Dorchester Times: Dorchester Is SENDD's Spotlight Community

Monday, December 23, 2013

Dorchester Is SENDD's Spotlight Community

Be proud, Dorchester. You are in the spotlight of the Southeast Nebraska Development District (SENDD) and its December publication.

In an article titled "Dorchester Planning = Success," the SENDD newsletter highlights the Dorchester's comprehensive planning strategy, which started nearly a decade ago, and the subsequent initiatives that have taken place in recent years.

The article reads as follows:

"The Village of Dorchester believes success comes from planning. This mantra was
adopted in 2004 as Dorchester began its first Community Strategic Planning project as part of organizing the Dorchester Community Foundation. Momentum from those meetings continues to pulse through the community. Activities that position the community for future growth and opportunities continue to be reviewed, prioritized and developed by citizen groups and local government agencies.

"Existing facilities have been renovated to continue to serve community needs and new facilities have been built to support future opportunities. Investments have been made in schools, parks, government services and buildings throughout Dorchester. The Village Board has taken a leadership role in providing for the future delivery of government services, particularly water and waste water.

"Before any ground was broken for construction projects, planning activities prioritized the best available use of resources for infrastructure investments. The community has completed two community surveys, four planning projects and has just started a fifth planning project.

"Planning studies have included: Preliminary Engineering study for water improvements, Preliminary Engineering study for Waste Water improvements, a Street Improvement Study, and a Housing Market Study. Currently, the community is working through the planning activities to create a new Comprehensive Development Plan with updates to Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances.

"The Village prioritized projects and has completed three major infrastructure projects, and has initiated the design phase of a fourth. Investments have been made to provide more efficient services and meet regulatory requirements.

"In 2010 a new complete retention sewer lagoon was constructed, replacing an obsolete discharge lagoon system.

"In 2012 a new municipal well and water line replacement project was completed.

"In 2013 a new water tower was constructed and the obsolete tower was removed.

"A new storm water drainage project has been initiated in 2013 with completion expected in 2014.

"Other projects prioritized through community planning activities have included two nuisance abatement programs and a housing rehabilitation project. Homeowners and businesses worked with the Village to successfully complete the nuisance abatement programs over the last two years, improving community appearance and quality of life. The community is still pursuing opportunities to implement a housing rehabilitation program that will assist homeowners with substantial rehabilitation of their homes.

"There are many successful civic activities being developed and led by local organizations and citizens, as well as successful projects by the local school district and the fire department. The community foundation has been fundraising for a new community entrance sign. These investments not only preserve the community but also build the local leadership capacity and energize citizens that enable the community to adapt and prepare for its next 100 years as an endearing place to call home."

2 comments:

AnonymousDecember 23, 2013 at 4:17 PM
Man, that new water tower is nice! Hated to see the old one go, and wish they could have restored it, but the new one is pretty impressive the more I look at it and the more I see plain ones around this area of the state.
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AnonymousDecember 23, 2013 at 5:18 PM
Wow!!! Good work Dorchester!!!!
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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."