Dorena, Oregon

Dorena, Oregon
Unincorporated community
Dorena Mercantile
Dorena Mercantile
Dorena is located in Oregon
Dorena
Dorena
Dorena is located in the United States
Dorena
Dorena
Coordinates: 43°43′11″N 122°51′43″W / 43.71972°N 122.86194°W / 43.71972; -122.86194
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyLane
Elevation
[1]
922 ft (281 m)
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code
97434
Area code(s)458 and 541
GNIS feature ID1141192

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 Lorena 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 / 43.77556; -122.92722.[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 (22.0 °C). 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. ^ a b "Dorena, Oregon". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  2. ^ "The Challenges of a New Place: 'June 21. Rained hard.'". Center for Columbia River History. Archived from the original on October 21, 2007. Retrieved November 22, 2007.
  3. ^ a b c d McArthur, Lewis A.; McArthur, Lewis L. (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. p. 298. ISBN 978-0875952772.
  4. ^ a b "Our Schools: Dorena". South Lane School District. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
  5. ^ "Lane County". Jim Forte Postal History. Archived from the original on April 15, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  6. ^ "Dorena Dam". Center for Columbia River History. Archived from the original on August 20, 2008. Retrieved November 22, 2007.
  7. ^ Climate Summary for Dorena, Oregon
  8. ^ "Welcome to the Row River Trail". City of Cottage Grove. Archived from the original on October 19, 2007. Retrieved November 22, 2007.