Gravelford is an unincorporated

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 community in Coos County

Coos County, Oregon

-National protected areas:*Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge*Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge *Siskiyou National Forest *Siuslaw National Forest - Incorporated cities:- Unincorporated communities and CDPs:-See also:...

, Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, United States. It is located about eight miles northeast of Myrtle Point

Myrtle Point, Oregon

-2000 Census data:As of the census of 2000, there were 2,451 people, 988 households, and 674 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,529.5 people per square mile . There were 1,110 housing units at an average density of 692.7 per square mile...

, at the confluence of the North Fork Coquille River

North Fork Coquille River

The North Fork Coquille River is a tributary of the Coquille River in the southern Oregon Coast Range in the U.S. State of Oregon.About long, it starts as the confluence of several gulches on the east slope of Coos Mountain. The river first flows north, but then turns west and south...

 and the East Fork Coquille River.

The name of the community came from a natural ford

Ford (crossing)

A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...

 in the stream. A post office with the name Gravel Ford was established in 1878 with Solomon J. McCloskey the first postmaster. Post office records always used the two-word spelling, but post office route maps and USGS topographical maps use the one-word spelling. The office closed in 1934, with mail going to Myrtle Point.

In 1915, Gravelford had two cheese factories, two churches, an Adventist

Seventh-day Adventist Church

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...

 academy, and a public school. As of 1990, only two houses remained of the town. Gravelford's volunteer fire department

Volunteer fire department

See also the Firefighter article and its respective sections regarding VFDs in other countries.A volunteer fire department is a fire department composed of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction.The first organized force of...

is a satellite station of Myrtle Point. Gravelford Cemetery was founded in 1884.