Dorena, Oregon

Dorena
Unincorporated community

Dorena Mercantile
Dorena

Location within the state of Oregon

Coordinates: 43°43′11″N 122°51′43″W / 43.71972°N 122.86194°WCoordinates: 43°43′11″N 122°51′43″W / 43.71972°N 122.86194°W
Country United States
State Oregon
County Lane
Elevation[1] 922 ft (281 m)
Time zone Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
  Summer (DST) PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code 97434
Area code(s) 458 and 541
GNIS feature ID 1141192

Dorena is an unincorporated community in Lane County, Oregon, United States.[1] It is located southeast of Cottage Grove on the Row River, a tributary of the Coast Fork Willamette River.

History

The first settlers arrived in the Dorena area in the 1850s and depended on agriculture to survive, but later logging and gold mining became the mainstays of the local economy.[2] Dorena was named by combining the first names of Dora Burnette and Rena Martin.[3] Dorena school was built in 1896,[4] and Dorena post office was established in 1899.[5] In 1946, the town was abandoned when the Corps of Engineers began construction of Dorena Dam on the Row River for flood control.[3][4] The Corps relocated approximately one hundred homes from the town's former site at 43°46′32″N 122°55′38″W / 43.77556°N 122.92722°W.[6] The dam was completed in 1949 and created Dorena Reservoir, which flooded the townsite.[3] The community was moved five miles upriver.[3]

Climate

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Dorena has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.[7]

Transportation

The Row River Trail, a rails to trails conversion of a former Oregon, Pacific and Eastern Railway line, passes through Dorena.[8]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Dorena, Oregon". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
  2. "The Challenges of a New Place: 'June 21. Rained hard.'". Center for Columbia River History. Retrieved 2007-11-22.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 McArthur, Lewis A.; McArthur, Lewis L. (2003) [First published 1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. p. 298. ISBN 9780875952772. OCLC 53075956.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Our Schools: Dorena". South Lane School District. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  5. "Lane County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  6. "Dorena Dam". Center for Columbia River History. Retrieved 2007-11-22.
  7. Climate Summary for Dorena, Oregon
  8. "Welcome to the Row River Trail". City of Cottage Grove. Retrieved 2007-11-22.

External links