Dorchester Times: NEWS ROUND-UP: Drought Returns To Saline County

Thursday, March 19, 2026

NEWS ROUND-UP: Drought Returns To Saline County

Drought Returns To Saline County: Deadly wildfires are plaguing western and parts of central Nebraska, fueled by worsening drought. The Morrill Fire alone has burned a record amount of land in our state. Now drought is returning to Saline County and eastern Nebraska, as illustrated by UNL's updated drought monitor. As for precipitation, none is expected for the foreseeable future. In fact, very warm temperatures and extremely low humidity levels have our area in a fire warning for the weekend. The next chance at rain comes Monday, March 30, according to weather models. The Times staff's work with several AI models shows that early April will likely bring a wet early part of that month.

Dorchester Community Foundation Fund Fish Fry, April 3: We have learned that the Dorchester Community Foundation Fund is planning to hold its first-ever fish fry. The event is set for Friday, April 3, starting at 5 p.m. at the Dorchester American Legion Hall and Community Building. Details emerging.

April 11 is Dorchester Volunteer Fire Department Brisket Meal: On Saturday, April 11, the Dorchester Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department will host its brisket mean and silent auction fundraiser. Dinner will be served from 4:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. at the fire hall. Orders to go will also be available by calling 402-826-7346.

Museum Hosting Session on Storm-Damaged Trees: Just in time for the start of spring. This Saturday morning, March 21, starting at 9 a.m., Nicole Stoner with the Nebraska Extension Office will be at the Saline County Museum. Her topic of discussion will be tree care, including dealing with the damage your trees had in the storms last year, what to do with damaged trees, and how to plant new trees.

Dorchester School Play, March 26 and 29: The spring play at Dorchester High School this year is "Murders in the Heir." The play is an interactive comedy you won't want to miss. The audience has the opportunity to choose the murderer, which can make things very interesting. The performance dates are Thursday, March 26, and Sunday, March 29.

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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."