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History · Dorchester

Dorchester dates to 1772, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 2 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1974 on, and the census since 1790.

1772founded
2on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Dorchester’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Dorchester began

When was Dorchester founded?

1772

Dorchester dates its founding to 1772 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 175 in 17902020 census: 339254 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1824.The full story ↓

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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1840 and 1960, then grew 3-fold.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Dorchester, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Older than the countryEstablished in 1772, 4 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ 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
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPresident Roosevelt and party on the ru…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Dorchester, census by census

020040060080018001850190019502000769 in 1840Low: 91

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1840 and 1960, then grew 3-fold.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Dorchester had its own post office from 1824 to 1917. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Dorchester
1824–1917
North Dorchester
1856–1929
Cheever
1888–1929
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bucks CornerCheeverNorth Dorchester

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

The story

How Dorchester came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dorchester.

Read it all →

Originally granted by Governor Benning Wentworth in 1761, Dorchester was named for Dorchester in Dorset, England. When the recipients failed to take up the grant, it was regranted in 1766, but also without success. Finally, it was regranted by Governor John Wentworth to 72 people on May 1, 1772, and settlement began soon thereafter. The first settlers were Benjamin Rice and Stephen Murch from Hanover, but originally from Connecticut.

When the first census of Dorchester was taken in 1790, there were 175 residents. By 1859, when the population reached 711, there were eleven sawmills, in addition to several clapboard and shingle mills. Charcoal was also manufactured here.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dorchester, 1772 to 1974

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1772
    FoundingDorchester is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1807Born hereJames Huckins is born here
  5. 1824Post officeThe Dorchester post office opens
  6. 1834Born hereRufus Blodgett is born here
  7. 1840CensusPopulation peaks at 769
  8. 1856Post officeThe North Dorchester post office opens
  9. 1888Post officeThe Cheever post office opens
  10. 20th century
  11. 1902In the archivePresident Roosevelt and party on the ruins of the old Spanish fort at Dorchester, near Ch…
  12. 1917Post officeThe Dorchester post office closes
  13. 1929Post officeThe North Dorchester post office closes
  14. 1929Post officeThe Cheever post office closes
  15. 1974On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Dorchester, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
President Roosevelt and party on the ruins of the old Spanish fort at Dorchester, near Charleston, S.C1902President Roosevelt and party on the ruins of the old…
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today2 recent
Town Office2017Town OfficeCheever Chapel Apostolic Lighthouse United Pentecostal Church2017Cheever Chapel Apostolic Lighthouse United Pentecosta…
On the map

Dorchester on the map, 1974 to 1995

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 1974 USGS mapDorchester on the 1995 USGS map1974Wentworth sheet · 1:24,000

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

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

President Roosevelt and party on the ruins of the old Spanish fort at Dorchester, near Charleston, S.C
Retake this viewPresident Roosevelt and party on the ruins of the old Spanish fort at Dorchester, near Charleston, S.C, 1902

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Dorchester’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Dorchester

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Dorchester Community Church
Dorchester Community ChurchDorchester Common Historic District
BuildingsDistricts
Dorchester Community ChurchBuilding
Dorchester Common Historic DistrictDistrict

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Dorchester

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Rufus BlodgettAmerican politician · b. 1834
James HuckinsAmerican frontier ordained Baptist minister · b. 1807
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

GrotonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCanaan2 historic placesA+WentworthIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLyme3 historic placesA+OrangeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRumneyIts storyB+

Questions about Dorchester’s history

What year was Dorchester founded?

In 1772, according to Wikidata. Dorchester’s post office opened in 1824, and the first U.S. census counted 175 people here in 1790.

What is on the National Register in Dorchester?

Two places: the Dorchester Community Church (listed 1980) and the Dorchester Common Historic District (1985).

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 (2), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.