Florence, Arizona (Images of America Series)

In 1866, Florence rose on the banks of the Gila River in south central Arizona. People came from near and far to this early settlement in the Arizona Territory, joining the Native Americans and Mexican farmers already established there. The town boomed with the discovery of a silver mine nearby. Politicians and lawyers followed when Florence became the seat of Pinal County in 1875, and when the Territorial Prison arrived in 1909, the communitys future no longer depended upon the fickle mining business. World War II brought a prisoner-ofwar camp, and popular youth rodeos added to Florences remarkable character and history. In the 1970s, citizens began a model effort to preserve their communitys legacy and remaining historic structures. The major growth that early Florence anticipated is finally occurring all around the town, bringing change once again.Pinal County Historical Society (Arizona) Staff is the author of 'Florence, Arizona (Images of America Series)', published 2007 under ISBN 9780738548999 and ISBN 0738548995.