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History · Dover Plains

Dover Plains’ post office opened in 1871, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and the census since 2000.

1871first post office

2on the National Register

32%homes built before 1940

2old photos & papers

4famous people

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From Dover Plains’ archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Dover Plains began

When was Dover Plains founded?

1871

The Dover Plains post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,996 in 20002020 census: 1,322155 years

Founding year: the first Dover Plains post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Dover Plains’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18937 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1998. Watch Dover Plains change.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dover Plains’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dover Plains’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2 Retake an old viewDover Plains (Village): stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

On the map

Dover Plains on the map, 1893 to 1998

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dover Plains. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

1893Clove 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 Plains.

The story

How Dover Plains came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dover Plains.

Read it all →

It is not known when or by whom the first settlement was made in Dover Plains. Lawrence and Joseph ran the first store under the name Belding & Co. In 1802 the village had less than a dozen buildings. In 1806 Jonathan Mabbett and James Ketcham bought out the Beldings and ran the business under the name Mabbett & Ketcham. When the town of Dover was formed from the town of Pawling, James Ketcham became the first town clerk.

ChaptersHistoric Buildings Churches

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Dover Plains, 1900–1909

Passages that mention Dover Plains, cut from the printed page as they were published.

gully. History tells us that Sassacus, sachem of the Pequod tribe, with many of his followers, found refuge in this watery cavern when he encountered a band of Mohegan hunters upon the site of the village of Dover Plains. He had fled from Connecticut, following the defeat of his army by English tro… — **The history of Dutchess County, New York**1909 · page 280Read the page →
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gully. History tells us that Sassacus, sachem of the Pequod tribe, with many of his followers, found refuge in this watery cavern when he encountered a band of Mohegan hunters upon the site of the village of Dover Plains. He had fled from Connecticut, following the defeat of his army by English troops under command of Captain Mason. In 1802 the village contained less than a dozen buildings, and among the few residents at that time were Cornelius Dutcher, Jonathan Mabbett and James Ketcham. Among the first merchants in
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Dover Furnace: To the south of Dover Plains, on the Harlem Railroad, lies the station of Dover Furnace. Here are located the ruins of the works of the South Boston Iron Company, established in February, 1881. The buildings of the company were erected in the summer of that year, and the principal bu… — **The history of Dutchess County, New York**1909 · page 287Read the page →
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Dover Furnace: To the south of Dover Plains, on the Harlem Railroad, lies the station of Dover Furnace. Here are located the ruins of the works of the South Boston Iron Company, established in February, 1881. The buildings of the company were erected in the summer of that year, and the principal business done was the manufacture of iron for government cannon.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

AFTER niinisterinL;- to the people in Dover Plains at long interx'als of time, Leather Kiordan was sncceeded by the pious and learned Father Sheehan, who was installed as pastor in 1856 of W'appinger's Falls. By the appointment of heather Sheehan the spiritual needs of the missions of Dover Plains … — **History of the Parish of St. John the Evangelist, Pawling, Dutchess County, N.Y., and the mission church of St. Charles Borromeo, Dover Plains, Dutchess County, N.Y. [1848-1900]**1900Read the page →
Read the text
AFTER niinisterinL;- to the people in Dover Plains at long interx'als of time, Leather Kiordan was sncceeded by the pious and learned Father Sheehan, who was installed as pastor in 1856 of W'appinger's Falls. By the appointment of heather Sheehan the spiritual needs of the missions of Dover Plains and Pawling were more frequently looked after.
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.

Timeline

Dover Plains, 1790 to 1893

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

18th century
1790Born hereNathan Soule is born here
19th century
1819Born hereTheodore Timby is born here
1832Born hereJohn H. Ketcham is born here
1876In the archiveDover Plains (Village)
1879Born hereEdward Bruce is born here
1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey

By decade

Dover Plains, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item

1876Dover Plains (Village)

Date unknown1 to date

Date?Taber-Wing House, State Route 22

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 viewDover Plains (Village), 1876

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Dover Plains’ page.

Retake this view · +15

On the National Register

2 historic places in Dover Plains

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Dover Plains, census by census

Between 1,322 and 1,996 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Dover Plains’ Wikipedia page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Dover Plains

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →

John H. KetchamAmerican politician and Civil War officer · b. 1832

Edward BruceAmerican artist and arts administrator · b. 1879

Nathan SouleAmerican politician · b. 1790

Theodore TimbyAmerican inventor · b. 1819

Questions about Dover Plains’ history

What year was Dover Plains founded?

The Dover Plains post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

Start a conversation

Sources

Where this page comes from

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 Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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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