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History · Dorchester

Dorchester’s post office opened in 1860, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1912 on and the census since 1880.

1860first post office
0on the National Register
33%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Dorchester began

When was Dorchester founded?

1860

The Dorchester post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 69 in 18802020 census: 133166 years
Founding year: the first Dorchester post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Dorchester’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 Dorchester are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 185 in 1940; 133 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Dorchester’s homes were built before 1946.On the map since 19123 editions of the USGS map, 1912 to 1998. Watch Dorchester change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dorchester’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dorchester’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
People over time

Dorchester, census by census

010020018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 185

Peaked at 185 in 1940; 133 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story so far

Dorchester, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Dorchester yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Dorchester is a village in Macoupin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 133 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1860. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 151 to 133 (-12%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Dorchester, 1860 to 1962

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1860Post officeThe Dorchester post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1912On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 185
  6. 1962Post officeThe Dorchester 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.
Add from your album
On the map

Dorchester on the map, 1912 to 1998

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

Dorchester on the 1912 USGS mapDorchester on the 1974 USGS mapDorchester on the 1998 USGS map1912Gillespie 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 Dorchester.

Famous people

Famous people close to Dorchester

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

See all →
Harold BrodkeyWriter · b. 1930
Archibald HoxseyAmerican aviator · b. 1884
J
James SpudichAmerican biochemist · b. 1942
A
Andy ManarAmerican politician · b. 1976
Bruno GaidoAmerican World War II Aviation Machinist · b. 1916
G
Gilbert Van CleveAmerican long jumper · b. 1880
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Dorchester had its own post office from 1860 to 1962.

Dorchester
1860–1962
18601940today

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Dorchester TownshipIts storyCGillespie TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Dorchester’s history

What year was Dorchester founded?

The Dorchester post office opened in 1860, 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 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.