Dover, Ohio

Dover, Ohio
—  City  —
West Third Street in downtown Dover in 2006
Location of Dover, Ohio
Coordinates: 40°31′36″N 81°28′40″W / 40.52667°N 81.47778°W / 40.52667; -81.47778Coordinates: 40°31′36″N 81°28′40″W / 40.52667°N 81.47778°W / 40.52667; -81.47778
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Tuscarawas
Government
– Mayor	Richard P. Homrighausen
Area
– Total	5.3 sq mi (13.8 km2)
– Land	5.3 sq mi (13.6 km2)
– Water	0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2)
Elevation[1]	879 ft (268 m)
Population (2000)
– Total	12,210
– Density	2,319.6/sq mi (895.6/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
– Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	44622
Area code(s)	330
FIPS code	39-22456[2]
GNIS feature ID	1039763[1]
Website	http://www.doverohio.com/

Dover is a city in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States. The population was 12,210 at the 2000 census.

History and features

Dover was originally part of a grant to Col. James Morrison of Kentucky, who had received it from the federal government for Revolutionary War services. In 1802, two brothers-in-law from Baltimore, Maryland, Christian Deardorff and Jesse Slingluff, traveled through the area and so admired the potential quality of the land along the confluence of the Tuscarawas River and Sugarcreek that they bought 2,000 acres (8.1 km²) of land in 1806 for just over $4,600. The brothers-in-law settled there and the following year laid out the what they hoped would become a prosperous town.

It took a while; by 1818, there were only five buildings in Dover, including three taverns. The founders had hoped Dover would become the county seat, but that honor went to the neighboring town of New Philadelphia.

The county grew, even if Dover did not. The region around Tuscarawas country was settled in large part by ethnic German and Moravian families migrating westward from Pennsylvania. Even today, the local telephone book features many German last names.

Dover's fortunes changed dramatically when the Tuscarawas River was incorporated into the Ohio Canal system in 1825. This canal complex linked the Ohio River to the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal. Dover became the only tolling station on the Tuscarawas, and the population grew rapidly from 46 in 1820 to almost 600 in 1840. The town was known as Canal Dover for many years, partly to distinguish it from other Ohio settlements that had adopted the same name.

A series of mills was built along the Tuscarawas. This began the transition of Dover from an agricultural and trade center to a thriving industrial community. Although the canal system declined with the coming of the railroad, the entire region, stretching from Pittsburgh to Cleveland and on to Detroit, became a center of heavy industry. By the mid 1850s, Dover already had its first blast furnace for making steel and had established a steel rolling mill in 1867.

Dover was formally incorporated as a city in 1901. By the middle of the 20th century, Dover featured a variety of heavy industries. These included a clay pipe works, various machinery and chemical manufacturers, and a pair of specialty steel companies.

Despite its industrial base, Dover remained heavily influenced by the nearby agricultural communities, particularly the Amish and Mennonite communities in Sugarcreek. Such communities extended to Amish-dominated Holmes County. Today, however, agriculture plays a much less prominent role in Dover than in years past. In recent years, Dover has been affected by the decline in heavy industry in the region, but continues to grow and diversity its economic base.

Dover remains proud of its traditions and heritage. Nowhere is that more evident than each year when its residents come to see the "Tornadoes" of Dover High School take on the archrival "Quakers" of New Philadelphia in a football game that has been played annually for more than a century.

Geography

Dover is located at 40°31′36″N 81°28′40″W / 40.52667°N 81.47778°W / 40.52667; -81.47778 (40.526545, -81.477769),^[3] along the Tuscarawas River, near the mouth of Sugar Creek.^[4]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.3 square miles (14 km²), of which, 5.3 square miles (14 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) of it (1.31%) is water.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1870	1,593		—
1880	2,208		38.6%
1890	3,470		57.2%
1900	5,422		56.3%
1910	6,621		22.1%
1920	8,101		22.4%
1930	9,716		19.9%
1940	9,691		−0.3%
1950	9,852		1.7%
1960	11,300		14.7%
1970	11,516		1.9%
1980	11,500		−0.1%
1990	11,329		−1.5%
2000	12,210		7.8%
2010	12,826		5.0%

As of the 2010 census Dover had a population of 12,826. The racial composition of the population was 94.1% white, 1.1% black, 0.6% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.6% Guamanian, 0.1% Samoan, 1.7% from some other race and 1.4% from two or more races. 4.1% of the population was Hispanic or Latino.^[5]

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 12,210 people, 4,996 households, and 3,362 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,319.6 people per square mile (896.3/km²). There were 5,233 housing units at an average density of 994.2 per square mile (384.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.09% White, 1.27% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, and 0.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.60% of the population.

There were 4,996 households out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.4% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% were non-families. 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 86.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,665, and the median income for a family was $44,604. Males had a median income of $34,579 versus $22,397 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,928. About 7.5% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.1% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.

Notable residents

• Elwyn Berlekamp, mathematician
• Ernie Godfrey, college football coach, College Football Hall of Fame
• Ray Mears, college basketball coach
• Elliott Nugent, playwright, producer and actor
• Bob Peterson, animator, screenwriter, director, Pixar
• William Quantrill, guerrilla fighter, American Civil War
• Mark Dean Schwab, child rapist and murderer
• Zack Space, U.S. Representative, Ohio's 18th congressional district

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
4. ^ DeLorme (1991). Ohio Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-233-1.
5. ^ 2010 general profile of population and housing characteristics of Dover from the Us census

External links

• City of Dover
• Tuscarawas County History
• Northeast Ohio Travel - History of Dover
• Dover Public Library