There are some places a community just can’t forget, and there are many of those in the Florence neighborhood. An old building demolished 20 years ago still has a hold on peoples’ imaginations and memories. This is a history of the Florence Hotel.

“At Florence, the first object which attracts attention is a handsome sign lamp announcing that the hospitality of the Florence Hotel will be in the future dispensed by J.F. Pugsley, the irrepressible house mover and sterling democrat. The house has been thoroughly repaired and refitted and possesses an appearance one would scarcely expect in so small a town. This will doubtless become a very popular summer resort.” —Omaha Daily Herald, April 10, 1869

The Pioneer Era

Joseph F. Pugsley (1823–1912) was a factory manager in Connecticut, Kentucky, and Missouri before he came to Florence and claimed 120 acres in the Ponca Hills in 1856. As a farmer, he raised grains and cattle. As a businessman, he opened the first Florence Hotel that same year, running it until 1862. That year, he served as the Florence representative to the Nebraska Territorial Legislature, which met in Omaha. Later in 1862, he joined Company A of the Florence Volunteers in the U.S. Army and spent a year as a private fighting during the Civil War.

Coming back to Florence in 1863, Pugsley reopened the Florence Hotel again and ran it for the next eight years. During that time, he also became a popular house-mover in Florence and beyond, and was largely responsible for moving many of the old buildings in the town of Florence. He continued serving in the Nebraska Legislature after statehood.

Growth and Transitions

In 1871, J.F. Pugsley sold the Florence Hotel. He and his family moved to Franklin County where he had “one of the best improved, well-stocked farms in the County.” Regularly used as a polling place for the next 20 years, the Florence Hotel was a regular feature for visitors to Florence. During its heyday, the City of Florence grew significantly and people came and went doing business and shopping. The hotel was used for those visitors and others traveling on the old Washington Highway.

Freeman Sydney Tucker (1850–1920) bought the hotel from Pugsley in 1871. For nearly 20 years, he was a man about town whose role was important and business was successful. Tucker, who became very politically active after leaving the hotel business, served as a Nebraska State Representative and later, the mayor of Florence.

In 1890, it was listed in the want ads again, this time saying, “To Lease—Florence Hotel and furniture for sale; good reasons for selling; drawing a good business. Florence, Neb.” No further details were included, which leaves us wondering why it would be for sale if it was “drawing good business”? After no apparent listing again for a while, two years later in 1893, it was listed saying, “To Trade—Florence Hotel at Florence for good farm.” That listing ran for a few months; there was a similar ad that proclaimed the hotel had a stable, too.

The Modern Era and the End of an Icon

As the 19th century turned into the 20th, the hotel evolved. In 1903, the Omaha Street Railway extended its line to Florence, turning the hotel into a weekend destination for Omahans looking to escape the city heat. During the 1920s, it capitalized on the “auto-touring” craze along the Washington Highway and become a popular spot for “family-style chicken dinners” that the Florence and Ponca Hills area was famous for. For a brief time around 1927, it was even rebranded as the Broadway Hotel.

However, as Florence was annexed into Omaha and the nearby Minne Lusa neighborhood and Florence Field subdivision grew, the hotel’s role shifted from a traveler’s resort to a local landmark and apartment house. By the late 20th century, the classic two-story wood-frame building at 30th and State Street had fallen into significant disrepair. Despite its deep roots in the community’s pioneer history, it never received formal landmark protection.

After a struggle lasting a few years, the Florence Hotel was demolished in 2005, leaving a void in the historic streetscape that it had anchored for nearly 150 years. Today there is a modern structure on the site that intentionally echoes the old building. However, most people don’t know what was there historically.

Maybe that will change in the future.

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MY ARTICLES ABOUT THE HISTORY OF FLORENCE
Basics: History | Banks | Newspapers | Churches | Mayors
Public Places: Florence Main Street | Florence High School | The Mormon Tree | Mormon Bridge | Florence Boulevard | River Drive | J.J. Pershing Drive and Monument | Potter’s Field
Businesses: Florence Mill | Zestos | Florence Home | Florence Bank | Florence Mill | Florence Ferry | Florence Water Works | Florence Depot
Houses: Parker Mansion | Brandeis Country Home | Lantry-Thompson Mansion | Mitchell House | Hunt Mansion
Other Historic Places: Cutler’s Park | Winter Quarters | Vennelyst Park | Florence Building
People: James M. Parker | James Comey Mitchell | Florence Kilborn | Jacob Weber Sr.
Neighborhoods: Winter Quarters | Florence Field | Wyman Heights | High Point
Mormon History Locations: Mormon Pioneer Memorial Bridge | Site of the Mormon Tree | Cutler’s Park | Brigham Young House | Mormon Mill
Other: Directory of Florence Historic Places