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Reiff BuildingReiff Building · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0
–Not graded
History · Dorrance

Dorrance dates to 1870, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Reiff Building and the Dorrance State Bank. Below: maps from 1896 on and the census since 1910.

1870founded
2on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Dorrance began

When was Dorrance founded?

1870

Dorrance dates its founding to 1870 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 281 in 19102020 census: 146156 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1873.The full story ↓

What stands out about Dorrance’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 Dorrance are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18964 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1985. Watch Dorrance change.Boom and bustPeaked at 414 in 1940; 146 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Dorrance’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dorrance’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dorrance’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
On the map

Dorrance on the map, 1896 to 1985

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

Dorrance on the 1896 USGS mapDorrance on the 1956 USGS mapDorrance on the 1979 USGS mapDorrance on the 1985 USGS map1896Russell sheet · 1:125,000

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

People over time

Dorrance, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020Peak: 414

Peaked at 414 in 1940; 146 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Dorrance came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dorrance.

Read it all →

The Kansas Pacific Railway reached the site of Dorrance in June 1867. German, English, and Irish settlers followed shortly thereafter, forming a small community by 1870. In early 1872, they were joined by a colony of settlers from Pennsylvania. A prairie fire destroyed much of the community's business district in March 1879. The town of Dorrance was formally laid out in 1880, named for Oliver Dorrance, the-then railroad superintendent. The first post office opened in July 1883. Dorrance was incorporated in April 1910 and became a center of goods and services for eastern Russell County.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dorrance, 1870 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870
    FoundingDorrance is established
  3. 1873Post officeThe Dorrence post office opens
  4. 1883Post officeThe Dorrence post office closes
  5. 1883Post officeThe Dorrance post office opens
  6. 1896On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 20th century
  8. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 414
By decade

Dorrance, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Detailed map of2010Detailed map ofMap
On the National Register

2 historic places in Dorrance

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2007
Reiff Building
Reiff BuildingDorrance State Bank
Buildings
Reiff BuildingBuilding
Dorrance State BankBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Dorrance

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

See all →
John KuckAmerican athletics competitor · b. 1905
C
C. W. E. JenningsAmerican businessman and state legislator · b. 1877
N
Neva EganFirst Lady of Alaska · b. 1914
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Dorrance’s post office has been open since 1883. Another post office, Dorrence, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Dorrence
1873–1883
Dorrance
1883–today
18701950today

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.

Plymouth Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCenter TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Dorrance’s history

What year was Dorrance founded?

In 1870, according to Wikidata. Dorrance’s post office opened in 1873, and the census of 1910 counted 281 people here.

What is on the National Register in Dorrance?

Two places: the Reiff Building (listed 2007) and the Dorrance State Bank (2011).

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 Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.