This post office was established in 1899, with Alfred H. Bigelow first postmaster. The place was named for Dora Burnette and Rena Martin by consolidating parts of their first names. In 1949, the USCE completed Dorena Dam on Row River and the impoundment, Dorena Lake, flooded the townsite. The community was relocated near the head of the lake five miles up river. The dam is an earth-fill flood-control project with about 70,000 acre-feet of usable water storage. The recreational facilities are operated by Lane County.