I. INTRODUCTION TO DOVER
In 1897, the Town of Dover commissioned A History of Dover, Massachusetts by Frank Smith. Though sometimes challenged, Smith's history is colorful reading and the following summary is just a sample.
The first English-speaking settlers in Dover found the area inhabited by at least three tribes of Indians. The Wisset tribe was located in the present day Hartford Street area; the Powisset tribe lived nearer the current center of town; and the Pegans occupied today's Pegan Hill and the surrounding land. Relations between settlers and Indians were peaceful in general, though records indicate that at least one fortification was built in the western part of town for protection from roaming Indians. Long after the white settlers had gained ownership of the land, Indians frequently returned to the Powisset area to their ancestral home, and as late as 1835, a remnant tribe of Natick Indians could be found selling baskets to the citizens of Dover.
The political history of the town begins with the Town of Dedham. The Dover area was first designated as the Fourth Precinct of Dedham, and some of the earliest settlers were James Draper who arrived in 1682, Thomas Battle who acquired land in 1683 in the Claybrook Road area, and Nathaniel Chickering who settled in a section of his one thousand acres in 1694 and the list of settlers grew steadily from that time. At this time, residents attended church in Dedham, which was the county seat where the courthouse was also located.
In 1728 the residents petitioned the Town of Dedham "that they and their estates might be set off into a distinct precinct." This request was granted in 1729. The residents had wished to avoid payment of the ministerial tax to the Town of Dedham and were henceforth allowed to attend church in neighboring communities and to pay them tax instead.
This arrangement continued until 1748, when townspeople petitioned the General Court for their own meeting house and minister, which made "Springfield Parish" a reality. The petition was granted, and in January of 1749, a meeting was held to elect a clerk and a precinct committee. This event marks the beginning of the Town Meeting tradition in Dover, which has continued to the present day. Incidentally, the name Springfield Parish derives from the fact that many freshwater springs are located in the town center.
Following construction in 1754 of a "meeting house" on the hill east of Trout Brook, the committee secured the services of a succession of young ministers from Harvard College. The first permanent minister was Benjamin Caryl. He arrived in 1762, purchased land, and built a parsonage on Dedham Street in 1777. At that time, the Springfield Parish contained forty-nine houses and 352 inhabitants. There was no village. The meeting house and the tavern were the center of town life for the farmers and their families scattered about the area. With hostilities against the British becoming increasingly imminent, the Town of Dedham voted in 1773 to form a militia. Ebenezer Battle was chosen to head the Springfield Company, which included nearly all the able-bodied men of the parish. On April 19, 1775, a messenger brought news of the British troop movement. The Minutemen assembled so hastily that tradition states that Aaron Whiting left his plow and oxen in the field. His wife later retrieved the animals. The company marched to Watertown and took the road to Menotomy (now Arlington) where their first encounter took place. Twenty-two Minutemen were killed in the battle, including Elias Haven of Springfield Parish. Following this skirmish, short-term enlistments were made by the men of the parish, who subsequently fought at a number of battles, including Dorchester Heights, Bunker Hill, Ticonderoga, the blockade of Boston, Castle Island, and the Rhode Island campaign. Those patriots who did not fight in the Revolution were busy furnishing the parish's quota of supplies to the militia and paying extra taxes levied for the salaries of the regulars. Lt. Col. Daniel Whiting was the highest ranking officer which Springfield Parish produced, and he served in the army until 1781.
Following the Revolution, the townspeople settled back into their agricultural routine. The old meeting house burned down in 1810. Later, this site became the location of the Evangelical Congregational Church. In recent years, St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church has occupied this location. Back in 1811, a new meeting house was built across the street from the original meeting house. Ralph Sanger became the new minister. However, the new meeting house was also destroyed by fire. Finally, in 1839, the First Parish Church (a Unitarian Church) was built at that location. This same building is known today as the Dover Church.
As the parish grew, its people were preoccupied with the establishment of schools, a library, highways, a town cemetery, and new churches. Attempts also were made to establish industries other than farming, and among these were lumber for the ship building trade, a grist mill, a nail factory and an iron slitting and rolling business.
There were continuing petitions to the General Court (i.e. the State Legislature) for the establishment of a separate district in Dover as opposed to the existing parish status. A district had no representative to the General Court, but exercised all the other functions of a town, including the maintenance of highways, care of the poor, and support of schools. In 1784, the district was formed. Later, in 1816, the first steps were taken towards the incorporation of the Town of Dover, but definitive action did not come until years later. Once the Town of Dover was finally incorporated in 1836, the town had representation to the General Court.
The Selectmen made the first printed Town Report to the citizens in 1846. Mail service started in 1838, and by 1861 railroad lines had connected Dover with the rest of the Commonwealth. The Town Seal was adopted in 1894 and is now on almost all official town mailings and pamphlets. It consists of a school house and brook on the left and, on the right, a hill and Indians, commemorating the original tribes. In the center is the Town Meeting House upon a shield with plow and sheaves of wheat. The seal also bears the date of the creation of the parish (1748), the date of the formation of the district (1784), and the date of incorporation (1836).
Although Dover had its beginnings as a rural farming community, its inhabitants during the years of growth and development managed to maintain a special appreciation for their land and their town. In the late 1800's and early 1900's, the people who came from the city to settle gracious country estates fortunately had enlightened attitudes about the land and its use that long preceded the current environmental movement. By close cooperation with the farming people who were here before them, horseback riders like those in the Norfolk Hunt Club tried to preserve open fields. As property was divided, developed and built on, the natural beauty of the land was appreciated and maintained. Even now, as large old estates are divided, some land owners value natural land. Through continuing concerted efforts and thoughtful planning by many dedicated and hard working people, open spaces and woodlands are being preserved in order to maintain the rural character of the town that makes Dover the unique community that it is today.
Dover covers 15.3 square miles, or 9,796 acres, and has a slowly, but steadily, growing population. In 1910 the U.S. Census showed a population of 798, which by 1950 had reached 1,722. From 1950 through 1970, the population increased rapidly. By 1998, there were an estimated 5,751 residents in 1,873 households, of whom 3,563 were registered voters.
Dover is predominantly residential, with zoning for one or two acre building lots and some smaller house lots near the center of town, which pre-date the zoning by-laws. There is a small business center; a small number of professional people have offices in town. Several working farms still exist.
While striving to maintain the pleasant rural aspects of Dover, its citizens have maintained its history through the preservation of historic buildings, the establishment of a museum showing aspects of life from the days of earliest settlement, and the naming of streets. Claybrook Road, Pegan Lane, Powisset Street, Haven Street, Whiting Road, Chickering Drive, Wilsondale and many other names echo Dover's past. For those interested in a detailed history of the Town, the Dover library has copies of Frank Smith's books and articles. In addition, Richard Vara wrote an informative book in 1976 entitled Dover Days Gone By, in celebration of the country's bicentennial. The Library also has copies of the Town Report, which is published annually by the Town of Dover.
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