Dorena Historical Society

The CCC camp was on Brice Creek, just past Disston.  It was set up in 1933 with LaSells Stewart at the first training officer and supervisor. Most of the CCC volunteers there were from Kansas and Nebraska.  Among their projects were 3 fire lookout towers, 20 miles of forest trails, 25 miles of road improvements,  bridges and even some telephone line.  The Musick Guard house and the Rujada Campground Registration Shelter are two beautiful surviving examples of CCC projects.

Above are a couple of CCC recruits cutting down a tree.

The Musick Guard House.  The Forest Service rents this out in the summer.

Most of this information comes from Bohemia by Michael Thoele.  Thoele also notes that the CCC camp volunteers were often enthusiastic participants in the weekend brawls at the Wildwood Saloon, aka The Bucket of Blood. The camp was closed down due to the advent of WWII.  There was talk of converting it into a camp for conscientious objectors but that never happened.  Today there appear to be no traces left of the camp.

The Wildwood Dance Hall was established in the late 19^th century at the Burnett homestead where Sharps Creek met the Row River.

According to Mike Thoele in his book Bohemia, The Life and Times of an Oregon Timber Venture, the place could attract a hundred couples on a Saturday night.  It was locally known as the Bucket of Blood because of the dozens of fights in the parking lot. Teeth were regularly found there in Sunday mornings.  Moonshine was readily available during prohibition.  All told the Bucket provided entertainment for the locals for over 50 years.

A bunch of Culp Creek gals heading out for a night on the town? Nope, this particular Wildwood Dance Hall was in New Jersey.