History

Dover was slow to take root; by 1818, it was hard scrabble home to only five buildings, including three taverns and two homes, even though it was laid out to be the future County Seat. When Tuscarawas County was formed in 1808, New Philadelphia was chosen as the political center. When the census of 1820 counted heads, Dover had achieved a population of 46.

Dover secured a leg up on growth when an important stretch of the Ohio Erie Canal was carved out next to the Tuscarawas River in the mid 1820’s. Dover was the only tolling station on the canal in Tuscarawas County, and the canal trade helped swell the population to 598 by 1840. By then, Dover was a milling center, with several flour mills creating the first real commerce in the area. It was during the booming canal era that Dover’s post office address became known as Canal Dover to distinguish it from the other Dovers in Ohio.

Dover was incorporated as a village in 1842, with Joseph Slingluff elected first Mayor. Oddly, the charter was permitted to lapse, and Dover had no official government until 1867, when it was again incorporated. Dover’s incorporation as a City occurred on December 6, 1901.

Dover became a rail stop in 1854.Dover’s Fire Department was organized in the 1870’s.

Dover will begin her second century as a City in 2001. Dover will celebrate its bi-centennial in 2007