[2] The county is named for George Law Curry, a two-time governor of the Oregon Territory.

The county contains significant forests, with the occurrence of black oak, big leaf maple and Douglas-fir.

This occurred when Bill Clinton obtained a 32-vote plurality over George H. W. Bush in a three-way contest with billionaire businessman Ross Perot in 1992.

Even so, the Republican lean in Curry County has shown a few signs of waning in recent years.

In the United States House of Representatives, Curry County is located in Oregon's 4th congressional district, which also includes the more left-leaning Eugene metropolitan area and is currently represented by Democrat Val Hoyle, serving since January 2023.

After discovery of gold and other precious metals along the beaches and rivers of Curry County in the mid-19th century, white settlements developed along the coast.

Traveling mainly by water or by coast-hugging land routes, residents remained relatively isolated from the rest of Oregon until the 20th century.

As mining declined in the region, the economy became more dependent on farming, livestock grazing, forest products such as Port Orford cedar (also known as Lawson's cypress) and myrtlewood, and tourism.

Blueberries and nursery plants are among the important farm products, and most of the Easter lilies grown in the United States come from Curry County.

[17] In 2001, the native tanoak in the county were afflicted by sudden oak death, caused by infection of Phytophthora ramorum.

[18] The pathogen, which by 2016 had killed hundreds of thousands of tanoaks in the county, thrives in moist places along the coast.

[19] In Curry County, it threatens timber production, plant nurseries, and Christmas tree farms.