Dorchester

Web site: www.townofdorchester.net

Population: 392 (1990); 353 (2000); 346 (2006)

Overview
First chartered in 1761, Dorchester was probably given its name in honor of ancestors of Governor Benning Wentworth, who held the titles Marquis of Dorchester and Earl of Kingston. Due to the inability of grantees to meet prescribed terms of settlement, the territory was granted twice more, once in 1766 and again in 1772, retaining the name Dorchester throughout. The town's first moderator, Captain John Thompson, was a descendant of David Thompson, who was one of the first settlers in the colony, at Rye's Odiorne Point in 1623.

Geography
o Region: Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee
o County: Grafton
o Distance from:
o Manchester, NH: 79 miles
o Boston, MA: 121 miles
o New York, NY: 305 miles
o Montreal, Quebec: 205 miles

Town Hall
Town of Dorchester
804 River Road
Dorchester, NH 03266

Municipal Information
* Government: Selectmen
* Planning Board: Appointed
* Police Department: Not full time
* Fire Department: Not full time
* Nearest Hospital: Speare Memorial in Plymouth (18 miles)

Election Districts
* State House District: 17
* State Senate District: 2
* Executive Council District: 1
* U.S. Congress House of Representatives District: 2

Schools
Mascoma Valley Regional School District
http://www.mascoma.k12.nh.us/

Utilities
* Electric: NH Electric Coop.
* Gas: None
* Water Supplier: Private wells
* Sanitation: Private septic
* Curbside Trash Pickup: No
* Telephone: Verizon
* Cable television service: Yes