Dorena Historical Society

Glen Jones of Portland sent some old photos of Disston.

Disston in 1910

The Barber Family in front of their cabin circa 1909

Disston School in 1910

Group at Brice Creek.  The Disston School teacher is among them.

Disston was established in 1906.  It was named after the Disston saw at the sawmill there.

Doc casts a long shadow during the Solstice.

Last wildflowers of the summer….

Queen Anne’s Lace

Wild Chicory

At one time there were numerous small Post Offices in the Row River Valley, but now only the Dorena Post Office remains.

The first Post Office in the valley was Star.  It opened in 1891 and closed in 1923.  It was located near Sallee Road about a mile up river from Dorena School.

There was a Post Office called Bluff from 1892 until 1899.  The exact location of this office is unknown.

From 1896 until about 1922 there were numerous small Post Offices in the Bohemia Mining District.  Among these were Bohemia, Champion, Mineral and Orseco.

The Wildwood Post Office opened in 1888 and closed in 1914.  It was located on a ranch adjacent to Wildwood Falls.

This Disston Post Office was established in 1906 and was open until the 1970s.

The Row River Post Office was established in 1911 and closed in 1914.

The Rujada Post Office was opened in 1916 and closed in 1918.  Rujada County Park is located in the vicinity of this long forgotten little office.

The Culp Creek Post office was established in 1925 and was closed in 2007. It was located in a private home until the early 1980s. It was certainly one of the last offices in the state to be located in someones living room.

The history of the Dorena Post Office was detailed on the first post on this blog back in December of 2009.

Wild Sweetpea

Tiger Lily

Foxglove

The ubiquitous Daisy

Jim Lowe and his sister Dora at an early lumber camp.

Cute valley kids and dogs.

Maggie, Nellie and Nona on a Rat Creek porch.

Bunch of good looking fellas in the hood.

Old homestead.

Checkermallow

Cow Parsnip

A lone Ookow was found on a grassy slope.

Nootka Rose

Sky Hook Enterprises was an interesting footnote in the history of the Row River Valley.  The company used a hot air  (correction, helium)  balloon for logging.  It was a little strange to drive up Sharp’s Creek Road and see an enormous balloon looming above in the middle of nowhere.  The advantage of logging with the balloon was that roads were not needed, saving a great deal of money.  The balloons were used for many years starting in the late 1960’s but their instability eventually caused the venture to be abandoned.  The following photos are from Alan Doolittle, a member of the Sky Hook crew.

The Dorena Wildflower Census is an ongoing project of the Dorena Historical Society.

Vetch

Western Starflower

Yellow Wood Sorrel

California Poppy

Herb Robert

Lupines

False Solomon’s Seal