The Dorrance Township post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Dorrance (1853) and Dorranceton (1891), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 2,109 in 20002020 census: 2,076173 years
How historic is Dorrance Township?
C
More historic than 29% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Dorrance Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Dorrance Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dorrance Township is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dorrance Township’s overall grade.
Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Dorrance Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Dorrance Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dorrance Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1891Wilkes-Barre 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 Dorrance Township.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
It's believed that the township's first white settlers were hunters and fishermen. They were soon followed by lumberjacks. The community bears the name of Col. George Dorrance, who was killed in the Battle of Wyoming on July 3, 1778. Following the battle, settlers began to move into what is now Dorrance Township.
The township was officially formed in 1840, when it broke away from Newport Township. By 1860, over five hundred people lived within the township. In 1865, the community had several sawmills, gristmills, and at least one tavern.
Passages that mention Dorrance Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of Wilkes-Barré, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania1909 · page 142Read the page →
Read the text
Dorranceton, a suburb of Wilkes-Barre and contiguous to Kingston, was incorporated as a borough on June 20, 1887. George H. Butler became the first burgess of Dorranceton. and Colonel Charles Dorrance became president of council. The name of the borough, like that of Dorrance Township, was chosen to honor the Dorrance family, which has had such notable connection with the county since settlement days. Colonel Charles Dorrance was eighty-two years old when he became president of the borough council of Dorranceton, and his worthy life ended five years later ; but his influence con-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Dorrance Township, 1853 to 1904
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Dorrance Township post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Dorrance Township rank for history?
Dorrance Township is more historic than 29% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Dorrance Township?
11% of Dorrance Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1981.
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).
From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
