Dorchester, South Carolina
16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1919 and the latest in 1990. It stands in the Harleyville census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29437. The Survey maps it on the Harleyville quadrangle. It stands 105 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
11 surveys from 16 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.
- 1919 USGS Ridgeville quadrangle1:48000
- 1920 USGS Ridgeville quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1943 USGS Ridgeville quadrangle1:62500
- 1954 USGS Augusta quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Augusta quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Augusta quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS Augusta quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1962 USGS Augusta quadrangle1:250000
- 1973 USGS Harleyville quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Saint George quadrangle1:100000
- 1990 USGS Saint George quadrangle1:100000
Photographs
8 of 20 photographs shown, 1938Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.
Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1938. Library of Congress
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1938. Library of Congress
Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1938. Library of Congress
Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1938. Library of Congress
Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1938. Library of Congress
Every photograph of Dorchester County
Fires near this place
238 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 238 fires within 5 miles of Dorchester between 1992 and 2020, burning about 3,493 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 38 were 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 95 |
| Debris and open burning | 91 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 38 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 7 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Natural | 3 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 September 2019 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 30 September 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 3 September 2019 | Debris and open burning | 10 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 22 September 1997 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 2 September 2019 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 2 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 2 September 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 14 September 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Dorchester: 1 past producer. None of them 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorchester Dirt Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary |
Storms near this place
31 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Dorchester in 31 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 19 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 3 flash flood, 2 lightning. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2024 | Flash Flood | Dorchester | $20,000 | A Dorchester County emergency manager shared a picture of a washout along the paved 695 Block of Powder Horn Road. |
| August 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorchester | $1,500 | A Dorchester County emergency manager reported and few large branches and 1 tree down blocking the roadway in the 200 Block of Salem Road. |
| August 2021 | Lightning | Dorchester | $1,000 | Law enforcement reported a tree down on Harrison Road. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorchester | $1,000 | One tree down on Highway 78. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorchester | $1,000 | One tree down along Interstate 26 between mile markers 184 and 183. |
| September 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorchester | $500 | A public source reported several large tree branches down along Highway 78, 1 mile West Northwest of Dorchester. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorchester | $500 | A tree was reported down and blocking Beibler Forest Road 3 miles northeast of Dorchester, South Carolina. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorchester | $500 | Tree was blown down along Zion Road. The tree blocked one lane of traffic. |
| October 2008 | Flash Flood | Dorchester | $250 | Law enforcement reported that there was significant flooding in Summerville, South Carolina and Dorchester, South Carolina. Up to 3 feet of water was reported on roads with a few cars stranded in the water. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorchester | - | A Dorchester County emergency manager reported a tree down on a power line in the 100 Block of Pendarvis Circle. |
| January 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorchester | - | Dorchester County Emergency Management reported a tree down in the 1300 block of Zion Road. |
| August 2024 | Flash Flood | Dorchester | - | A Dorchester County emergency manager relayed an image of water moving over Salem Road where it intersects with Halfway Gut Creek. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorchester | - | Dorchester County Emergency Management reported a downed tree and power lines which fell in the roadway at the intersection of Wire Road and Zion Road. Two vehicles collided with the downed tree and one person was injured. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorchester | - | Dorchester County dispatch reported a tree down along Halfway Creek Lane. |
| March 2021 | Hail | Dorchester | - | Penny sized hail off of Zion Road. |
| April 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorchester | - | Law enforcement reported a tree down on Pendarvis Circle. |
| April 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorchester | - | A tree was reported down on Interstate 26 westbound near mile marker 184. |
| October 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorchester | - | The Dorchester County 911 Call Center reported a tree down on Highway 178 near the intersection with Highway 78. |
| October 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorchester | - | The Dorchester County 911 Call Center reported a tree down on a house at the 200 Block of Washie Road. |
| October 2016 | Flood | Dorchester | - | A Dorchester County emergency manager reported Highway 78 impassible due to flooding from Four Hole Swamp. |
| October 2016 | Flood | Dorchester | - | A Dorchester County emergency manager reported Horseford Road closed due to flooding from Four Hole Swamp. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorchester | - | The Dorchester County 911 Call Center reported a tree down on East Main Street in Dorchester South Carolina. |
| March 2012 | Hail | Dorchester | - | Dorchester COunty Law Enforcement reported nickel sized hail 5 miles southeast of Harleyville. |
| July 2008 | Hail | Dorchester | - | A trained weather spotter reported penny size hail in Dorchester, South Carolina. |
| June 2008 | Hail | Dorchester | - | Nickel size hail was reported by a trained weather spotter 2 miles east-southeast of Dorchester, South Carolina. |
| May 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorchester | - | Trees and power lines were down. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorchester | - | Several trees were down. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorchester | - | Several trees and large limbs were knocked down. |
| August 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dorchester | - | Trees down along U.S. 78. |
| April 2006 | Hail | Dorchester | - | no account filed |
| June 1996 | Lightning | Dorchester | - | no account filed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Green | 1.9 miles | 16 | |
| Inabinetts (historical) | 3.4 miles | 17 | |
| Pregnall | 3.9 miles | 16 | |
| Ridgeville | 5.2 miles | 17 | |
| Harleyville | 5.9 miles | 16 | |
| Russell Lake Landing | 6.3 miles | 16 | |
| Byrd | 6.8 miles | 18 | |
| Giant | 7.2 miles | 16 |
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.
| Wikidata item Q114442686 | 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 1247540. 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.
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.










