BlockDorset, Ohio
18 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1905 and the latest in 1994. It stands in Dorset Township. It lies in ZIP code area 44032. The Survey maps it on the Dorset quadrangle. It stands 981 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1905 to 1994The same ground, surveyed 89 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.
Compare 1905 against another survey:
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 18 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1905 USGS Andover quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1905 USGS Andover quadrangle1:48000
- 1907 USGS Andover quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1956 USGS Cleveland quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1959 USGS Dorset quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1962 USGS Cleveland quadrangle1:250000
- 1986 USGS Ashtabula quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1994 USGS Dorset quadrangle1:24000
In the county-history sources
2,899 words on this townshipHistory of Ashtabula County, Ohio, published 1878 names this settlement in its chapter on Dorset Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
In about 1824 this territory was organized as a separate township under the name of Millsford, and continued to be called the same until 1849, when, by special act of legislature, the present name Dorset was substituted. There are some sixteen thousand acres of land within the boundary lines of the township, which were in 1799 divided into lots by T. R. Hawley, under the supervision of Judge Mills. This was some twenty years prior to any permanent settlement in the township. In fact, nearly the entire portion of Ohio now denominated the Western Reserve was an unbroken wilderness. The soil, or the greater part of it, consists of a rich, deep muck, well adapted to agriculture. The eastern half was originally wet. There is still a marsh of quite considerable proportions in the southeast corner of the township, across the centre of which is a curious embankment, supposed to have been constructed by beavers, dividing its waters; those from the south, flowing into the Pymatuning creek, which empties into the Mahoning river, eventually reaching the Atlantic ocean in the Gulf of Mexico via the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. From the northern part flow small streams tributary to Mills creek, the waters of which, by the aid of Grand river, Lake Erie, etc., finally reach the same grand old Atlantic through the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Wild game was abundant ; in fact, a deer is occasionally " brought down," even at this late day, in the wooded fastnesses of the township of Dorset. There are a great number of saline springs or " deer-licks" in this township, some of which are thought to be more strongly impregnated with salt than any in the county.
Passage source: History of Ashtabula County, Ohio, published 1878.
It is thought that his location was in the southwest part of the township, on the bank of a small stream now called Bassett's creek, from the fact that a number of apple-trees were found growing on this spot by the later settlers, surrounded by a thicket of second-growth trees. The remains of a log house are still plainly visible, which was, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the first one built by a white man within the boundary lines of the township of Dorset. The Thorp family remained for nearly three years in this " howling wilderness," suffering almost incredible hardships, at times nearly dying of starvation. Many incidents are narrated relative to this family and its fortunes. Not, however, having proper authentication, we omit their reproduction here. In the early part of the summer of 1802, Mr. Thorp abandoned his claim, and, repairing to Warrensville, Cuyahoga county, began a settlement there which was soon after exchanged for land in Newburg, where it is thought some of his descendants still reside.
Passage source: History of Ashtabula County, Ohio, published 1878.
The spring following, Abitha Sutliff, of Connecticut, made a commencement on the centre lot, near where now stands the town hall. While engaged in clearing his lands he was, on the 9th of January, 1822, struck by a falling tree and instantly killed. This was, without doubt, the first death of a white person in the township of Dorset. Dr. Giles Cowles, of Austinburg, was the officiating clergyman on the occasion of the funeral, and his sermon is thought to have been the first delivered in the township.
Passage source: History of Ashtabula County, Ohio, published 1878.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Read the whole chapter on Dorset Township - it names this place 5 more 5 times.
Fires near this place
1 since 2020Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Dorset in 2020, burning under an acre in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 April 2020 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Ohio Department of Natural Resources | 15702 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Specimens collected near this place
12 of 151 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 151 specimens collected within 10 miles of Dorset between 1872 and 1975: 135 Animalia, 16 Plantae. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by Armbruster, D. C. (Daniel C.), C. B. Hellquist, Currutt, D. A. (Dennis A.) and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.
| Image | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Hymenostylium curvirostre Mitt. | 1872 | L. B. Tuckerman | |
 | Riccia fluitans L. | 1892 | E. E. Bogue | |
 | Geranium pusillum L. | 1893 | Goodrich | Ashtabula Co. |
| Araneae | 1901 | G.W. Peckham | ||
 | Margarinotus faedatus (J.E.LeConte, 1845) | 1908 | R. Sim | Jefferson |
 | Aix sponsa (Linnaeus, 1758) | 1909 | G.H. Williams | East Arivell |
 | Buteo lineatus lineatus (Gmelin, 1788) | 1909 | J.H. Williams | Ellsville |
 | Bombus impatiens Cresson, 1863 | 1911 | not recorded | Jefferson, Ashtabula Co., OH |
 | Cicindela duodecimguttata Dejean, 1825 | 1911 | R J. Sim | Jefferson |
 | Salix lucida Muhl. | 1911 | Jennings, O.E.; Jennings, G.K.; Sim, R.J. | Ashtabula Gorge near Jefferson |
 | Tipularia discolor (Pursh) Nutt. | 1911 | Sim, R.J. | near Jefferson |
| Sphaeroderus canadensis lengi Darlington, 1933 | 1913 | not recorded | Jefferson, Ashtabula Co., OH, Jefferson, Ashtabula, Ohio, United States |
All 151 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Dorset: 1 past producer, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frye Sand and Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Frye Sand and Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
3 since 2002Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Dorset in 3 storm reports between 2002 and 2020: 1 funnel cloud, 1 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2013 | Flash Flood | Dorset | $200,000 | A residential property on route 193 and Tower Road was inundated by about 6 inches into the first floor of the property destroying most of their belongings. An office building nearby was also under water. The flooding was the result of a small slow moving thunderstorm that had rainfall rates measured by a nearby COOP observer at 4.8 per hour. |
| November 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorset | - | Tree down on house in Dorset. Roof blown off barn in Pierpont. |
| May 2002 | Funnel Cloud | Dorset | - | Trained spotters observed a funnel cloud near the intersection of State Routes 307 and 93 just south of Dorset. |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Denmark | 2.7 miles | 18 | |
| Rowenton | 2.9 miles | 18 | |
| Leon | 3.3 miles | 20 | |
| Steamburg | 3.5 miles | 20 | |
| Sentinel | 4.3 miles | 18 | |
| Anderson (historical) | 4.7 miles | 20 | |
| Denmark Center | 4.9 miles | 12 | |
| Lenox Center | 5.0 miles | 12 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Dorset | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q5298826 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1064550. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.