Dorchester Times: FLASHBACK: Results From Our 2014 Community Survey

Friday, August 25, 2017

FLASHBACK: Results From Our 2014 Community Survey

In August 2014, we asked Dorchester area residents to take our community survey.

The was idea was to help community members get a better pulse of our village and its future needs.

Nearly 100 respondents took the survey (96 to be exact).

Today, three years later, we look back on our survey and see what, if any, progress has been made.

2014 DORCHESTER TIMES COMMUNITY SURVEY

SUMMARY:

A strong majority (75%) thinks it is "very important" for Dorchester to grow its population.
To encourage population growth, most respondents said new housing and new businesses were key.
Dorchester's close proximity to larger towns and its school are top selling points, most respondents said.
Unpaved streets are a key factor in keeping Dorchester from reaching its full potential, most respondents said.

Here is a look at each question we asked, followed by the answers chosen:

How important is it for Dorchester to grow its population? (One answer)

"Very important" -- 75.0%

"Somewhat important" -- 18.8%

"Not important" -- 6.3%

How would you encourage new population growth in Dorchester? (Multiple choice)

"Work with young people to plan Dorchester's future" -- 30.9%

"Bring in new housing" -- 48.9%

"Start recruiting new businesses" -- 50%

"Recruit DHS grads back to the area" -- 13.8%

"Offer incentives for people to relocate, such as free lots on which to build" -- 26.6%

What is Dorchester best selling point? (Multiple choice)

"It's clean, quiet and safe" -- 28.1%

"Affordable cost of living" -- 30.2%

"Character of those who live here" -- 22.9%

"Proximity to larger towns and cities" -- 53.1%

"Its small, quality school and programs for kids" -- 37.5%

Which factor is keep Dorchester from reaching its full potential? (One answer)

"Lack of new housing options" -- 12.5%

"Unpaved streets" -- 41.7%

"Too few employers in town or near by" -- 15.5%

"The loss of young people after high school" -- 18.8%

1 comment:

AnonymousSeptember 1, 2015 at 8:20 AM
supporting local businesses is key to people wanting to start new businesses in town..., I notice more out of county and out of state plates parked at The Well when I drive by, multiple times a day. Who ever is working on that house is pouring tons of their own money and their own labor into it...for out of county people to enjoy...doesn't make sense that there is not more local support there.
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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."