Florida Este was founded in 1891 when the
Buenos Aires and Rosario Railway opened a station in the section from
Belgrano that then reached Bartolomé Mitre, Borges and San Isidro. Some versions state that the station (and subsequently the village) was named "Florida" to commemorate a victory over a Spanish army in the Paraje La Florida of
Upper Peru on May 25, 1814, during the
War of Independence. The official date of establishment was set by a decree that gave approval to the builder of the railway line to divide the lands into lots for future sale. The date was set on May 7, 1891. Between 1895 and 1915 the "Compañía de los Ferrocarriles Pobladores" and the French Bank, owner of lands in the area, sold them to families that soon arrived. The Florida Este station was a meeting place for the inhabitants of the districts, with Luis Poggi's general store (located on the corner of San Martín and Fray Justo Sarmiento) as one of the pioneers in the zone. Most of the residential houses were grouped near the station, while the country houses were in what is now Melo street. Small vegetable farms were established near Mitre Avenue. By Municipal Ordinance, Florida was declared a "village", in 1907. Six years later the bishop of
La Plata, Juan Terrero, blessed a precarious chapel built on lands donated by José Antonio Trabucco. The Rossi family donated an image of the
Virgin Mary sculpted in
Carrara marble in Italy. The first priest of the region was Father José A. Coffa, who was succeeded by Father Vanini, who started works for a construction of the church. The church, finished in 1931, was named "Nuestra Señora de la Guardia", and was the first church in Florida. On 10 January 2007, 21-year-old student
Solange Grabenheimer was found murdered on the floor of her bedroom at a Calle Güemes PH. The case garnered national attention over the indictment of Grabenheimer's best friend and roommate Lucila Frend, who was charged with the murder. Frend was acquitted in 2011, and the case remains unsolved. ==Education==