Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 66% of U.S. towns. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 24 buildings. Most of Dover was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: maps from 1889 on and the census since 1810.
The Dover post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dover is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
Vermont towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Vermont town has 147 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Dover’s 211 sits above most of its state (71% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 31 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (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 →
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.
Lost two-thirds of its people between 1810 and 1940, then grew 7-fold.
22 censuses, 1810–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Dover’s Wikipedia page.
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.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Dover yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Dover is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,798 at the 2020 census. It is famed for being the location of the Mount Snow ski area.
Its first post office opened in 1826. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,124 to 1,798 (+60%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
BuiltDover Town Hall is built
Born hereKittredge Haskins is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereSherman Adams is born hereThe 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.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Dover had its own post office from 1826 to 1905.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Dover post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Dover is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns. 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.
4 listings: 2 buildings and 1 historic district, the West Dover Village Historic District, with 24 contributing buildings. 31 historic buildings in all.
4% of Dover’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1984.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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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