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Florence, SC & the Pee Dee

Florence, SC: Independent. Local. Community-Led.

Welcome to your digital front porch. Discover local events, active jobs, student scholarships, and trusted neighborhood resources.
Plus what's being built, what council decided, and what's coming next.

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150+
Active Local Jobs
220+
Available Scholarships
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Moving to Florence?

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Spring fair festival with local vendors, food trucks, and crowds under a blue sky capturing a lively community atmosphere

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Events, festivals, and hidden gems around Florence

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Featured Stories
A large travel station with market and multiple gasoline pumps along the highway in the rural town of Butte, Montana, USA.
Newest · Exit 170
Places · Business · Culture

Florence, SC's Most Famous Landmark Isn't Downtown. It's an Exit Sign.

Buc-ee's opened at Exit 170 off I-95 in May 2022 and put Florence on more phone screens than anything else the city has ever built. Here's what's verified — and what we still don't know.

Read the full story
A historical plaque stands on the grounds of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church (or just the Old Stone Church) in Beaverton, Ontario.
Installment 5
Places · Lost Florence · Culture

The Hotel That Started Florence, and the Fight That Made It Famous

Before Florence had a downtown, it had a hotel. Archaeologists dug up its foundation in 2023 — under a downtown parking lot. This is the story of Gamble's Hotel, the 1865 skirmish at its door, and the city it quietly launched.

Read the full story
Trees fallen from tornadoes caused by Hurricane Milton Palm Beach Gardens Florida
Installment 4
Decades > 1980s · Weather

Before Hugo, After Hugo

Hurricane Hugo made landfall on September 22, 1989. This is how the storm hit Florence — told through a firsthand account of riding it out at what was then Francis Marion College.

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Spring fair festival with local vendors, food trucks, and crowds under a blue sky capturing a lively community atmosphere
Installment 3
Culture · Lost Florence · Florence Firsts

Florence Had Pro Hockey. Then It Didn't. Now It Does Again.

From the Pee Dee Pride (1997–2005) to the Pee Dee IceCats (2025) — the full story of Florence's professional hockey history, and why the ice came back.

Read the full story
Diverse group of people connecting and supporting each other in a community circle
Installment 2
Places · Business · Culture

How Downtown Florence Came Back

From "a drunk too far gone to be saved" to the Great American Main Street Award — how a community rebuilt its own heart, block by block.

Read the full story
1 / 5 All Installments

What's Happening This Week

  • Florence Farmers Market

    Saturday mornings at Virginia Francis Park

  • City Council Meeting

    2nd Monday · 1:00 PM, 324 W. Evans Street

  • FMU Career Center

    Free resume critiquing & mock interviews · Founders Hall 220

The Latest From Front Porch Talk

Edition No. 9 · LATEST

A Marker, a School, and the Women Who Kept Going

Pull up a chair — the Palmetto School and the Florence County Foster Home for Negro Children finally get their marker on Stokes Road, plus a second Hope Village taking shape on North Douglas Street.

Read the latest edition
View Full Calendar & Stories

The Tracker

What's Actually Being Built in Florence County

A running, dated table of the subdivisions, developments and infrastructure projects we can document — status, location and the public record behind each. Updated as things change.

See What's Being Built

HelloFlorenceSC.com

Front Porch Talk

Florence, twice a month. No ads. No politics. Just Florence.

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  • One local issue explained, plainly.
  • Stories about people doing good here.

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150+
Active Local Jobs
220+
Available Scholarships
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Political Arguments

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