Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Its Register listing is the John G. Bush House. Its Register listing is the John G. Bush House. Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 1880.
The Dover post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Dover Centre (1868), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dover’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Dover.
An early name of Dover was Dover Center, so named from its location near the geographical center of Dover Township. Dover was platted in 1869.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Dover, cut from the printed page as they were published.
George C. Sheeks was one of the earliest settlers of Dover township and one of the founders of the village of Dover Center. He was prominent in township affairs. He died in July, 1889.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
in youth attended the district schools, finishing at Darling's Business College, Rochester. For four winter terms he taught school in the country districts before he took his business course at Darling's college. In 1885 he came to Dover and accepted a clerkship in the Dover bank, which position he held until 1898, when he was promoted to his present position as cashier. He is one of the directors of the bank, and is also secretary and treasurer of the Creamery Association at Dover. He has served as town treas-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dover. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Dover.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Grew from 231 people in 1880 to 782 in 2020, 3 times over.
13 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Dover’s Wikipedia page.
Dover’s post office has been open since 1858. Another post office, Dover Centre, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The Dover post office opened in 1858, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
One place: the John G. Bush House (listed 1980).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
