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History · Dorchester

Dorchester’s post office opened in 1896

Most of Dorchester was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2012. Below: maps from 1958 on and the census since 1980.

1896first post office
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Dorchester began

When was Dorchester founded?

1896

The Dorchester post office opened in 1896, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 205 in 19802020 census: 69130 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.
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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.
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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 city in Grayson County, Texas, United States. The population was 69 at the 2020 census, significantly down from 148 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Sherman–Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1896. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 148 to 69 (-53%).

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

Timeline

Dorchester, 1896 to 1984

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1896Post officeThe Dorchester post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1984Post 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.
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On the map

Dorchester on the map, 1958 to 1974

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 1958 USGS mapDorchester on the 1974 USGS map1958Dorchester 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.

People over time

Dorchester, census by census

0100200198020002020Peak: 205

Between 69 and 205 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Dorchester had its own post office from 1896 to 1984.

Dorchester
1896–1984
18901960today

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.

Sherman4 historic placesB+

Questions about Dorchester’s history

What year was Dorchester founded?

The Dorchester post office opened in 1896, 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 →
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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.