Florence

Florence, city, seat (1889) of Florence county, northeastern South Carolina, U.S. Established in the 1850s as a rail junction and transfer point for the Wilmington and Manchester, the Northwestern, and the Cheraw and Darlington railroads, it was called Wilds for a judge in the town but later renamed (c. 1859) for the daughter of William Wallace Harlee, head of the Wilmington and Manchester line. The city developed as a retail and wholesale distribution centre, balanced...