Looking Back: Russell Freidell Captured Dorchester Images More Than A Century Ago

Every now and again, we come across old photos of the Dorchester area that will take all of our readers back to a time that no one alive today can remember. But we can all imagine what it was like thanks to the imagery.

Today we wanted to share a few such photos taken by Dorchester's early photographer Russell Freidell.

Russell Freidell was the son of William Freidell, the well-known dry goods store owner and retailer who ran his business in Dorchester for more than 50 years. The Freidells resided in a beautiful Victorian home on the corner of Washington Avenue and 10th St. (The home was renovated in the late 1990s and today it looks nothing as it once did.)

The Freidell's dry goods business also managed to survive a 1896 fire that destroyed a portion of Dorchester's business district, when the buildings were mostly wood.

In 1890, William Freidell was a key decision-maker in the construction of the community's first dedicated high school, which cost of $10,000. That same year, Russell was born.

Seventeen years later, Russell was a proud 1907 graduate of Dorchester High School. In addition to his Sunday School service and work with the Masons, he would also go on to become known for his photography.

Russell was drafted during World War I, and he was around Dorchester as late as the 1940s. He lived to age 97 and was buried in Houston, Texas in 1987.

Nearly 117 years after his high school graduation, we're still talking about Russell's photos. 

All of his images are worth a long look, whether it was the 1908 photo that Freidell took of the Big Blue River north of town or images of an area country road -- with no road signs and certainly no wider than the width of a Model T or a horse-drawn carriage. (Click on any photo here for a better view.)

One of our favorite Freidell photos shows Dorchester's Independence Day in 1908 (pictured atop this story). It gives viewers a front row seat at the village's celebrated Fourth of July parade, which continues to this day. The theme of Dorchester's 1908 Fourth of July Parade was "Comic Parade."

Another favorite photograph by Freidell illustrates a clear, crisp view of the 1909 Dorchester baseball team. Back then, games were often played south of town in the space now occupied by the Saline County Museum, or in a cow pasture northwest of town called Grant Horner's pasture. Yet another location was Bankson's pasture, just on the outskirts of Dorchester. Most games were played during free time on Sundays, according to old-timers quoted in the Dorchester Centennial history book.

Freidell's postcards are occasionally available for purchase online and make a fine gift for any Dorchester native or resident who enjoys studying our area's history.