Downloads

Florida Missouri, in Monroe County, is located at the intersection of Missouri Route 107 and State Route U on the shores of Mark Twain Lake. The population was 200, per the census data in the 1911 Cram's World Atlas. The population is now down to 8 full time residences. The Mark Twain Birthplace State Historic Site is located in Florida, with Mark Twain State Park nearby.

Mark Twain was born in Florida in 1835. He said his birthplace was "a nearly invisible village" and "The village contained a hundred people and I increased the population by 1 per cent. It is more than many of the best men in history could have done for a town".  The village of Florida was laid out in the winter of 1831. The community took its name from the state of Florida. The founders were Robert Donaldson, Joseph Grigsby, Hugh A. Hickman, a Doctor Keenan, John Witt, and Major W.N. Penn. Hickman owned and operated a mill approximately one half-mile (800 m) south of Florida, while Penn had a dry goods store near there as well. Penn soon moved his store into Florida proper, becoming the town's first business.  In the early years there was some hope of the town becoming a regional point of commerce and shipping. Florida is located at the confluence of the North, South, and Middle forks of the Salt River. It is 48 miles (77 km) upstream from its mouth emptying into the Mississippi River at Louisiana, Missouri. The location was thought to be strategic because it was felt to be a potential "growth center" in the settlement of northeast Missouri. For example, John Clemens, father of Mark Twain, along with other investors, had formed the Salt River Navigation Company in 1836 in hopes of developing this water commerce. Several boatloads of flour were shipped from Hickman's mill to the Mississippi and returned with sugar, coffee, and manufactured goods. However, fickle river levels on the Salt made consistent shipping via barge or riverboat impractical. Having no railroad and with river shipping no longer an option, Florida was destined to remain a small village attending to the commerce needs of area farmers.  The Clemens family, seeking better opportunities, left Florida for Hannibal, Missouri, when young Samuel was around five years old. He would continue to visit Florida for extended summer vacations at his uncle John Quarles' farm. Such summer memories and social interactions with Quarles house servants formed many of the sketches and perspectives that Clemens placed in his novels. The Quarles farmhouse remains as an active archeological project available to the public near Florida.