Florence is located in the northwestern part of the state of Alabama and the city and seat of Lauderdale County. It sits on the western part of Huntsville, which forms with Sheffield, Tuscumbia and Muscle Shoals, which is a four-city metropolitan area in the Muscle Shoals region, along the Tennessee River. The settlers first arrived in about 1779 and they started to establish a trading post. The area where the present-day Florence was purchased by a land company, its name was then later changed after the Italian city Florence. The area’s economic activity mostly centered on agriculture, especially in the production of cotton, which includes timber, and the mineral resources became an important economic activity. The city also became an important manufacturer for textiles, furniture, and floorings.