Butte Valley Museum & Historical Society

Having fun at the Harvest Hoedown at the Butte Valley Museum right now. The Princess Bride starts at 7:30pm on our big screen. You can even complete your Census 2020.

Come on down to the Harvest Hoedown underway now at the Butte Valley Museum! Fun, family friendly movie The Princess Bride starts at 7:30pm on our big outdoor screen. Hot Dogs, chili, lemonade, popcorn, and more. Pumpkins & mums for sale, too. Local vendors have custom laser crafts, jewelry, lotions and more available. Great evening for a hayride!

WHERE: Dorris, California, looking west on W. 3rd Street from S. Main Street (Highway 97). 1953: Oodles of nifty automobiles! Of note, the second door on the left is the old Post Office. It moved to the current location in the early 1960s. Also on the left is the historic Butte Valley State Bank building at the corner of W. 3rd and S. California Street. We will talk more about that building in a future post. (Source of 1953 photo: Eastman's Originals Collection, UC Davis, Un...iversity Library, Special Collections. ) AUGUST 2020: Not as many cars, but this photo was shot at 6:30 a.m. Note the facade on Shirley's Antiques & More looks much as it did when it was a cafe in 1953. The old Post Office expanded to make a restaurant, most recently the Hospitality Dinner House. The bank is now Valley Pride Tax Service. The Dorris Theater building is now a residence.

We bragged about our big new addition to the Museum -- Barney Hooper's custom built earthmover -- in our January 3, 2019 Facebook post. Gary Hooper has been kind enough to tell us more of his dad's story and provide additional photos. Please click on each of the photos for Gary's wonderful comments.

WHERE: Corner of S. Oregon Street and W. 4th Street (Hwy 97), Dorris, California. WHAT WAS THERE IN 1943: Butte Valley High School. Here's a bit of the story and pictures from the 1944 White And Gold (high school annual): "Butte Valley High School was first organized in 1916, with two branches, one at Macdoel and one at Dorris. School was first held in a building in each community. The student body was composed of nine students, five at Macdoel and four at Dorris. The Macdo...el branch was discontinued in 1920. The original unit of the Butte Valley High School at Dorris was constructed in 1918. A fine gymnasium was built in 1930 at a cost of $20,000, and a two-room addition, including the home economics section, was added in 1932 at a cost of $8,000. The school had been improved and equipped until the structure was valued at $60,000. Then, near dawn of December 11, 1943, the fire siren announced the end of the once-proud school. In less than two hours, the building burned to the ground in near-zero weather. Only the chimneys and the shop, a detached building, were left standing." WHAT'S THERE NOW IN JULY 2020: Dorris City Park and Youth Building.