The Arizona desert town that Civil War veterans built is still standing, all 125 buildings

Arizona’s oldest desert town isn’t done yet

Florence, Arizona, sits about 60 miles southeast of Phoenix and 77 miles north of Tucson, right in that sweet spot where a day trip from either city feels easy.

Civil War veteran Levi Ruggles founded the town in 1866, and more than 125 historic buildings still stand along its streets.

The downtown is a National Historic District, and ranching and farming traditions run deep here. But the old buildings are just the start of what you find when you slow down and look around.

Silver miners and canal builders came here first

Long before Ruggles showed up, the Hohokam people lived along the Gila River for over a thousand years, building irrigation canals that kept crops alive in the desert.

Ruggles founded the town at a crossing on that same river in 1866, and when silver turned up in the nearby mountains in 1875, the Silver King Mine kicked off a growth spurt.

Florence became the seat of the newly formed Pinal County that same year, and by the early 1900s, it ranked among Arizona’s largest towns, a full decade before Arizona even became a state.

The oldest courthouse in Arizona doubles as a visitor center

McFarland State Historic Park sits around a seven-room adobe building from 1878, the oldest standing courthouse in Arizona. Over the years, those walls held a jail, a hospital, and a public gathering hall.

The park carries the name of Ernest McFarland, who served as a U.S. Senator, Governor of Arizona, and Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court.

He bought the building in 1974, donated it to Arizona State Parks, and paid for the renovation himself. Inside, you can also see exhibits about a World War II prisoner of war camp that ran in Florence from 1942 to 1946.

The clock tower ran out of money at 11:44

You can spot the Second Pinal County Courthouse from blocks away.

The three-story redbrick building went up in 1891, designed by architect James M. Creighton in the Late Victorian style, and it stands as one of the finest examples of Victorian-era architecture in central Arizona.

Up top sits an ornate clock tower, but the town ran out of money before real clockworks could go in. So someone painted a clock face on the tower with the hands set at 11:44, and they have not moved since.

The building still handles county government business today and sits on the National Register of Historic Places.

Walk Main Street past earth-roofed adobes from the 1860s

Florence’s Main Street runs past adobe and brick buildings that go back to the 1860s and 1870s.

The oldest adobe structure in town dates to 1868, and you can see Sonoran, Victorian, and Territorial styles standing side by side.

Grab a free walking tour brochure at the visitor center and follow it past dozens of marked sites.

One worth a pause is the 1870s Charles Rapp Saloon building, one of the last earth-roofed Sonoran adobe structures left in Florence.

The Pinal County Historical Museum, founded in 1958 as the oldest historical organization in the county, fills out the picture with exhibits on Native American life and frontier history.

A Byzantine monastery rises from the Sonoran Desert floor

About nine miles south of town, St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery sits in the desert in a way that stops you mid-step.

Elder Ephraim, a disciple of the Mount Athos monastic tradition in Greece, founded it in 1995, and it has grown into the largest Orthodox monastic complex in the Western Hemisphere.

About 50 monks live on the grounds, which hold seven chapels, a main church, a bookstore, and a central courtyard. Byzantine domes, mosaics, and frescoes rise above palm-lined paths, citrus groves, and fountains.

You can visit at no cost, and the bookstore sells Greek pastries, preserves, and olive oil made right on the grounds.

Wear modest, loose-fitting clothing: long sleeves and long pants for men, long skirts and head coverings for women.

The Father of Arizona rests inside a desert pyramid

Just northwest of Florence, a 14-foot-high stone pyramid sits on a desert hill called Poston Butte.

Inside lies Charles Debrille Poston, the man who convinced President Lincoln and Congress to create the Arizona Territory in 1863.

He served as Arizona’s first delegate to Congress, as Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and in several other public roles.

Poston died in 1902 and was first buried in Phoenix, but in 1925 the governor led an official ceremony to move his remains to this hilltop.

A half-mile trail from the parking area off Hunt Highway takes you up, and the desert views along the way open wide in every direction.

A silent film cowboy’s last ride ended right here

About 17 miles south of Florence on State Route 79, a stone monument sits where silent film cowboy star Tom Mix died in a car crash on Oct. 12, 1940.

Mix made roughly 290 films between 1909 and 1935 and was one of the first major Western movie stars. A metal silhouette of his famous horse, Tony the Wonder Horse, marks the memorial.

The Arizona Department of Transportation turned the site into a rest stop with ramadas, picnic tables, and a display about Mix’s life and career. Pull over and spend a few minutes with it.

Drive 42 miles of saguaros on the Pinal Pioneer Parkway

State Route 79 runs about 42 miles between Florence and Oracle Junction, and the road carries the name Pinal Pioneer Parkway for good reason.

Before Interstate 10 went in, this was the main highway between Tucson and Phoenix. The state designated it in 1961 to protect the natural desert landscape along one of Arizona’s earliest travel routes.

Saguaro cacti, cholla, barrel cacti, and prickly pear line both sides of the road, and mountain views stretch out ahead of you. Several rest stops along the way make it easy to pull over and take it in.

Five-year-olds rope calves at America’s oldest youth rodeo

Every Thanksgiving weekend, Florence hosts the Junior Parada, a youth rodeo that local ranchers started in 1932 to raise money for children in need.

Young cowboys and cowgirls ages 5 to 18 compete in calf roping, barrel racing, and other events at the Charles Whitlow Rodeo Grounds. A parade rolls down Main Street on Saturday.

The rodeo means so much to Florence that it appears on the town’s official emblem.

If you come in February instead, the Annual Historic Home Tour opens private homes and landmark buildings for a self-guided walk through the town’s past.

A four-story adobe tower built 700 years ago stands 10 miles away

About 10 miles west in neighboring Coolidge, Casa Grande Ruins National Monument protects one of the largest prehistoric structures ever built in North America.

The four-story adobe Great House dates to the early 1300s, built by the Ancestral Sonoran Desert People, whom the Akimel O’odham call the Hohokam.

The federal government set it aside in 1892 as the nation’s first archaeological reserve and made it a national monument in 1918.

You can walk through the ruins, a ball court, and a visitor center with exhibits and a park film.

The site holds deep spiritual meaning for the O’odham, Hopi, and Zuni communities, who trace their ancestors to this village. Plan about two hours.

Country music and canyon trails fill the desert around town

Florence is not a flashy tourist stop, and that works in its favor.

The town’s compact historic core takes minutes to walk, and most of what you see costs little or nothing.

Country Thunder, a major country music festival, rolls in every April near Florence and draws tens of thousands of people.

Beyond town, the surrounding desert opens up for off-road adventures, with trails cutting through the narrow, steep-walled Box Canyon.

Whether you spend an afternoon on Main Street or a full weekend between the monastery, the ruins, and the desert, Florence rewards you for taking your time.

Explore Florence’s Historic Downtown in Arizona

If you want to see Florence for yourself, start at the visitor center inside McFarland State Historic Park at 24 West Ruggles Street. You can pick up maps, brochures, and local tips before heading out.

The Pinal County Historical Museum at 715 South Main Street gives you a deeper look at the area’s history. Florence sits in Pinal County, about 60 miles southeast of Phoenix and 77 miles north of Tucson.

Take State Route 79, the Pinal Pioneer Parkway, and let the desert scenery start the trip for you.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• The Arizona town that copper built is now running on art, music, and altitude
• Flagstaff, AZ gave us Pluto and now offers the best stargazing in the American West
• A 70-year-old Frank Lloyd Wright drove into the Arizona desert and built a world wonder by hand