In 1885, Bucao was renamed Dolores, to honor its patron saint, Nuestra Señora de los Dolores (Our Lady Of Sorrows).

The first gobernadorcillo of the town was Don Rosalio Eduarte.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the municipality has a land area of 47.45 square kilometres (18.32 sq mi) [5] constituting 1.14% of the 4,165.25-square-kilometre- (1,608.21 sq mi) total area of Abra.

[3] The population density was 240 inhabitants per square kilometre (620/sq mi).

Poverty Incidence of Dolores Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] Dolores, belonging to the lone congressional district of the province of Abra, is governed by a mayor designated as its local chief executive and by a municipal council as its legislative body in accordance with the Local Government Code.