Biohazard Cleanup Near North Florence Florence, OR

Florence is an incorporated coastal city in Lane County, Oregon, at the mouth of the Siuslaw River on the Pacific Ocean, incorporated in 1893.

The 2020 census counted 9,396 residents in Florence, and the city had 4,623 households in the 2020 census.

Florence sits on U.S. Route 101 about midway between Newport to the north and Coos Bay to the south.

Florence is a heavily retiree city: the median age in the 2020 census was 61.8 years, with 44.0 percent of residents aged 65 or older.

The area was originally inhabited by the Siuslaw tribe, and the city's name is claimed for state senator A. B. Florence of Lane County or for a French vessel wrecked at the mouth of the Siuslaw River on February 17, 1875.

Florence is the site of the famous November 12, 1970 'exploding whale' incident, when the Oregon Department of Transportation used 20 cases of explosives on a beached whale and debris crushed a car over a quarter-mile away.

In 2020, Florence residents voted to name a new park Exploding Whale Memorial Park.

Florence has held an annual Rhododendron festival since 1908.

The Three Rivers Casino Resort in Florence is run by the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians.

Florence's Old Town sits on the Siuslaw riverfront beneath the Art Deco 1936 Siuslaw River Bridge, and the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area begins south of the city while Sea Lion Caves lie north on U.S. Route 101.