Port Orford is on the southern Oregon Coast, at the northern end of what coastal Oregonians call the Banana Belt, because the weather from Port Orford south is noticeably warmer than the weather north of Cape Blanco. The population was 1,153 at the 2000 census.
The town takes its name from George Vancouver's original name for Cape Blanco, which he named for George, Earl of Orford, "a much respected friend."
Native Americans originally lived in the area.
Captain William Tichenor was the first to settle in the area of the town, which was an important early center for shipping Port Orford Cedar. It was the county seat for Curry between 1855 and 1859; while it was not formally incorporated until 1935, it was the first town to do so in the county.
The Port boasts the only dry dock port on the west coast where the fishing boats are lifted in and out of the water by operated cranes.
