Florence

Florence is the largest and principal city of the Florence-Muscle Shoals Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is situated along the Tennessee River and is home to the University of North Alabama, the oldest college in the state. The Florence Indian Mound, constructed by indigenous people between 100 BCE and 400 BCE in the Woodland period, is the biggest surviving earthen mound in Alabama. Florence is located on Wilson Lake and Pickwick Lake, bodies of water on the Tennessee river dammed by Pickwick Dam and Wilson Dams. The type of municipal government is a mayor-council system. In the historic period, the area of present-day Florence was occupied by the Chickasaw Nation. They first encountered white traders and settlers beginning in the late 1700s, and were forced to cede their land to the Federal government through a series of treaties in early 1800s, as part of the Indian Removal policy to extinguish tribal land claims east of the Mississippi River. The first river steamboat visited the town in 1821. By 1850s, the town had grown into the Florence Synople, the only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home located in Alabama, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Annual tourism events include the W. C. Handy Music Festival in the summer and the Renaissance Faire in the fall. In 2017 a new, expanded museum was built to replace one built in 1968 that displays artifacts and interprets the ancient and historic cultures of all the indigenous peoples in the area.

Geography

Florence is the primary city name, but also Saint Florian are acceptable city names or spellings, North Florence on the other hand no longer accepted or obsolete and are no longer used as a designation. The official name is Florence, Alabama. Florence is located on Wilson Lake and Pickwick Lake, bodies of water on the Tennessee River dammed by Pickwick Dam and Wilson Dams. Wilson Dam (now operated by the TVA) was authorized by President Woodrow Wilson in 1918 and was the first dam constructed on theTennessee River. Pickwick lake was created by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), an agency established under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal. It was a public works program intended to build dams and hydroelectric power and related infrastructure to generate electricity for the rural region to stimulate economic development, provide flood control, and recreational opportunities. Florence has a total area of 25.0 square miles (65 km²), of which 24.9 square miles. (64 km²) is land, and 0.1 sq miles (0.26 km²): 0.40% of the city is water. The city has a population of 2,816. It is located in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers's Tennessee River Division, which is responsible for flood control and flood control measures on the river. The town is home to the Florence High School, which was founded in 1903. The school was the site of the World War II-era Battle of the Bulge, which saw the Battle of Gettysburg. It has a mascot, the Florence Tornadoes, which has been active in the area since the 1950s and 1960s. It also has a high school, Florence High, which opened in 1961.

History

Evidence for human habitation in the Florence area goes back to at least 500 BCE, when the Florence Indian Mound was constructed. In the historic period, the area of present-day Florence was occupied by the Chickasaw Nation. They first encountered white traders and settlers beginning in the late 1700s, and were forced to cede their land to the Federal government through a series of treaties in early 1800s. Florence quickly became a commercial hub on the Tennessee River, but it did not reach the level its founders had hoped. In 1826, Florence was incorporated by the State Legislature. The townspeople established the Florence Female Academy here in 1847, for paying female students. By the 1850s, the school was converted into the Florence Synodical Female College, affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. It closed in 1893. A historical marker commemorates the site. The first river steamboat visited the town in 1821. General Andrew Jackson and President James Monroe, bought up plots of land as they were sold by the Cypress Land Co. in 1819. The company bought the land believing that Florence's location along Jackson's Military Road and at the end of the treacherous Muscle Shoals rapids on theTennessee River would enable it to develop as a major commercial center. Florence was named after Florence, the capital of the Tuscany region of Italy. It was incorporated in 1826. It became a city in 1828. It is now a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee.

Demographics

As of the 2020 U.S. Census, there were 40,184 people, 17,475 households, and 9,718 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 78.39% White, 19.20% Black or African American, 0.24% Native American,0.62% Asian and 0.03% Pacific Islander. 1.34% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The city's median income was $28,330, and the median income for a family was $40,577. About 14.4% of families were below the poverty line, including 25.9% of those under age 18 and 13.3% ofThose age 65 or over. The average household size was 2.20, with the average family size being 2.82. The median age was 37 years, with every 100 females having a median age of 84.0 males. The per capita income for the city in 2010 was $19,464. It was $34,398 for males and $21,385 for females. It had a population of 36,264 as of the census of 2000, with 17,707 housing units at an average density of 710.2 per square mile (274.2/km²). The city has a population density of 1,454.6 inhabitants per squaremile (561.6/ km²) It has a water supply of 1.2 million gallons (4.4 million liters) per person.

Education

Florence City Schools is the organization of the K12 public school system. Florence High School (grades 1012) is the main high school, with an enrollment of approximately 1,000 students. There are five private schools in Florence: Riverhill School for K-6, St. Joseph Regional Catholic School for grades K8, Mars Hill Bible School, Shoals Christian School, and Florence Christian Academy. The University of North Alabama is Alabama's oldest state-certified university, founded in 1830 as LaGrange College. International students now compose roughly 10% of the student population. The university is situated on 130 acres (53 ha) and surrounded by historic neighborhoods. It is located just north of the downtown business district. Kilby Laboratory School, grades K 6, is affiliated with the university and is the only laboratory school in the state. It was created by a merger between the previous two city high schools, Bradshaw High School and Coffee High School. The middle school is located at the former Coffee High campus, east of downtown, and the Florence Freshman Center is Located at the Florence High school campus. The high school campus is located on the former Bradshaw site in the eastern part of the city. It also led to the creation of Florence Middle School (grades 78) and the Florencefreshman Center (grade 9) It is the largest K-12 school in North Alabama, with a total enrollment of about 7,000. The school system was formed by the merger of Bradshaw and Coffee high schools.

Government

Andrew Betterton was elected as the mayor of Florence on October 6, 2020. He defeated incumbent Mayor Steve Holt by 11 votes. The city has a mayor-council form of government. Each of the council members is elected from one of six single-member districts. The mayor is elected at-large. It is the first time the city has had a female mayor in more than 30 years. The current mayor is Kaytrina P. Simmons, who was elected in 2010. The council is made up of six members elected in six districts, with the mayor elected from a single district in the middle. The new mayor is Andrew Betterton, who won in a landslide. He was elected to the position in October of 2020 by a margin of 11 votes, beating incumbent Steve Holt, who had been elected in 2008 by a narrow margin of 3 votes. He will serve as mayor until the end of his second term in office in 2020. The next mayor is expected to be named in January of 2019, and the city will hold a special election to elect a new mayor in June of that year. The election will be the first in the city's history to be held on a non-presidential basis. The winner will be announced in May of the following year, when the new mayor will be sworn in for a four-year term. The elections will be held at a special meeting on June 14, 2019. The candidate will be chosen at a later date to represent the city in the next election.

Culture and events

The Indian Mound is the largest of its type in the Tennessee Valley Region. Pope's Tavern served as a hospital for Civil War soldiers from both the Union and Confederate armies. The Rosenbaum House, at 601 Riverview Drive, is the only building in the state designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The W. C. Handy Home and Museum is dedicated to the noted musician, known as the "father of the blues" The Sam Phillips Music Celebration is a week-long event held the first week of January. The George Lindsey/UNA Film Festival started in 1997 and is named in honor of George Lindsey, best known for portraying the character of "Goober Pyle" on the television series The Andy Griffith Show. The Spirit of Freedom Celebration is an annual Fourth of July tradition presented by the W.LAY-FM, WVNA-FM and WLAY Radio Group. The largest music festival in the area is the Muscle Shoals, Tennessee, festival, which features country, gospel, jazz and other musical genres. It was started in 2005 and is held in Wilson Park for two days to show and sell their work. The festival ends with a fireworks display over the Tennessee River at 10:00 p.m. on the evening of July 4. The city of Florence is home to several museums, historical sites and numerous parks that serve the cultural and recreational needs of citizens and tourists. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and provides administrative offices for Florence's six museums.

Recreation

Cox Creek Park is home to a children's playground, horseshoe pits, an indoor archery range, and twelve tennis courts. Recent additions have included the new Florence Skate Park, the only skateboard park in the area. McFarland Park is also the location of the Florence Harbor and Marina. Wildwood Park is located adjacent to the University of North Alabama along Cypress Creek. The original Plan of Florence in 1818 showed the area as a Public Walk. In 1924, the park was renamed in honor of former U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, shortly after his death. The park has a pavilion, picnic tables, nature trails, and bicycle trails. Swimming, fishing and canoeing are some of the park's recreational activities. It is also home to one of the oldest disc golf courses in the state, established in 1983. The city has a number of other parks, including Martin Park, which is the location for the city's swimming facility. It also contains a playground, tennis courts, picnic shelters, and a 0.75 miles (1.21 km) fitness trail. The town also has a full-service marina on Tennessee River (Pickwick Lake) mile marker 256. It has a municipal golf course, Blackberry Trail Golf Course, andBroadway Recreation Center. The Florence/Lauderdale Farmer's Market is also located at the park. Its grounds are used for numerous festivals and events, including many festivals and. events.

Transportation

Florence is served by the Northwest Alabama Regional Airport in Muscle Shoals. It is served commercially by Contour Airlines which provides several daily flights to Charlotte Douglas International Airport, an American Airlines hub, giving the city access to hundreds of domestic and international destinations. Alabama state highways that serve the city include State Route 13, State Route 17, and State Route 20. State Route 157, a road to Florence and the Shoals area, serves as a four-lane link to Interstate 65 in Cullman. The city is also connected by the Tennessee Southern Railroad (TSRR), which runs from Florence to Columbia, Tennessee, and the Port of Florence on Pickwick Lake. Florence is the merger point for two major U.S. Highways, as well as several Alabama Highways. Both of these roads cross the Tennessee River on O'Neal Bridge, connecting Florence to Sheffield. The Memphis to Atlanta Highway, proposed to connect the two cities via a freeway through north Alabama, remains in the planning stages with the Alabama Department of Transportation. Another plan recently discussed is extending Interstate 565 west from its current terminus just outside Decatur, along Alabama 20/Alternate U.S. 72. The plan has received support from Decatur officials, and is currently being considered by the state of Georgia and the Alabama State Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. It would connect the city to Huntsville and Chattanooga, Tennessee to the east and Memphis to the west. The road is known as the "University of North Alabama Highway".

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Florence, Lauderdale County, Alabama = 84. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 40. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 91. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Florence = 4.8 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 40,184 individuals with a median age of 39 age the population grows by 3.92% in Florence, Lauderdale County, Alabama population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,515.35 residents per square mile of area (585.08/km²). There are average 2.16 people per household in the 16,510 households with an average household income of $32,457 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 10.70% of the available work force and has dropped -8.69% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 11.92%. The number of physicians in Florence per 100,000 population = 188.6.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Florence = 54 inches and the annual snowfall = 4.4 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 122. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 199. 92 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 30.3 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 32, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Florence, Lauderdale County, Alabama which are owned by the occupant = 52.22%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 37 years with median home cost = $87,520 and home appreciation of -1.97%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $3.60 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $5,249 per student. There are 15.4 students for each teacher in the school, 386 students for each Librarian and 380 students for each Counselor. 4.69% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 15.84% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 9.90% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).