More historic than 55% of U.S. towns · #674 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Most of Dover Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1963 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1856.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Dover Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dover Township is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #674 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dover Township’s overall grade.
Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Dover Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1764.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). 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 Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
James Joner purchased 203 acres (0.82 km2) in 1764 and laid out the town of Dover. It was known generally as Joner's Town until 1815, when a Dover post office was established.
During the 1863 Gettysburg campaign of the American Civil War, Dover was briefly occupied overnight, June 30 – July 1, by Confederate cavalry under J.E.B. Stuart.
Dover was incorporated in 1864, 100 years after its founding.
The Englehart Melchinger House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
Passages that mention Dover Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of York County, Pennsylvania1886 · page 678Read the page →
Read the text
This is a hamlet near the southern boundary of Dover Township, about five miles from York. Among the first settlers in this section were two men by the name of Weigle.
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.
By decade
Dover Township, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings 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 Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1963Dover sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Dover Township.
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 viewDETAIL SHOWING WROUGHT IRON NUT - Barn, Rural Delivery Route 1, 1933
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Dover Township’s page.
In 1764, according to Wikidata. Dover Township’s post office opened in 1856, and the census of 1850 counted 246 people here.
How does Dover Township rank for history?
Dover Township is more historic than 55% of U.S. towns, #674 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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 Township?
7% of Dover Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1988.
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 (6), the Library of Congress (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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