About 14 air miles (22 km) east-northeast of present-day Riggins in remote north central Idaho at an elevation of 6,080 feet (1,850 m).

Almost concurrent with its settlement, Washington Territory established Idaho County on December 20, 1861, in anticipation of a gold rush that brought over 9,000 residents within the first year.,[1][2] The town quickly became the seat with the first district court taking place at Florence on 22 September 1862.

The discovery of gold around Pierce and Orofino in 1861 drew thousands of prospectors into the Clearwater River area of present-day north central Idaho, east of Lewiston.

A smaller band of five made their way into a high mountain basin about thirty miles (48 km) south of today's Grangeville.

[9] Despite mutual promises to keep the find quiet when they returned to Elk City for supplies, word quickly got out.

As was common to many of those early placer mining districts, the richest days in Florence lasted only a couple years.

However, the location of the Florence Basin in high, extremely rugged country made transportation especially difficult.

In 1951, when Sister Alfreda Elsensohn published her history of Idaho County, the handful of Florence inhabitants no longer received local mail delivery.

The basin is over 4,000 vertical feet (1,220 m) above the Salmon River, five air miles (8 km) north of its confluence with French Creek.