Looking for a feel-good deep dive into your hometown? Dover is brimming with stories—canal roots, a one-of-a-kind carving legend, a Friday-night rivalry that spans generations, even a community-owned power story that starts in the 1800s. Whether you’ve lived here forever or just moved in, these fun facts show why Dover punches way above its size on history, culture, and small-city charm.

Before it was Dover, the town was known as Canal Dover—no surprise, given its early growth along the Ohio & Erie Canal. The townsite was first platted in 1807, and founders Christian Deardorff and Jesse Slingluff are credited with getting the community started. A post office opened in 1815, Canal Dover incorporated as a village in 1842, and it became a city in 1903. On February 12, 1916, the city officially shortened its name to Dover—a small tweak that marked a new era while preserving its canal heritage. (Fun extra: early streets included Front, Second, Third, and Fourth, with Market—now Wooster—running north-south.)

Dover’s canal era still echoes across town. City history notes that Dover was once the only Ohio Canal stop in the region, a status that helped fuel growth during the Victorian period. That legacy is still celebrated with local preservation efforts—and if you’re into living history, the J.E. Reeves Home and Museum offers a window into that Gilded Age feel. The canal story isn’t just nostalgia: it explains why downtown’s layout and some of its enduring landmarks look and feel the way they do. It’s part of why Dover’s downtown strolls have such distinct character today.

Say “Dover,” and many people immediately think of Ernest “Mooney” Warther—the master carver whose astonishing locomotive carvings draw enthusiasts from around the world. The Warther Museum keeps his legacy vivid, pairing the precision of his work with the city’s long relationship to rail. A few blocks away, the J.E. Reeves Home and Museum anchors Dover’s Victorian heritage with architecture, décor, and guided tours that make local history feel wonderfully tangible. Together, these two sites show how craftsmanship and preservation meet in Dover—where everyday artistry became world-class.

Dover and neighboring New Philadelphia are “twin cities,” and their annual high-school football showdown has been played for more than a century. If it feels like one of Ohio’s longest-running rivalries, that’s because it is—ranked the state’s fourth-longest, with tradition and pride on both sidelines. Rivalry week isn’t just a game; it’s a community event that ties generations together, sparks friendly banter at work, and sends alumni down memory lane. It’s one of those living traditions that turns a small city into a big family.

In the late 1890s, Dover residents chose local control by voting to build a municipal light plant—one of those big, practical decisions that still benefits customers today. Over the decades the system modernized (even laying submarine cables under the river in the 1930s) and now serves thousands of homes and businesses. Here’s a quirky water-department tidbit: because the source was so clean, Dover didn’t begin sterilizing its municipal water until 1998—city history even notes it was the last city east of the Mississippi to start doing so. Whether you geek out on infrastructure or not, it’s a point of local pride that Dover has managed critical services with a steady hand for well over a century.

Geography helps explain Dover’s vibe. The city sits along the Tuscarawas River near where Sugar Creek flows in—a natural crossroads that shaped industry, transport, and recreation. Dover became a rail stop by 1854, another nudge that connected local factories and shops to larger markets. For all that connectivity, Dover remains walkably compact: about 5.9 square miles, with just over 13,000 residents as of the 2020 census. That “small but connected” mix is a big reason people who leave often find their way back.

Dover’s notable names range wide. Admiral Herald F. Stout, namesake of the U.S.S. Stout, is interred at Dover Burial Park; playwright Elliott Nugent hailed from here; and yes, the controversial Civil War guerrilla William C. Quantrill was born in town. City history also fondly remembers Mooney Warther bicycling around Dover and helping kids look for spear points in local fields—exactly the kind of homespun scene that sticks in community memory. These vignettes and personalities add texture to the timelines, giving Dover’s history a distinctly human face.

From canal days and Victorian mansions to record-setting football rivalries and community-owned power, Dover’s story is packed with personality—exactly what makes living here special. The best part? You can experience most of these facts on an afternoon stroll or a weekend outing, right in our own backyard. If this roundup rekindled your hometown pride, keep the local love going: when you’re ready for your next test drive or service visit, Parkway Nissan is part of that same Dover spirit—neighbors helping neighbors, yesterday and today.