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History · Dorrington

Dorrington’s post office opened in 1902

Most of Dorrington was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 2000.

1902first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Dorrington began

When was Dorrington founded?

1902

The Dorrington post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Camp Connell (1934), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 727 in 20002020 census: 519124 years
Founding year: the first Dorrington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Dorrington’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Dorrington are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Dorrington, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dorrington’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dorrington’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Dorrington had its own post office from 1902 to 1934. Another post office, Camp Connell, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Dorrington
1902–1934
Camp Connell
1934–1963
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Big Trees VillageCamp ConnellSnowshoe Springs
Gone or out of use
Dorrington Post Officepost office

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Dorrington came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dorrington.

Read it all →

Originally known as Cold Springs Ranch, the town's name changed upon establishment of the post office in 1902. The name Dorrington comes from the maiden name of Rebecca (Dorrington) Gardner. Famed naturalist John Muir visited a large Sugar Pine Tree here on August 22, 1900, with C. Hart Merriam and Florence Merriam Bailey on a trip between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite. The post office was discontinued in 1919, but re-established in 1921 and closed for good in 1934.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dorrington, 1902 to 1963

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902Post officeThe Dorrington post office opens
  3. 1934Post officeThe Dorrington post office closes
  4. 1934Post officeThe Camp Connell post office opens
  5. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1963Post officeThe Camp Connell post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Dorrington on the map, 1956 to 2001

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dorrington. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Dorrington on the 1956 USGS mapDorrington on the 1979 USGS mapDorrington on the 2001 USGS map1956Blue Mountain sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Dorrington.

People over time

Dorrington, census by census

020040060080020002020Peak: 727

Between 519 and 727 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Dorrington’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Dorrington

Nobody well known was born in Dorrington itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Angelo Joseph RossiAmerican mayor · b. 1878
Peter MuldoonCatholic bishop · b. 1862
Drew GagnonBaseball player · b. 1990
Red KressAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1905
R
Rick RedewillAmerican businessman · b. 1952

Questions about Dorrington’s history

What year was Dorrington founded?

The Dorrington post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.