James C. Mitchell was the founder of the town of Florence

Florence, Nebraska

Florence is a neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska on the city's north end and originally one of the oldest cities in Nebraska. It was incorporated by the Nebraska Territorial Legislature on March 10, 1857. The site of Winter Quarters for Mormon migrants traveling west, it has the oldest cemetery for...

 in the Nebraska Territory

Nebraska Territory

The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Nebraska. The Nebraska Territory was created by the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854...

 in 1854.

Biography

Born in Pangborn, Pennsylvania, Mitchell ran away from home at the age of fifteen to become a seaman

Seaman

Seaman is one of the lowest ranks in a Navy. In the Commonwealth it is the lowest rank in the Navy, followed by Able Seaman and Leading Seaman, and followed by the Petty Officer ranks....

. By age eighteen, he was captain of a ship which sailed between New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and Liverpool, England. In 1836, Mitchell the widow of a Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 chaplain who was lost at sea.

Mitchell worked as an Indian Commission in Bellevue, Iowa

Bellevue, Iowa

Bellevue is a city in Jackson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,350 at the 2000 census. The city lies along the Mississippi River , next to Bellevue State Park....

 in 1840. Leaving for California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 in 1850, the Mitchells decided to stay in Council Bluffs

Council Bluffs, Iowa

Council Bluffs, known until 1852 as Kanesville, Iowathe historic starting point of the Mormon Trail and eventual northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trailsis a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States and is on the east bank of the Missouri River across...

 where they opened a mercantile. Following the advice of Peter A. Sarpy

Peter A. Sarpy

Peter Abadie Sarpy was the owner and operator of several fur trading posts, essential to the European-American development of the Nebraska Territory, and a thriving ferry business. A prominent businessman, he helped lay out the towns of Bellevue and Decatur, Nebraska...

, Michell bought the land where the abandoned Mormon

Mormon

The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...

 settlement of Cutler's Park

Cutler's Park

Cutler's Park was briefly the headquarter camp of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints established by 2500 members as they were making their way westward to the Rocky Mountains...

 stood, platting the village of Florence in January 1854, including the old buildings and improvements.

Mitchell thought the town would be the Nebraska Territory's Capitol and in 1854 co-founded the Nebraska Winter Quarters Company, which became the Florence Land Company in 1855. He named the town "Florence" after his wife's granddaughter. Mitchell himself owned 277 lots in Florence and was very active in real estate

Real estate

In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...

 in both Florence and Columbus, Nebraska

Columbus, Nebraska

Columbus is a city in east central Nebraska, United States. Its population was 22,111 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Platte County.-Pre-settlement history:...

. Mitchell joined the first board of the Bank of Florence

Bank of Florence

The Bank of Florence was an early wildcat bank located at 8502 North 30th Street in Florence, Nebraska Territory. After originally opening in the 1850s, it closed and reopened in 1904. Today the building that housed the bank is the Bank of Florence Museum...

 in 1856.

Mitchell served in the First Territorial Council and cast the vote that gave the early capitol to Omaha. As a commissioner involved in choosing the location for the second capitol building, he selected the site where Central High School now stands.

Mitchell died in Florence in 1860.

Claims

Michell owned several claims and ran numerous enterprises throughout the Territory. They included Elk Horn and Loup Fork Ferry and Bridge Company, the Winter Quarter Ferry, land once owned by the Council Buffs and Nebraska Ferry Company along the Missouri River

Missouri River

The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...

, the Columbus Company, the steam ferry boat Nebraska No. 2, and the Florence Bridge Company.