FLORENCE, OREGON

'Florence' is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. One tradition states the city was named for state senator A.B. Florence, who represented Lane County from 1858-1860; another is that Florence was named for a French vessel that was wrecked at the mouth of the Siuslaw River February 17, 1875.

Contents

Geography

Demographics

Points of interest

Sister city

Transportation

References

External links

Geography

Florence is located on the Oregon coast at the mouth of the Siuslaw River about the same latitude as Eugene, Oregon, and is approximately midway between the other major central Oregon coastal cities of Newport and Coos Bay.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.3 km² (5.5 mi²). 12.7 km² (4.9 mi²) of it is land and 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 10.71 % water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,263 people, 3,564 households, and 2,145 families residing in the city. The 2006 population estimate is 8,270.^[1] The population density was 570.0/km² (1,476.3/mi²). There were 4,174 housing units at an average density of 327.6/km² (848.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.88 % White, 0.28% African American, 0.92% Native American, 0.55% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 0.56 % from other races, and 1.67 % from two or more races. 2.37 % of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 3,564 households out of which 16.9 % have children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6 % were married couples living together, 9.3 % had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% were non-families. 34.4 % of all households were made up of individuals and 21.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.02 and the average family size was 2.52.
In the city the population was spread out with 16.8 % under the age of 18, 5.0 % from 18 to 24, 16.0 % from 25 to 44, 23.9 % from 45 to 64, and 38.2 % who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 56 years. For every 100 females there were 84.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,505, and the median income for a family was $ 36,784. Males had a median income of $ 30,962 versus $ 23,878 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 18,008. 14.4% of the population and 10.0 % of families were below the poverty line. 25.9 % of those under the age of 18 and 8.3 % of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Points of interest

★ Old Town Florence is located on the Siuslaw riverfront. The boat docks are to the east and the 1936 Art Deco Siuslaw River Bridge is to the west. The new Boardwalk promenade was built along the marina to improve the area.^[2]

★ Carl G. Washburne Memorial State Park^[3]

★ Darlingtonia State Natural Site

★ Heceta Head Lighthouse

★ Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park

★ Muriel O. Ponsler Memorial State Scenic Viewpoint^[4]

★ Port of Siuslaw^[5]

★ Sea Lion Caves
Many of the desert-related ideas in Frank Herbert's ''Dune'' series came to him during a trip to Florence to write a magazine article about a US Department of Agriculture coastal management project there to stabilize and slow down the damaging sand dunes.
Florence is also known as the site of the exploding whale, an incident when the Oregon State Highway Division tried to remove a beached whale by dynamite — with unintended results.

Sister city

Florence has one sister city:

★ Yamagata, Japan
Yamagata-shi was established in 2003 by the merger of Ijira (Florence's former sister-city), Takatomi, and Miyama.^[6]

Transportation

★ Florence Municipal Airport

References

1. PSU:Population Research Center
2. http://www.florenceoregon.net/business.htm
3. Carl G. Washburne Memorial State Park
4. Muriel O. Ponsler Memorial State Scenic Viewpoint
5. Port of Siuslaw
6. A complete (but somewhat outdated) history of the relationship may be found here on the City of Florence's website

External links

★ City of Florence, Oregon

★ Florence, Oregon Chamber of Commerce Web Page

★ Oregon Blue Book entry for Florence

★ Siuslaw School District, Florence, Oregon

★ Harbor Vista Park Webcam