieved September 16, 2007.
7. ^ "Community History". Florence Colorado. Archived from the original on November 7, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
8. ^ Dawson, John Frank (1954). Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin. Denver, CO: The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co. p. 21.
9. ^ "Florence, Colorado". City-Data.com. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
10. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
11. ^ "USP Florence ADMAX". www.bop.gov. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
12. ^ "Zoning Map." (Archive) City of Florence, Colorado. Retrieved on December 30, 2009.
13. ^ Barron, Joan (June 12, 2013). "Former Wyoming Secretary of State Thomson dies". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved April 13, 2025.

## External links

[edit]

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