Florence is rich in history, dating back to colonial times. Our access to the rivers, and later to three railroads, proved important in the Revolutionary War and the War Between the States (aka Civil War).

During the prohibition era, Florence’s own Melvin Purvis became the G-Man that caught John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson.

During the Cold War in the 1950s, Mars Bluff just east of Florence was hit by the only accidental dropping of an atomic bomb in the US.

Florence County (Lake City) born astronaut and physicist Dr. Ronald E. McNair was on the space shuttle Challenger on that fateful day in 1986.

You’ll find these stories and more at the Florence County Museum.