Snapshot: Dover

1641 Becomes part of Massachusetts Bay Colony
1679 Becomes part of Province of New Hampshire
1855 Incorporated as a city

History
In 1623, Edward Hilton, a London fishmonger, sailed eight miles up the Piscataqua River from the Atlantic coast to an area known to the Indians as Cocheco, which he called Northam, later renamed Dover. With the help of his brother William, he founded what is known today as the first permanent settlement in New Hampshire, the seventh oldest in the country. They built fisheries and salt works to preserve the fish they caught. They also traded for furs with the Indians. The colony grew as more settlers arrived from Britain and Massachusetts.

By 1632, the colonists harnessed the might of Cocheco Falls to power lumber and grain mills. These industries remained the mainstay of the economy until the beginning of the 19th century when cotton mills, shoe manufacturing, and the Cocheco Print works replaced them. Dover briefly served as a seaport with great schooners moving cargo to foreign ports and back. In March of 1896, a flood sent the bridges as well as other natural and manmade objects into the river, making it impossible for the ships to navigate.

Tidbit - The 1951 docu-drama The Whistle at Eaton Falls, about a wildcat strike in a NH factory, starring Ernest Borgnine and Lloyd Bridges, was filmed in Dover.

People
Outside of the county that bears his name, not many people are familiar with Reverend Jeremy Belknap (1744-1798) of Dover. Yet much of New Hampshire's early history may have been lost if not for his efforts. His three-volume The History of New Hampshire, is not only comprehensive, but is interesting as well. Hardly a book written about New Hampshire does not list Rev. Belknap's book as a reference or in the bibliography. His devotion to history was not limited to New Hampshire. In 1791 he founded the oldest historical society in the US -- the Massachusetts Historical Society.

John P. Hale (1806-1873), although born in Rochester, NH, made his home in Dover. He served as New Hampshire's congressman from 1843 to 1845. He then went on to serve as US Senator from 1847 to 1853. He was the first abolitionist senator in the country. In 1852 he was the presidential nominee of the Free Soil Party, which managed to garner 5% of the popular vote. Later he served as ambassador to Spain. See the tidbit for an ironic bit of information about his daughter, Lucy!