Dorchester Times: Whatever Happened To...?

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Whatever Happened To...?

Today, let's take a moment to ponder whatever happened to some of Dorchester's most beloved treasures.

Whatever happened to:

Chester the Longhorn? He was certainly Dorchester Public School's most famous residents. Chester was the mounted Longhorn head that hung from the school gym's north wall from the early 1990s until late 2010, when it disappeared. At nearly 20 years in the school, Chester was a fan favorite. Dorchester's gym hasn't been the same without the handsome fella.

The Freidell Photo Collection? Russell Freidell -- 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 -- was the preeminent early photographer of Dorchester. The 1907 graduate of Dorchester High School captured Dorchester as it existed more than 100 years ago. While his images can occasionally be found online, Freidell's original photos and postcards are extremely rare. Somewhere, someone must have a treasure trove of these old Freidell photos. If they do, this collection could truly be considered Dorchester's own "national treasure."

The Town Gazebo? Dorchester has had more than one gazebo over the years -- the earliest once stood in the center of main street, as shown in the picture below. The most recent gazebo was built for Dorchester's 100-year celebration back in 1981, crafted by several Dorchester-area handymen. Perhaps a new gazebo would make a great project for Dorchester students and/or volunteer groups. How wonderful would it be to once again listen to the high school band on an autumn evening, or hear a gifted orator, or watch a talent show in front of Dorchester's own gazebo -- right there on our beautiful main street?

2 comments:

AnonymousAugust 27, 2019 at 9:34 PM
Chester is in the janitors room last I knew
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Deanna BirdAugust 31, 2019 at 3:48 PM
Chester is now back up in the gym right above the student section.
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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."