Curry County
Port Orford
Port Orford is located on the southwestern Oregon coast, 28 miles north of Gold Beach and 27 miles south of Bandon. It is tucked into the rugged edge of the continent just south of Cape Blanco and has an open harbor that attracted it's first Anglo-European settlers in 1851. Prior to their arrival, the area had been home to the Quatomah people. The Quatomah resisted the Anglo-European intrusion, and had some initial tactical success, but their resistance was soon suppressed and a small port town was established. Gold fever was rampant and the shiny metal was found in several spots nearby.
Because of it's port facilities, Port Orford, was, for a very short time, the most important community on the southwestern coast of Oregon. The founder of Port Orford, William Tichenor, was heavily involved in all aspects of the local economy and played a significant role in establishing the community that grew up around the gold diggings at the mouth of the Rogue River - Ellensburg. (Named in honor of Tichenor's wife, Ellen.) When Curry County was formed in 1855, the county seat was established at Ellensburg and Port Orford began gradually declining in political importance. (Ellensburg's name was subsequently changed to Gold Beach.) In 1856, the town of Port Orford was officially founded, taking it's name from that which Captain Vancouver had attempted to apply to the jut of land to the north, now known as Cape Blanco.
After the local gold played out, the timber industry became the mainstay of the local economy - in particular, a specific type of cedar which soon became known as Port Orford Cedar. This was supplemented by fishing, and Port Orford eventually developed into a fairly important, if small, harbor. It is open to the ocean and offers very little natural protection, but the local fishermen developed a unique dry-docking system to protect their fleet of small boats during inclement weather. Some call it a "dolly dock," because large cranes are used to hoist the boat out of the water after which it is dollied to it's position on the dock landing.
At the end of the last century, government regulation severely limited both the fishing and the timber industry and Port Orford's economy was badly damaged as a result. Today, the economy is dependent on very limited tourism supplemented by a small community of retirees. The local beaches are some of the most beautiful to be found anywhere in the world, and several local historic sites are well worth the time that it takes to visit. There is a very helpful volunteer visitor center co-located with a rest stop in the center of town. Port Orford also has several restaurants and a few lodging establishments for those travelers who wish to break their drive up or down the coast.
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