Springfield's Dorris Ranch gets historic preservation grant from Oregon
Dorris Ranch won state preservation money as Willamalane works to keep Springfield's 268-acre filbert orchard, Road Orchard and Middle Fork Path access open.
Springfield’s Dorris Ranch won a share of Oregon’s $300,000 in historic preservation grants, giving Willamalane Park and Recreation District more support to protect the 268-acre park, its Road Orchard and the western access point to the paved 4-mile Middle Fork Path.
Oregon Heritage awarded 20 grants totaling $300,000 for historic properties and archaeology projects on July 10, with 13 applications approved in the Preserving Oregon category. The awards were approved by the State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation, a nine-member body that reviews nominations to the National Register of Historic Places and weighs preservation work across the state.
At Dorris Ranch, the money supports a site south of downtown Springfield that was started in 1892 as the first commercial filbert orchard in the United States and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It remains a place where residents walk, bike and learn history while moving through a landscape that still carries the imprint of early orcharding.
Eastern Filbert Blight has affected nearly all mature filbert trees at Dorris Ranch. In November 2024, the district removed roughly 40 acres of weakened and diseased trees as part of orchard replacement work, then planted 3,500 blight-resistant filbert trees in early 2025. The Road Orchard will remain as a physical record of early agricultural practices and preserve the site’s historic listing.
Willamalane’s living history program at the ranch ended in spring 2025, and Singing Creek Educational Center now provides culture-based programming there.
Eric Adams, Willamalane’s chief operating officer, said grants like these are invaluable because they make important preservation work possible.
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