Dorena Historical Society

The December 14th, 1904 edition of the Cottage Grove Sentinel had this charming article about a dance at the Kerr home in Wildwood. Home of George Kerr near Wildwood on Friday Night a Scene of Enjoyment That not all the good times are experienced in towns is evidenced by the social gathering at the home of Mr. and Mrs. George Kerr near Wildwood on last Friday night. Their son and daughter, George and Mrs. Lena Pitcher had come from Eastern Oregon, and the “old folks” made it an occasion to invite their friends and relatives to their home to have an old fashioned time. Talent from Cottage Grove was engaged to furnish the music and from early in the evening until late at night everyone present was busy enjoying themselves. Mrs. Kerr facetiously remarked that “there never is a shortage of Pitchers in the family,” as the daughter, Lena, married Alva Pitcher, Ella married Ben Pitcher and Nellie married Green Pitcher. The Kerr homestead was often referred to as the Wildwood Hotel.  It functioned as a sort of Bed and Breakfast for travelers to and from the mines. The Kerrs lived about a mile or so up the road from Wildwood Falls.  Nothing remains of the old home/hotel.

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.

Bohemia Post Office

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

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 Wildwood Post Office opened in 1888 and closed in 1914.  It was located on a ranch adjacent to Wildwood Falls. There was a Post Office called Bluff from 1892 until 1899.  The exact location of this office is unknown.

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.