Dorchester Times: Ring In 2010 In Dorchester

Monday, December 28, 2009

Ring In 2010 In Dorchester

There are always plenty of things to do in Dorchester. This New Year's Eve will not be an exception.

On Dec. 31, Joe's Place Bar & Grill is offering its traditional Thursday night hot wings and beer specials, beginning at 5 p.m. Later in the evening, the party will really get started with the Joe's Place New Year Celebration, complete with karao

ke. If you want to celebrate and let loose, Joe's is the place to be. Come early -- a full house is expected. Call (402) 946-2171 for more details.

On the other side of Main Street, be sure to check out Ben's Iron Grill, the finest restaurant in Saline County. Ben's Iron Grill features daily lunch specials if you prefer to get out early on Dec. 31. But if you'd rather do dinner, New Year's Eve will feature the grand opening of the new dining room and kitchen, which is getting rave reviews! The grand opening will begin at 5 p.m. Beat the crowd by calling for reservations at (402) 946-2104. Walk-ins are welcome, too.

Spend New Year's Eve in Dorchester and ring in 2010 on the right note.

7 comments:

AnonymousDecember 27, 2009 at 4:14 PM
I live in Crete and have ate in Bens before and it is better than

evening with friends in Milligan.
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DC HuskerDecember 27, 2009 at 4:41 PM
Wow! The steak looks delicious. My birthday is the 30th...wish I was there for a double celebration. I'll be sure to try Ben's when I visit in June. Happy New Year!
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AnonymousDecember 28, 2009 at 3:47 PM
I would like mine well done please!
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Crete GuyDecember 28, 2009 at 4:33 PM
JOE'S ROCKS!!!!
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AnonymousDecember 28, 2009 at 9:44 PM
I have heard that instead of the Wings for Thursday night, Joe's Place is offering a Steak & Shrimp special for $14.99. Come on over and try the 7oz Sirloin with 4 shrimp, salad, and choice of potato.
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bulldogDecember 29, 2009 at 9:04 AM
If you want to try a great steak try a FLAT IRON at Joes, I've tryed them in Lincoln,Grand Island,Omaha and other towns and cities and this is by far the best steak for the price.
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AnonymousJanuary 4, 2010 at 3:15 PM
Joe's is good but Ben's is great. Our group travels up to 150 miles several times a month to have dinner at different places. Ben's has become our "new favorite" place. The wait for the meal is well worth it, the atmosphere is awesome, where else could you be served by the owner in his "bib overhalls"? You always feel welcomed.
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Dorchester: A Good Little Family Town

Dorchester, Nebraska (est. population 630) is located in northern Saline county. Close in proximity to Interstate 80, Dorchester is only 25 minutes from the state capital of Lincoln (est. population 250,000) and about 55 minutes from Omaha (metro population 725,000).

Dorchester's median resident age is 37 years. In 2005, Dorchester had a median family income of approximately $35,600. The median house value was about $63,000. About 95 percent of Dorchester residents commute to work via Interstate and highways.

The village has a quality public school, which received a $4.1 million expansion and modernization in 2008; it offers a small classrooms and individualized attention. Total enrollment of grades K-12 is around 230-250 students.

Ancestries of the Dorchester area are primarily German (42.4%), Czech (24.9%), Irish (12.5%), English (5.4%), and Dutch (4.9%).

Dorchester Historical Facts

* On July 4, 1871, the railroad reached Dorchester.
* Incorporated in 1881, Dorchester's population grew from 200 to 500 by 1882.
* In 1882, Dorchester had 90 buildings, 35 of which were businesses or public facilities. Brick buildings lined both sides of Washington Avenue for two blocks.
* Dorchester's longest-running newspaper was The Dorchester Star, which was published until the late 1940s.
* By 1889, Dorchester's population is said to have reached 800, while the town housed an opera house, a two-story brick schoolhouse with a bell tower, and four churches.
* By the 1910s, Dorchester had electricity, a water tower and a fire department.
* Dorchester's main arteries, Highways 6 and 33, were graveled in the 1940s.
* Dorchester's first irrigation well was drilled on Chris Weber's farm and rural electrification was finished following WWII.

A Village with History

Dorchester is one of the "alphabet towns" on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad line built west from Lincoln. The town site was selected for its pleasant location in the northern part of Saline County, about eight miles west of Crete. This situation is an attractive one, being on the level prairie land, midway between the West Blue River and Turkey Creek. The first named stream is three miles north, and the latter about the same distance south from the town. Dorchester was platted in 1870 and incorporated in 1881. The name "Dorchester" came from either for a suburb of Boston by that name or a town in England. No one is sure. Two of the very first settlers were James Seely and Edward McIntyre, who both made Dorchester their permanent home.

Dorchester: In The Beginning

Here is a look at Dorchester around 1890, less than a decade after its official incorporation, as documented by Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska:
* POPULATION: "About 300, and is made up of a substantial and progressive class of citizens, who are moral and industrious. ... The town grew but very little until the year 1879, for the reason that Pleasant Hill, on Turkey Creek, a short distance south, was the county seat and naturally drew a trade for quite a large scope of country."
* BUSINESS: "The business and professional interests of the town are represented by three general merchandise stores, two drug, one grocery, one furniture, two hardware, and two millinery stores, one bank, two restaurants, two hotels, three livery stables, a post office, one newspaper office, two elevators, two lumber yards, two coal yards, two blacksmith shops, two lawyers and four physicians."
* SCHOOL: "The schoolhouse is a good one. The schoolhouse was built in 1872, since which time the public schools have been continually kept up. The present schoolhouse is 24' x 40' in size, two stories high. The school is graded and consists of three departments. The house is found too small, and arrangements will soon be made to increase its size."
* CHURCHES: "There are three substantial churches."
* HOMES: "The residence portion of the village is made up of neat houses of different styles of architecture, but none of them very large."
* NEWSPAPER: "The Dorchester Star, which was established August 21, 1881, by H. C. Bittenbender, who edited it until January 19, 1882, when he sold it to Ryerson & Bullock, the present proprietors. The Star is a bright weekly paper, five-column quarto, in size, and is Republican in politics."