This is a list of historic properties in Florence, Arizona, which includes a photographic gallery of some of the remaining historic structures and monuments. Included are photographs of properties identified as once belonging to Adamsville, a small farming town, which was destroyed by a flood in 1990. Considered a ghost town by historians, it is part of Florence. Also, landmarks such as Poston Butte and the Tom Mix Monument are included.
Brief history
Florence was founded on the southern boundary of the Gila River by Levi Ruggles, a veteran of the American Civil War. The town is sixty-one miles southeast of Phoenix, in the Pinal County of Arizona, United States. Florence, which is the county seat of Pinal County, is one of the oldest towns there and is regarded as a National Historic District with over 25 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Many of the historical properties have been identified as such by the Florence Historic District Advisory Commission. A property identified by the commission as one with a significant historical value is then nominated for inclusion in the National Register of Historical Places. However, the local government does not have the ability to deny a demolition permit. Therefore, owners of a property listed in the National Register of Historic Places or considered as historical by the Florence Historic District Advisory Commission may demolish the historical property. The following properties have either been demolished or destroyed:
The Devine, Ed and Lottie House – 1200 Central St. The P.C. Warner House – 310 3rd St. The Ballou-Foreman House – 500 8th St. The Encarnacion Avenenti House – 203 Butte St. The James & Mary McGhee House – 330 Butte St. The Moorehouse/R.H. Dairy Complex – S. Park St. (before Duran St.) The Encinas/Cordova House – 500 Butte St.
The Florence POW Camp was one of ten of such camps in Arizona. The first prisoners who arrived in Florence were Italian POWs. That was in May 1943. The German prisoners soon followed. Following the war, the camp served as a minimum security prison and later a hospital. The site was closed down for good in 1966. Today, nothing remains of the camp. Some artifacts left behind by the former POW inmates are on display in the First Pinal County Courthouse museum.
Images of the remaining structures of Adamsville, a ghost town, are also included. Adamsville was a farming town founded in 1870 by Fred Adams: the town had stores, homes, a post office, a flour mill and water tanks. In 1900, the Gila River overflowed and destroyed most of the town. Those who survived the flood moved to the town of Florence.
Also pictured and listed are historical artifacts that are on display and which can be found in the Pinal County Historical Society and Museum. These artifacts are related to the early history of the town, including some items related to infamous people who were imprisoned in Florence's Arizona State Prison. Among the monuments pictured are the pyramid-style tomb of Charles Debrille Poston, known as the Father of Arizona, and the Tom Mix Monument at the site of the silent film star's death.
The Florence Bridge
The historic Florence Bridge was originally built in 1885 over the Gila River. It was rebuilt in 1909 and is the third oldest Arizona Territory bridge still in use in Arizona. The bridge was designed by J.B. Girand, Arizona's first territorial engineer. The Gila River served as a part of the border between the United States and Mexico until the 1853, when the Gadsden Purchase extended American territory well south of the Gila River. The Florence Bridge, which is described by the United States Department of the Interior as one of the most important river crossings in the state, is eligible to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Endangered properties
The Arizona Preservation Foundation is an agency which identifies critically endangered cultural resources of major historical significance to the state. In 2012, the foundation identified the following properties in Florence as endangered: The Adamsville Ruins. J. N. Denier Tenement House.