Florence History.

The official town of Florence Oregon started with a man that owned a very unattractive name; George Melvin Miller. When Mr. Miller first arrived in Oceola (now known as Florence) in 1882, it consisted of a rustic hotel, a trading post, a few cabins, and some Indian huts clustered along a muddy street. (The land was originally populated by Indians, but what first American settlements weren’t?)  The 90 acre settlement of Oceola was owned by an old man named A. J. Moody who was not willing to sell his property to anyone.  Miller was interested in buying, and was disappointed that Moody would not sell.  So he waited. After two years of waiting, old Moody died, and George Melvin Miller bought the town at an auction.  By 1885, other youthful and ambitious entrepreneurs had discovered Florence, and had started building their businesses.  These businesses included a Lumber and Navigation company, a drug store, a cannery, a creamery, and Florence’s First saw-mill. 

                By the mid 80’s, the town of Oceola had a new name.  The name Florence first appeared when a group of Indians found a 10-foot long painted wooden nameplate on the beach after the schooner Florence wrecked just off of the bar.  They carried the plank back and propped it up against the side of Moody’s store. The owner of the town’s hotel liked the nameplate, so he nailed it over the front door of his hotel.  When the post office was established in the hotel, the citizens saw no point in making a new sign to designate the town, so in 1893, the town was named Florence.

                Today Florence is still a small town, but now it is also a tourist attraction with a beautiful bridge.  It also has a reputation for blowing up whales.

-Devin