Oregon Central Coast · OR
Florence
A Siuslaw River town, famous for the exploding whale.
- Population
- 9,396 (2020 census)
- Incorporated
- 1893
- Exploding whale
- November 12, 1970
Then
- Before 1850s
The Siuslaw people live along the river.
- 1893
Florence incorporates.
- 1936
The Art Deco Siuslaw River Bridge is finished.
- 1970
The highway department blows up a dead whale on the beach. Debris crushes a car a quarter mile away.
Now
Logging and fishing have given way to tourism. The Oregon Dunes begin just south of town, with Heceta Head Lighthouse and the Sea Lion Caves to the north.