At just over 10 square miles, Florence, Kentucky, is a little city with a lot going on. Here are six fun facts about this lively community.
1. It had 3 names before it became Florence
At first, it was named Crossroads, somewhat ironically, as a mega-church with that same name now sits along I-75 in the city, just down the road from the mall. Back in the early 1800s, it was called Crossroads because of the many roads that intersect there, one of which eventually became the Dixie Highway (US 25).
In the 1820s, folks were calling the area Maddentown, after Covington attorney Thomas Madden, who owned a large farm on Burlington Pike. Madden moved out of the area in 1825, and three years later, in 1828, it became Connersville named after Jacob Conner, another local landowner. That same year, the town was granted a post office but was told the name would have to be changed as there was already a Connersville in Harrison County.
The Post Office Department offered two alternate names, one of which was Florence. It is not known what the other choice was. However, from that point on, the town was known as Florence.
2. The Florence Y’all tower is a nationally-known landmark
Widely recognized by folks in Greater Cincinnati, the Florence Y’all water tower is a nationally recognized landmark along I-75, one of the busiest highways in America.
It originally had Florence “Mall” painted on it in 1976 in honor of the shopping center under construction at the time. However, highway regulations forbade putting the name of a commercial property on a public structure, so city officials had to do some quick thinking to make a change that would not cost a lot of money. You can read the whole story HERE.
3. It was one of the fastest-growing Cincinnati suburbs in the 1960s
It’s hard to believe now, but at one time, Florence was shrinking. In 1877, the Cincinnati Railroad bypassed the town in favor of neighboring Erlanger. The decline leveled off, but growth wasn’t experienced until after World War II when it exploded.
Indeed, between 1950 and 1960, the town’s population grew by over 300%. Between 1960 and 1970 it grew by another 100%. Just after the war, about 1,000 people lived in Florence. By 1970, almost 12,000 people called the city home.
More homes meant more businesses, like the aforementioned Florence Mall, which led to more stores, restaurants, and shopping centers cropping up in the city. It helped that, unlike the railroad of 1877, Interstate I-75 came right through Florence, making it easily accessible from Covington and Cincinnati for shoppers. Today, it’s the second-largest city in the three counties that make up Northern Kentucky.
4. It has a pro baseball team
Since 2003, Florence has had a pro, minor league baseball team in the independent Frontier League. Originally called the Freedom, in 2019 the team changed its name to the Y’alls after town's most famous landmark (see above).
The club was founded as the Erie (PA) Sailors in 1994. A year later, they were the Johnstown Steals, before changing their nickname to the Johnnies. After the 2003 season, the team moved to Kentucky but had to play its home games up I-75 in Hamilton, Ohio, while a stadium was built in Florence. In 2004, the team moved into Champion Window Field, now known as UC Health Stadium.
5. It has had some famous residents
Former Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander hails from Florence and attended Boone County High School. After he graduated from Alabama University, he played eight seasons for the Seahawks and one for Washington’s NFL team. His best year as a pro was 2005 when he rushed for 1,880 yards and scored a whopping 27 touchdowns on the ground while adding on one more through the air.
Florence was also the hometown of singer/songwriter Kenny Price, who began his country music career in 1964. Through 1980, he had 34 singles hit the country music chart, including four top-ten hits. One of those chart-toppers, "The Sheriff of Boone County," also became a hit on the pop singles chart, hitting #10 in 1971. Price was also a regular on the variety series Hee Haw from 1976 until he died in 1987.
6. It was the site of a Civil War battle
On September 17, 1862, a clash between Union and Confederate forces occurred on the streets of Florence. The Confederate forces, under the command of General Henry Heth, had come north from Lexington, threatening nearby Cincinnati. Union troops prepared for an attack by building forts around Covington as well as patrolling the Lexington Pike for Confederates troops. When a detachment of 101 Confederates, who had been camping at nearby Snow’s Pond, was spotted by a Union soldiers at the main intersection in town, a skirmish took place. The attack resulted in one Union and five Confederate casualties. One civilian was killed by a stray bullet. The Confederates eventually withdrew to Lexington and then left the state after the Battle of Perryville on October 8, 1862.
Photo: Sixflashphoto via Wiki Commons
89 comments
Brittany Lowery
After being in relationship with him for seven years, he broke up with me, I did everything possible to bring him back but all was in vain. I wanted him back so much because of the love I have for him and I begged him with everything, I made promises but he refused. I contacted a spell caster called DR ISIKOLO that could help me cast a spell to bring him back but I am the type that never believed in spell, I had no choice than to try it, I mailed the spell caster, and he told me there was no problem that everything will be okay before two days, that my ex will return to me before three days, he cast the spell and surprisingly in the second day, it was around 4pm. My ex called me and we resolved the differences and we are happy together now. Anybody could need the help of the spell caster and you can call/text him via WhatsApp on: +2348133261196 or review his website https://isikolo-temple.com
Fiorella García
Great chances to have your man back to you and your kids with the help of DR ISIKOLO.
My husband left me and our 2 kids for about 10 months. I went through a lot of pain. I tried everything possible to make him return back to me and to the kids but nothing worked out. It was really a stressful period for me because I never wanted to go through the heartbreak. i was told to get a love spell doctor contacted to help me out which i did i was lucky to get DR ISIKOLO Contact who was able to help me out, i contacted him and explained everything to him and complied with his procedures and he did the love reunion spell that brought back my husband to me and to his kids in 2 days. thanks so much DR ISIKOLO. I really appreciate what you have done for me. Here is his contact if you may required for it by solving your relationship problems, Read through his webpage website (https://isikolo-temple.com) or either text him via WhatsApp him on +2348133261196
Cheng Charlie Saephan
My name is Cheng Charlie Saephan I’m here today to share my success story on how Dr Benjamin the lottery spell caster helped me won the lottery, on a fateful evening I was browsing through the internet and I saw a lot of good reviews on how Dr Benjamin had helped alot of people so I decided to reach him for help too, he responded to my mail and he assured me that he will help me win as he has done for many, after he requested for my details he also gave me series of instructs to follow after everything said and done he gave me the Powerball winning numbers he instructed me to write out the numbers from the game (1-69) on a piece of paper and slept with it under his pillow before playing the numbers he gave me so after the result was out I was the only one to match all five numbers and I won the jackpot of 1.3 billion dollars. All thanks to you Dr benjamin for turning my life around for good. I will leave his contact information here for anyone that desire help too. I promise you that I won’t sharing your good work in my life. Below is his contact information email drbenjaminlottospell711@gmail.com and Whatsapp number +18588585788
Diana Margaret
I am Diana Margaret by name from England, so excited to quickly Appreciate Dr Kachi. who helped me win a lot of money a few weeks ago in the lottery, I was addicted of playing the lottery game, I’ve never won a big amount in the EuroMillions lotteries, but other than losing my ticket, I always play when the jackpot is big. I believe that someday I might as well be the lucky winner. I was in the Aldi supermarket store buying a lottery ticket when I overheard Newsagents reveal saying what happens when someone win a National Lottery jackpot in their shop by a powerful doctor called Dr Kachi, i was not easily convince at first so i went online to do some research about Dr Kachi I saw different kind of manifest of testimony how he have help a lot of people to win big lottery game in all over the worldwide, that was what trigger me to contact Dr Kachi i decided to give him a try and told him i want to be the among of the winner he had helps, Dr Kachi assure me not to worry that I’m in rightful place to win my lottery game and ask me to buy lottery tickets after he have perform a powerful spell numbers and gave to me which i use to play the lottery draw, and won a massive £40,627,241 EuroMillions, After all my years of financially struggling to win the lottery, I finally win big jackpot, this message is to everyone out there who have been trying all day to win the lottery, believe me this is the only way you can win the lottery, contact Call/Text number: +1 (209) 893-8075 Email drkachispellcast@gmail.com his Website: https://drkachispellcaster.wixsite.com/my-site
Brittany Lowery
after being in relationship with him for seven years, he broke up with me, I did everything possible to bring him back but all was in vain. I wanted him back so much because of the love I have for him and I begged him with everything, I made promises but he refused. I contacted a spell caster called DR ISIKOLO that could help me cast a spell to bring him back but I am the type that never believed in spell, I had no choice than to try it, I mailed the spell caster, and he told me there was no problem that everything will be okay before two days, that my ex will return to me before three days, he cast the spell and surprisingly in the second day, it was around 4pm. My ex called me and we resolved the differences and we are happy together now. Anybody could need the help of the spell caster and you can call/text him via WhatsApp on: +2348133261196 or review his website (https://isikolo-temple.com)
Leave a comment
This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.