Florence

Think of the type of town where you would really like to be. Then consider Florence, Oregon. More than likely, Florence is the type of town you picture in your mind. Why? Because Florence has a multitude of faces.

Florence is a small town. It is small enough that residential neighbors know one another, where one encounters plenty of familiar faces at the post office or in a grocery market. It is a town where citizens voluntarily staff our fire department, work together to clear land or another city park or raise funds for a new acute-care hospital.

Yet, Florence is a commercial center serving an area wide population of nearly 22,000. It is accessible by highway, sea and air. There are department stores, a community college, a winter concert series and a taxi service.

Florence is a beach town. To the north stretch 25 miles of clean sand, driftwood, crashing surf and high promontories. Southward is the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. It's 42 miles of shifting dunes, lakes and forests make it one of the country's most popular seaside attractions.

Florence is also a forest town. Tall stands of pine trees extend right into residential areas. Its backdrop is the Siuslaw National Forest, one of the nation's most productive tree growing areas.

Florence is a river town, too. From more than one hundred miles deep within the Coastal Range, the Siuslaw River begins a meandering trip to the sea. About half a mile west of Florence the river's mouth has been extended by new jetties. Two walls of massive stones extend a quarter mile into the Pacific Ocean. This $30 million project was done to enhance river navigation. More and more often the traffic whistle blows, the center of the Siuslaw Bridge rises and another fishing boat or lumber barge passes the historic riverfront district.

Florence is a lake town. Over a dozen fresh water lakes in its environs serve anglers, boaters and swimmers. It is a tourist town. Restaurants and lodgings abound. Whether one's recreational needs call for sand, surf, golfing, lake shores or deep forest, realization is close at hand.

Florence is also a retirement town. About 1/3 of its 7,000+ residents have chosen it as home for their senior years. Many of these tend to be active seniors, participating in community singing, travel clubs, nature study groups and volunteer work in government and social services.

It is a town for young people. Florence and the nearby community of Mapleton provide schooling for 2,000+ students. It is a growing town.

Recently half a million dollars was spent improving a lighted 3,000 foot runway at the airport. Across the street is a growing Industrial / Business Park.

Florence is a neighboring town. Just a few miles south is Dunes City. Its 1,100+ residents have established homes between two of the largest coastal lakes, Woahink and Siltcoos. For them, it's only a walk to recreational opportunities, whether the choice is water skiing, hunting or access to dunes and ocean beaches.

East of Florence, further up into the Coastal Range is Mapleton. This unincorporated community at the junction of Hwy 126 and Hwy 36, is the gateway to water sports on the upper Siuslaw and Lake Creek. Mapleton has a small, but enthusiastic business community, offering a surprising number of services to locals and tourists. Many of the storefronts reflect a quaint reminder of earlier days along the river. Thoroughly modern, on the other hand, is an indoor Olympic-size swimming and diving facility.*

The central Oregon coast has a very mild climate. The temperature drops down to an average low of 37 degrees and reaches up to an average high of 69 degrees. The warmest, and some say the most pleasant months of the year tend to be in August and September. The wettest, coldest months of the year are usually December and January. The average annual rainfall is about 76 inches.

*Information courtesy of Florence Chamber of Commerce.