Dorrance is a city in
Russell County,
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
, United States.
As of the
2020 census, the population of the city was 146.
History
The
Kansas Pacific Railway reached the site of Dorrance in June 1867.
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
,
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, and
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
settlers followed shortly thereafter, forming a small community by 1870.
In early 1872, they were joined by a colony of settlers from
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. A prairie fire destroyed much of the community's business district in March 1879.
[ The town of Dorrance was formally laid out in 1880, named for Oliver Dorrance, the railroad superintendent.] The first post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...
opened in July 1883. Dorrance was incorporated in April 1910 and became a center of goods and services for eastern Russell County.
Geography
Dorrance is located at (38.846977, -98.588338) at an elevation of . The city is located in north-central Kansas northwest of Wichita and west of Kansas City. Located south of Interstate 70
Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...
, it is roughly east-southeast of Russell, the county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
.[
Dorrance lies in the ]Smoky Hills
The Smoky Hills are an upland region of hills in the central Great Plains of North America. They are located in the Midwestern United States, encompassing north-central Kansas and a small portion of south-central Nebraska.
The hills are a disse ...
region of the Great Plains approximately north of the Smoky Hill River
The Smoky Hill River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America, running through Colorado and Kansas.Smoky Hill River. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved July 22, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.br ...
and south of Wilson Lake.
According to the United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
, the city has a total area of , all of it land.
Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
system, Dorrance has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the 2010 census, there were 185 people, 85 households, and 51 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 113 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.8% White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 2.7% American Indian, and 0.5% Asian. Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 0.5% of the population.
There were 85 households, of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.8% were married couples living together, 2.4% had a male householder with no wife present, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 36.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18, and the average family size was 2.84.[
In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.6% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 28.6% from 45 to 64, and 22.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males age 18 and over.][
The median income for a household in the city was $36,250, and the median income for a family was $36,000. Males had a median income of $43,438 versus $37,708 for females. The ]per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $18,126. 8.3% of families and 20.6% of the population were below the poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 36.8% of those under the age 18 and 0.0% of those age 65 or over.[
]
2000 census
As of the census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2000, there were 205 people, 94 households, and 56 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 118 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.51% White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
and 0.49% Asian. Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 0.49% of the population.
There were 94 households, out of which 22.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.4% were non-families. 35.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the city the population was spread out, with 21.0% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 29.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.1 males.
Economy
As of 2012, 64.8% of the population over the age of 16 was in the labor force. 0.0% was in the armed forces, and 64.8% was in the civilian labor force with 55.7% being employed and 9.0% unemployed. The composition, by occupation, of the employed civilian labor force was: 35.3% in management, business, science, and arts; 22.1% in sales and office occupations; 16.2% in service occupations; 13.2% in natural resources, construction, and maintenance; and 13.2% in production, transportation, and material moving. The three industries employing the largest percentages of the working civilian labor force were: agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining (27.9%); educational services, and health care and social assistance (26.5%); and manufacturing (14.7%).[
The cost of living in Dorrance is relatively low; compared to a U.S. average of 100, the cost of living index for the community is 79.2.] As of 2012, the median home value in the city was $51,300, and the median selected monthly owner cost was $656 for housing units with a mortgage and $304 for those without.[
]
Government
Dorrance is a city of the third class with a mayor-council form of government. The city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
consists of five members, and it meets on the second Saturday of each month.
Dorrance lies within Kansas's 1st U.S. Congressional District. For the purposes of representation in the Kansas Legislature
The Kansas Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. It is a bicameral assembly, composed of the lower Kansas House of Representatives, with 125 state representatives, and the upper Kansas Senate, with 40 state senators. ...
, the city is located in the 36th district of the Kansas Senate
The Kansas Senate is the upper house of the Kansas Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. State of Kansas. It is composed of 40 senators elected from single-member districts, each with a population of at least 60,000 inhabitants. Members ...
and the 109th district of the Kansas House of Representatives
The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for crafti ...
.
Education
The community is served by Central Plains USD 112 public school district. Students attend schools in Wilson.
Dorrance schools were closed through school unification. The Dorrance Cardinals won the Kansas State High School boys class BB basketball championship in 1956.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Interstate 70
Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...
and U.S. Route 40 run concurrently east–west less than a mile north of the city. The old alignment of U.S. 40 runs southeast–northwest through Dorrance, intersecting 200th Boulevard, a paved county road formerly designated K-231, which runs north–south along the city's eastern edge.[
]Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
operates a freight rail line, its Kansas Pacific (KP) line, through Dorrance. The line runs southeast–northwest through the community, parallel to the old alignment of U.S. 40.
Utilities
Western Electric provides electricity to local residents. H & B Communications provides landline telephone service and offers cable television and internet access. Most residents use natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
for heating fuel; service is provided by Midwest Energy, Inc.[
]
Media
Dorrance is in the Wichita-Hutchinson, Kansas television market.
Culture
Points of interest
The Dorrance Historical Society Museum, located downtown, exhibits artifacts from the community's history.[
]
In popular culture and the arts
Dorrance was among the filming locations for the 1973 film '' Paper Moon''.
Toss Back, the company which invented and first produced the "Snap Back" rim used in NBA basketball, was located in Dorrance.
In the ''Action Comics
''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/ magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as National Allied Publications, and later as National Comics Publications ...
'' #822 story titled 'Repo Man; part one', Dorrance is designated as the location of Smallville, Superman's childhood home.
References
Further reading
External links
Dorrance - Directory of Public Officials
Historic Images of Dorrance
Wichita State University Library
Dorrance city map
KDOT
{{Authority control
Cities in Kansas
Cities in Russell County, Kansas
Populated places established in 1870
1870 establishments in Kansas