Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Its Register listing is the James M. Dinwiddie House. Its Register listing is the James M. Dinwiddie House. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1950 on, and the census since 1870.
The Dover post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name.
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.
Dover was platted in 1839. The community took its name from a nearby church of the same name. A post office called Dover has been in operation since 1835.
The James M. Dinwiddie House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Dover, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Corder is a sprightly town of about one thousand population, a station on the Chicago & Alton railroad, in Dover township. It was laid out in 1878, and incorporated in 1881. The first house was erected by the first postmaster, W. J. Leise ; he also conducted the first general store in the place.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The next settlement was made in Dover township, as now known, by John Lovelady and Solomon Cox in 181 7, at a point a half mile east of the site of the present village of Dover. W. R. Cole settled a mile and a half west of them and made improvements the same season. These families came from Virginia.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The first settlement in this township Was made by John Lovelady and Solomon Cox, in the year 1817, one-half mile west of the present village of Dover. W. R. Cole and Tames Bounds settled one and a half miles west; they made some other improvements in the same year. Solomon Cox came from Virginia and settled on section 29. W. R. Cole came from Virginia and settled on section 30. James Bounds, Sr., James Bounds, Jr. and Obadiah Bounds, came from Tennessee and settled on section 31 in the year 1818. Christopher Jago, Wm. Carpenter and John
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The first mention of Dover township occurs February 5, 1836, when it was ordered by the county court " that Tabo township be hereafter known and designated by the name and style of Dover township." This was only a small remnant of the original Tabo township, and comprised the most of the territory now embraced in Dover and Middleton townships.
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.
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.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Dover’s page.
Retake this view · +15The 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.
Between 83 and 321 people in every census since 1870.
15 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Dover’s Wikipedia page.
The Dover post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
One place: the James M. Dinwiddie House (listed 1997).
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 the Library of Congress (3), 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.
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