Dorris Ranch: A Piece of Living History

Special Events at the Ranch

 

Stone Age Day

Saturday, April 10 • 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

$3 per person

Calling all cave dwellers! Learn what life was like for Ice Age people 12,000 years ago when mammoth, bison, camel and giant sloth roamed the Willamette Valley. Sample some bison on a stick and try your hand at making a stone tool.

 

 

School Field Trips

Group tours are offered in the spring and fall. Spring 2010 field trips are currently full. Call 541-954-7213 for more information, or register online at willamalane.org. Costumed living history interpreters lead students through a historical adventure, emphasizing relationships between people, the environment and the past.

 

Tour Themes

Note: School tours are subject to cancellation due to orchard maintenance.

Stone Age to Space Age Adventure
It may not be “Man vs. Wild,” but students can learn many of the same outdoor skills while exploring ancient cultures in a two-hour adventure at Dorris Ranch. Topics will include animal tracks and signs, orienteering with map and compass and modern GPS devices, wildlife observation, shelter and fire-starting skills and basic stone tools, as well as an overall appreciation of the natural world. Students should dress for the weather. This program is made possible by a grant from Weyerhaeuser Co.

 

People of the Land: Kalapuyas, Trappers and Pioneers
Who lived in the Willamette Valley before us? During this educational tour, students experience the lives of Kalapuya Indians, Hudson’s Bay Co. trappers and Oregon Trail pioneers. Learn the traditional hunting methods of the Kalapuya. Visit the trading post and examine furs. Lend a hand at the pioneer cabin.

 

Pioneer Homestead: Life after the Trail
Experience the life of an Oregon Trail immigrant at the Masterson homestead. Step back in time to 1852 when William, Eliza and their five young children settled their donation land claim on what was to become Dorris Ranch. Visit their log cabin, help tend crops, grind grain, bake cornbread, split firewood, pump water and more. We provide poke bonnets and straw hats.

 

Homestead Cabin
The cabin, built by volunteers, is a replica of a dwelling used by pioneer families. One such family, William and Eliza Masterson and their children, arrived in this area in 1851 after traveling by wagon from Kentucky. They settled donation land claim No. 61, living in a one-room log cabin and farming the land.

 

Coming Soon: Plank House
Volunteers are building a Native American addition to the living history program at Dorris Ranch. History teachers in Springfield are working with Willamalane to construct a Northwest Coast Native American Plank House. See page 9 for details on the ribbon-cutting on Aug. 28.

 

 

 

Registration

A FIELD TRIP TO DORRIS RANCH INCLUDES

• A packet for teachers full of pre- and post-trip activities, name tags and a class resource list.

• School bus transportation for Springfield school students is paid by Willamalane.

• Classes are invited to bring a sack lunch to eat at the ranch after the program.

• We can accommodate up to 30 students each day.

COST

• $2.50 per Springfield student.

• $3.00 per student for all other areas.

• Adult chaperones/teachers are free.

Payment: one check made payable to Willamalane Park and Recreation District. We cannot accept cash, multiple checks or purchase orders.

HOW TO REGISTER

Electronically: You can also register using our online form. When you register online, you will be able to immediately download the teacher information packet! We will contact you within a few days. Reservations will only be confirmed when you are contacted by our education coordinator.

Click here to register electronically

By phone: Registration is accepted over the phone by calling Scott Dano at 541-954-7213, Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Reservations will be accepted until all program dates have been filled.

 

Self-Guided Tours

Dorris Ranch is host to a variety of plants, flowers and birds. Come for a visit and enjoy a walk through this 250-acre historic site and natural area at your own pace with one of our self-guided tours.

 

Brochures with all the interesting facts, historical sites and a map of area paths are available at the entrance kiosk.

 

Dorris Ranch is open to the public weekdays and weekends from 6 a.m. till dusk for self-guided tours.

 

 

Filberts and Oregon's History

Dorris Ranch is recognized as the first commercial filbert orchard in the United States and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Oregon's history with filberts started in 1892 when George Dorris and his wife Lulu bought 250 acres of fertile land along the Willamette River and dedicated their lives to farming. After experimenting with a variety of crops, George established the first commercial filbert nut orchard in the United States. Over the next 50 years the Dorris family planted 9,200 trees at the ranch and harvested more than 50 tons of nuts each year.

Now, more than 100 years later, Dorris Ranch continues to make history as a fully-productive commercial filbert orchard. More than half of all the commercial filbert trees now growing in the U.S. originated from Dorris Ranch nursery stock.

Owned by the Willamalane Park and Recreation District, this 250-acre farm operates as a nonprofit organization.

 

The Orchards

Each of the 11 separate orchards was named in order to help hired hands know where to work each day.

The approximate age of each orchard may be determined by looking at the spacing between trees. In the earliest orchards (planted beginning in 1903) the trees are planted very close together. As the years went by, spacing between the trees became greater. Dorris Ranch has a total of 9,250 filbert trees planted in 75 acres.

Most of the trees in the Dorris Ranch orchards are of the Barcelona variety. Because the Barcelona is self-sterile, other varieties—the DuChilly and the Daviana—are planted as pollinators every third tree in every third row.

Filberts are considered a "self-husking" nut. The husk falls off when the filbert drops from the tree. Machines can then pick up the filberts and take them directly to the drying machines. A local orchardist maintains the Dorris Ranch orchards.

 

 

Masterson Pioneer Homestead

At the Masterson homestead at Dorris Ranch Living History Filbert Farm you can step back in time to the year 1852 and discover what life was like for a newly arrived pioneer immigrant family in the fledgling town of Springfield.

 

William and Eliza Masterson and their five young children set out on the Oregon Trail for their “free” land. As part of the Homestead Act they staked out their 320-acre donation land claim on what was later to become Dorris Ranch. They settled their growing family in a simple, 12-foot-by-16-foot log cabin nestled in the oak savanna.

The cabin is featured in guided tours, history walks and more.

 

 

Rentals

A great location makes for a great event! Convenient yet secluded facilities and picnic areas. Ideal for weddings, reunions, retreats, conferences, and more. Tables and chairs may be included with facility rental. Additional equipment and services, such as canopies and parking attendants, can be provided for an extra charge.

Click here for rental details