About Dorchester
Dorchester is a village in Saline County, in south-east Nebraska. It covers about 0.50 square miles. The 2020 census counted 596 residents. The ZIP code is 68343. Crete lies about eight miles east and Friend about eight miles west.
History
Dorchester was platted in 1870, when the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad was extended to that point. It was one of the railroad's alphabet towns west of Lincoln, laid out in order along the line. The first plat carried the name DeWitt, which had to be dropped because a DeWitt already existed in Cuming County. The replacement name is usually traced to Dorchester near Boston, though some accounts point instead to Dorchester in England. The railroad reached the town by 4 July 1871.
Growth
Ed McIntyre, one of four South Platte Land Company men who filed claims on the town site, served as the first postmaster. School was first held in 1872 in the back room of McIntyre's store. The population reached 200 by 1879, and the village was incorporated in 1881. By 1889 the town had put up a two storey brick school with eight rooms and supported four churches.
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Dorchester is a village in Saline County, Nebraska, platted in 1870 when the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad reached that point. It likely takes its name from Dorchester, Massachusetts, following the railroad's practice of naming stations in alphabetical sequence along its route.
With 596 residents at the 2020 Census, Dorchester preserves two National Register-listed sites, the Frank Pisar Farmstead and the Z.C.B.J. Rad Tabor No. 74 hall.
Navigate & Explore Dorchester
Get directions: search "Dorchester Nebraska" in Waze or Google Maps
Road Conditions: Nebraska 511 — 511.nebraska.gov
Saline County Cameras: View Saline County cameras