Looking Back: Dorchester's Early Churches

Today we look back some of the strongest pillars of Dorchester's early years -- its churches. According to the Dorchester Centennial history book, religion played a vital role in the lives of the people who settled Nebraska.

In the early 1870s, a small group of German immigrants who settled northeast of Dorchester formed the first organized church, an Evangelical congregation. Soon after, other rural churches appeared in the Dorchester area countryside, including churches of Methodist, Christian and Congregational denominations.

In the fall of 1872, Rev. W.D. Gage moved to Dorchester from Nebraska City. He conducted services in the old frame school house, which was the only public building in town. Meanwhile, in the West Blue Area northeast of town, a growing Evangelical congregation attended services in a log home until 1875, when a small church was erected for $450. Dorchester's first church building came in 1879, with the construction of the Congregational Church that stood one block north and one block west of the present post office.

In 1880, the Methodist Church building came to Dorchester after town residents went to Pleasant Hill and tore down the structure and hauled it back by wagon. The Dorchester Methodist minister at that time, Rev. John Armstrong, was "a spirited man" according to accounts and did not mind controversy. In fact, he was also an attorney whose clients included two saloon keepers in Dorchester, considered by some to be a "city of rum."

As Dorchester's population increased in the 1880s, more rural churches appeared in the area, including two churches southwest of town (both United Brethren) and one northwest of town (Evangelical). Another denomination mentioned in the Dorchester Star was the "Dunkards," who apparently had no permanent house of worship. The Dunkards baptised converts in Turkey Creek. Also, in 1884, a Baptist group was formed and they went on to build the First Baptist Church of Dorchester (pictured at right).

By the turn of the century, local churches were becoming stronger due to more population stability and financial prosperity. In 1904, a new Methodist Church was built (pictured above left); the building would serve the needs of the community until the turn of the next century, when the current Dorchester Methodist Church was built. Also in 1904, a new parsonage was erected for the West Blue Church northeast of town (pictured at top). In 1908, the Christian congregation also built a new church in town (pictured at lower left). It included a tank behind the alter, since the Christian faith practiced total immersion for baptism. Previously, baptism had been held at Turkey Creek or the Blue River. By the 1910s, the rural churches found it difficult to keep their doors open, as people were no longer isolated within their own small rural neighborhoods, thanks to automobiles and better roads.

Looking back at our area's earliest years, it becomes clear that many of the first settlers had few possessions, but carried a devout faith in God. Not only did that shared faith offer comfort and hope, but it also united them. More than 130 years later, the same can hold true for Dorchester residents.