Florence County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,558, making it the second-least populous county in Wisconsin after Menominee County. Its county seat is Florence. The county is considered a high-recreation retirement destination by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Florence County is part of the Iron Mountain, MI–WI Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Florence County was created by the legislature of 1882 from portions of Marinette County and Oconto County. The first white man to document his journey through Florence County was Thomas J. Cram, who surveyed northeast Wisconsin in 1840 and 1841. The region belonged to the Menominee tribe, who mingled with the Chippewa there. Florence County continued to be a region for hunting and trapping until the 1870s when iron was discovered in the region. The Florence mine was discovered in 1874 by H. D. Fisher. In 1879, Fisher named the mine and town after the wife of Nelson Powell Hulst, Florence Terry Hulst, establishing the name for the county as well.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.9%) is water.
Adjacent counties
- Iron County, Michigan - north
- Dickinson County, Michigan - east
- Marinette County - southeast
- Forest County - southwest
Major highways
- 20px U.S. Highway 2
- 20px U.S. Highway 141
- 20px Highway 70
- 20px Highway 101
- 20px Highway 139
Buses
National protected area
- Nicolet National Forest (part)