Florence

 The Florence Flashback and Fun Facts

Steen's Creek, one of Rankin County's oldest settlements, was named for the Steen family in the southwestern part of the County. Brothers William, Silas, Robert, and Elias came to the area as early as 1823 with other settlers from the Carolinas. Streams of water were valuable to settlers, so often, the early communities originated near a creek. The creek and community, in this case, were named after the Steens.  

When the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad was built through this region; the railroad objected

to the name because of its length. This led to Steen's Creek becoming Florence in honor of the wife of W.C. Ellis. Mrs. Ellis was the daughter of Thomas Norrell. The town would officially be named Florence in 1901.  

The first home in Florence, built with hand-cut logs, belonged to William Steen. At the time, William Steen owned most of the land that is now the City of Florence. A church was soon organized with Jesse Woodall as the first pastor. The large log building was built on

land donated by Carroll J. Steen, son of William Steen. After the Civil War, slaves who were

now free asked for letters of dismissal so that they could organize a church for themselves. Spring Hill Church was formed around 1866, and it is the oldest black church in the county.  

The first merchant in Florence was John B. Lewis who owned and operated a cotton gin. Vicksburg was the nearest market, and these trips were usually made by ox wagon. This led to the Pearl and Big Black Rivers being forded due to the lack of bridges then.  

Florence was and is still today well known for its school, which was originally a log cabin.

It would soon grow into a boarding school and attract students from a large area. Today there are four school buildings which are Steen's Creek, Florence Elementary, Florence Middle, and Florence High. This year, Florence Elementary School was awarded Mississippi’s 2022 National Blue-Ribbon Schools award from the U.S. Department of Education. Florence also has a private Christian school, Discovery Christian.

Spookiness:

The town had one of the first undertakers in the area. Mr. and Mrs. J.L.

Evans, also known as "Uncle John and Aunt Loulie" owned and operated the two-story factory near the creek. Uncle John was also the editor of the town paper, the "Steen's Creek

Times". Later, Dr. R.N. Whitfield was editor of the "Florence Weekly".  

The oldest marked grave to be found anywhere in the county is located in Florence and

belongs to Scyrena Steen, a young girl who died on September 30, 1824.  

So far, there is not another community that had such a dramatic name change that took 77

years to implement.

Also, in the documentary “The House In Between,” you can learn even more Florence facts. Just follow this link

 ABOUT | The House In Between

Lastly, Florence Public Library was renovated in 2007, becoming the building it is in today, and is 1 of 20 branches in the Central Mississippi Regional Library System. We value education here at the Florence Public Library and love our small community. We strive to provide resources, services, and programs to foster creativity, curiosity, and lifelong learning to all that visit us. Stop by your city public library today!