Moses Shane, a pioneer of Irish descent, explored and settled in the vast open country where Florence stands, built a log cabin, and broke several acres of ground in the spring of 1858. He was identified as the first white man to come to the area in 1858. Patrick Doyle, also identified as an early settler, was the second white man to settle in Marion County and built a store home on the banks of Doyle Creek in 1859. The surrounding history highlights Indian Territory in the 1500s, the arrival of the railroad in 1871, ranching in the Flint Hills from 1859 to the present, an oil boom in the 1920s, a major flood in 1951, and the use of natural spring water, along with Hill School in 1871, the Harvey House Museum, Hotel in 1887, Arnold School in 1910, and the Old Opera House in 1883.