Florence
Ghost town · Hand County, South Dakota

Florence is a ghost town in Hand County, South Dakota. It is one of 2 former communities in Hand County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 14th among the 26 South Dakota counties with a vanished settlement on record.
The U.S. Geological Survey lists Florence as a historical populated place on the Miller NW topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 44.6916° N, 98.9893° W.
Key facts
| USGS quadrangle | Miller NW |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 1,516 ft |
| Nearest living town | Miller, SD |
| Distance to it | 11.9 miles |
| GNIS feature ID | 1264324 |
| Coordinates | 44.69165, -98.98927 |
What's there now
Florence is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Miller, SD (population 1,346), about 11.9 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 1,516 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.
Nearby places
Questions
Where is Florence?
Florence is in Hand County, South Dakota, at 44.6916, -98.9893.
How many ghost towns are in Hand County?
Hand County, South Dakota has 2 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.
- USGS Geographic Names Information System (Domestic Names) — GNIS Domestic Names, feature record (public-domain)
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line and ACS — Census Gazetteer + ACS 5-year population (public-domain)
Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.