WHERE IS DORRINGTON, CALIFORNIA?
by: James W. Vinson Jr., Dorrington, CA, 2008

DORRINGTON is a small community on the Western slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California, located about 3 miles above Calaveras Big Trees State Park along California State Highway 4 within Calaveras County, State of California, United States.

Location Statistics

Coordinates: 38°18'5 N 120°16'24 W
Area: Total 3.7 sq. mi. (9.5 km²)
- Land 3.7 sq. mi. (9.5 km²)
- Water 0 sq. mi. (0 km²)
Elevation: 4,767 ft. (1,453 m)
Population: (Year 2000) - Total 727
- Density 196.5/sq. mi. (76.5/km²)
Time Zone: Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST) PDT (UTC-7)
Postal ZIP Code: 95223
Telephone Area Code(s): 209
FIPS Code: 06-19570
GNIS Feature ID: 1656306


General Description

DORRINGTON is a census-designated place (CDP). It is an Unincorporated Area/Community (with no status as an Incorporated City and is therefore serviced and governed by the County) within the County of Calaveras, State of California, United States. The full-time population was 727 at the year 2000 census.

The Dorrington community centers around the area of the Dorrington Hotel and Restaurant located at the intersection of Boards Crossing Rd. The hotel was built in 1860 on an original foundation of log rounds leftover from logging operations, and until 1902 was known as Cold Spring Ranch because of an icy spring behind the hotel. On the hot summer dusty days, many travelers were known to stop at the hotel just to visit the ice cold spring well to ladle a cold drink from the well bucket. The hotel foundation has since been rebuilt and the spring still exists but the well has been removed.

The hotel and restaurant historically served as a stagecoach stopping point and hostelry for local miners, loggers, and travelers along what was then the Big Trees-Carson Valley Toll Road that ran between the town of Murphys and East to Ebbetts Pass. The 28 acre meadow behind the hotel was used to grow "meadow hay" for the stagecoach horses, which was cut, bailed, and then stored in horse barns located directly across the roadway on property that is now occupied by the Dorrington Chalets Bed & Breakfest.

Dorrington is situated along what is now California State Route 4 which was designated as a California State Scenic Highway in 1971, and designated by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) as a National Scenic Byway on September 22, 2005. The portion from the town of Arnold to 58 miles East to its terminus in the town of Markleeville is designated the Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway.

Historically, the Dorrington Hotel and Restaurant often served as a resort for visitors to what is now Calaveras Big Trees State Park located about 3 mi. West on State Route 4. In recent time, the Dorrington and nearby Camp Connell commercial business establishments have traditionally been a food and lodging stop off point for tourists and vacationers headed East from the town of Arnold to the ski resort community of Bear Valley.

Dorrington is also home to the second largest Sugar Pine Tree in the world (located on the meadow behind the hotel), measuring 232' in height, 29' spread, 442" (36.8') in circumference, and is registered in the National Register of Big Trees. This Sugar Pine tree still exists due to the thoughtfulness of surviving family members of WWII service personnel who were listed as MIA's & KIA's, by purchasing memorial placards that were placed on various trees in remembrance of their loved ones, and to protect the trees from logging. The memorial placards have since disappeared and logging around the meadow ceased in the early 1950's. Additionally, the Dorrington / Camp Connell communities are home to Camp Sugar Pine and Camp Menzies, two summer camp grounds covering over 160 acres operated for and by the Girl Scouts of Northern California, and the Girl Scouts Heart of Central California.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau , the CDP has a total area of 3.7 square miles (9.5 km² ), all of it land.

Demographics

In the census year 2000, there were 1,523 residential dwellings in the Dorrington / Camp Connell CDP (the majority of which were located within the subdivision of Big Trees Village). Approximately 22% of those dwellings were occupied full-time. The other 78% were either unoccupied, or part-time occupancy vacation homes. As of the year 2000 census, there were 727 people, 336 households, and 235 families residing full-time in the CDP. The population density was 197.7 people per square mile (76.3/km²). There were 1,523 housing units at an average density of 414.1/sq. mi. (159.8/km²).

The racial makeup of the CDP was 94.22% White, 0.41% Black or African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 2.34% from other races, and 2.48% from two or more races. 5.36% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 336 households out of which 16.7% had children in the household under the age of 18 yrs., 64.9% were married couples living together, 3.0% had a female head of household with no husband present, and 29.8% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 persons, and the average family size was 2.56 persons.

The largest population age group in the CDP, 45.4 %, was 45-64 years of age. The population age groups were spread out with 16.2% under the age of 18 yrs., 3.3% from 18 yrs. to 24 yrs., 19.0% from 25 yrs. to 44 yrs., 45.4% from 45 yrs. to 64 yrs, and 16.1% 65 yrs. of age or older. The median age was 50 yrs. For every 100 females, there were 102.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.7 males.

The median income per household in the CDP was $85,000, and the median income for a family was $89,423. Males had a median income of $68,750 versus $48,750 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $53,832. None of the population or families were below the poverty line.

Politics

In the state legislature, Dorrington is located in the 1st Senate District and in the 25th Assembly District. Federally, Dorrington is located in California's 3rd congressional district which has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R +7.

Sources:

Edited by: James W. Vinson Jr., Dorrington, CA, 2008
Ed Senner, Dorrington, CA, 2005
Arden and Bonnie Seville, Dorrington, CA, 1999
Wikipedia, the free on-line encyclopedia, www.wikipedia.org, 2008
Council of California Governments, www.calacog.org, 2007
Lakemont Pines Rental, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 2008
American FactFinder, www.factfinder.census.gov, 2008.
United States Census Bureau, www.census.gov, 2008
About.com: Forestry, www.forestry.about.com/library/tree/blsugp.htm, 2008
Girl Scouts of Northern California, www.girlscoutsofscc.org/camp/sp_sites.html, 2007
Girl Scouts Heart of Central California, www.girlscoutshcc.org/program/camp/resident_camp.html, 2007