A Glimpse into the Orchard’s Past – And its Future

Dorris Ranch is one of the most cherished parks in Willamalane Park and Recreation District. Just north of the Willamette Confluence, this park is idyllic for recreation. Dorris Ranch attracts bikers, walkers, and runners alike, but this park offers more than scenic paths. Its rows of filbert trees tell the story of the oldest commercial filbert orchard in the United States.

In 1905, George and Lulu Dorris planted the first 50 filbert (hazelnut) trees in the rich soil of Dorris Ranch. In the following decades, George Dorris established several acres of nursery where he experimented with different methods of growing young filbert trees. George Dorris quickly became a leader in the filbert industry as the nursery expanded, producing 70,000 trees each year. By 1951, more than half of all commercial filbert trees in the United States could be traced back to Dorris Ranch. 

Flash forward to the 1970s, when Willamalane first acquired a large portion of Dorris Ranch and created the Dorris Ranch Land Use Plan, which vowed to protect and enhance the park’s historical, cultural, and environmental value. Today, park contains 70 acres of active commercial orchards which are managed by an orchardist.

In 2015, a fast-spreading, fatal fungal disease called Eastern Filbert Blight was discovered in the orchards. Eastern Filbert Blight begins by infecting the buds of filbert trees, gradually spreading throughout the entire tree. Within roughly eight years, this disease weakens and ultimately kills the tree. Since blight was first discovered at Dorris Ranch, Willamalane has taken significant measures to slow the spread of the disease and save the historic orchards, including selective pruning and chemical treatments. Despite these efforts, Eastern Filbert Blight continued to threaten the health of the trees and spread to nearly every tree in the orchards. To preserve Dorris Ranch as a working filbert orchard, Willamalane began removing blight-infected trees in phases and replacing them with blight-resistant varieties, intending to replace nearly all 70 acres at Dorris Ranch. So far, Willamalane has replaced 30 acres of filbert trees since 2016. Today, these blight-resistant trees are thriving, requiring fewer chemical treatments and providing reliable annual nut harvests. 

This November, thanks to a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Willamalane will begin its third orchard replacement phase to protect the orchards from Eastern Filbert Blight. During this phase, Willamalane will remove roughly 35 acres of infected trees, by grinding them up and incorporating them into the soil on-site. This means the nutrients will remain within the rich soil of Dorris Ranch and help with water retention. One orchard, the Road Orchard, will remain untouched to preserve the history of the park. The Road Orchard will serve as a physical record of the early spacing, growth habits, and management practices of pioneer farmers. It will also preserve the park's listing in the National Register of Historic Places as the oldest commercial filbert orchard in the United States. 

2025 will begin a new, blight-free era for the orchards. In the new year, Willamalane will plant new trees to continue growing the legacy of Dorris Ranch and preserving the historical significance of this special place in our Springfield community.

Interested in following this project?

• Learn more about the Orchard Replacement Project.
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