Half of Dover Base Housing’s homes were built after 2003
More historic than 8% of U.S. towns · #34 of 37 in Delaware. What drives it
Most of Dover Base Housing was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1936 on, and the census since 1970.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dover Base Housing is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #34 of 37 in Delaware. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dover Base Housing’s overall grade.
Delaware towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Delaware town has 29.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Dover Base Housing’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (14% of Delaware towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Dover Base Housing’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Construction of Municipal Airport, Dover Airdrome began in March 1941 and the facility was opened on December 17, 1941. It was converted to a U.S. Army Air Corps airfield just weeks after the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. It was renamed Dover Army Air Base on April 8, 1943; Dover Subbase on June 6, 1943, and Dover Army Airfield on February 2, 1944. With the establishment of the United States Air Force (USAF) on September 18, 1947, the facility was renamed Dover Air Force Base on January 13, 1948.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dover Base Housing. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1936Bowers sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Dover Base Housing.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewCrew members of the 436th Military Airlift Wing, dressed in chemical warfare gear, pull chocks into position during a c…, 1980
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Dover Base Housing’s page.
Dover Base Housing is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #34 of 37 in Delaware. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Dover Base Housing?
2% of Dover Base Housing’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Delaware town; the median home was built in 2003.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (18), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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