Compiled and submitted by Joyce Law 2007 and for GDHS use only. 

This information is for personal use only, not commercial use.   This may be copied as long as all notices and submitter information is included.   Any other use, including copying files to other sites or Web pages, requires permission from the submitter PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. 

HISTORICAL WALKING TOUR OF DOVER BOROUGH 

Background 

The tour was first started as a school program with the 1995-96 class of 3^rd graders. The teachers were Nancy Brown & Sandra McDowell of  Leib Elementary. The students were so interested in the project that it was continued until 2005 when Mrs. Brown & Mrs. McDowell retired and due to the time demands of standardized testing, the teachers could not fit it into their schedules. 

The Tour 

The tour begins at the rebuilt Blacksmith Shop in Alda Ketterman Park on Butter Rd., Dover, PA.   The Blacksmith Shop was torn down at its original location on Butter Rd. in 2003, and after a lot of volunteer hours and sore knees, it was rebuilt and completed in 2006 at the Alda Ketterman Park.  The final touch for the Blacksmith Shop was the hanging of the sign over the door for the dedication of the shop along with the park on June 2, 2007. 

The blacksmith was a popular and essential occupation. The blacksmith shoed horses and made equipment for the farmers and utensils for the women.  The pictures below are of Harry Neiman’s shop.

Proceeding down Butter Rd., the second stop on the tour is 46 Butter Rd., the Dover Borough Council Building. This building was previously the Band Hall for the Dover Band, a community band. Sylvan Tate Strayer, grandfather of  borough resident Kay Stitley, played the trombone in the band. Later Faith Tabernacle, a pentecostal church, occupied the building for seven to eight years before it was purchased by the Borough in 1974.

Next on Butter Rd., behind the house on the corner of 64 N. Queen Street, is the former site of the Blacksmith Shop, now a vacant lot. The shop originally stood on the corner of Butter Rd. and Queen St., but Harry Neiman had it rolled back to the adjoining lot behind the house and built the Sears &  Roebuck house currently at this location. During the winter of 2003, due to heavy snow, the Blacksmith Shop roof collapsed. Mrs. Donald Kann, the current owner, donated the building to the Greater Dover Historical Society. Society members dismantled the structure that same year, stored the lumber for a year and then proceeded to rebuild. On May 21, 2005 the framing of the building was completed with the help of many volunteers.  Mr. Ken Brown supervised the project. Progressive Services of Dover, PA donated the standing seam roof. Don Miller of Penn Snyder Construction built the forge and Jonathan Arn of Better Buildings, Inc. built the chimney. Glen-Gery Brick donated all the brick for the forge, sidewalk, and floor. Theodore Ziegler from Wellsville is the resident blacksmith.  

Then on to the corner of  Butter Rd. and N. Main St. which in early years was a busy place. There were two grocery stores and the candy and bakery store.  These stores carried canned and bottled goods, all grocery items, oils for lanterns, fabrics, clothing, shoes and hardware items.  In the 1800’s, the building at 61 N. Main St. was a mercantile store owned by Oliver M. Stouch and his family.  The store offered some clothing, a little hardware, some shoes, and lantern oil. The shop keeper sold fabric for dresses as many of his customers made their own clothing.  Mr. Stouch kept a diary every year for thirty years.  Jay Stouch, a great- grandson of Oliver Stouch and a current resident of Lititz, PA, gave permission to have these diaries transcribed by the Society and to be made available for purchase in the future as a fund raiser.  Mr. Stouch’s diaries document many events that happened in Dover Borough. Oliver Stouch emigrated from Germany; keeping a personal diary was a way for him to learn to read and write the English language. 

Next at 67-69 N. Main St. is the Otterbein Church which was the first church in the borough and is now occupied by the Dover Economy Store at the rear of the structure. The church was built in 1851 and has had two additions over the years. Originally the building had two front doors, one for the ladies, the other for the gentlemen. Inside the church, the ladies and gentlemen sat on opposite sides of the main aisle. The congregation did not sit in family groups as is customary today. There is a hole under the altar, so when J.E.B. Stuart and his troops came through Dover during the Civil War, the townspeople hid their whiskey in this space for safekeeping. The congregation later moved into a new church on Emig Mill Rd., across from the Leib Elementary School, Weigelstown, PA.

Then on to 98 N. Main St. which is the site of what was thought to be the first school in the borough. One of the first teachers in the community was John Peter Streher.  In 1881 a building fire burned a hole in the roof; this event was documented by Oliver Stouch in his diary. If you look closely, you can still see the stone wall and gate that were around the school at that time. At one time the owners of the house, while digging by their patio, came upon a headstone buried in the yard. Some residents report hearing noises of things being moved around in this house. This area was also known as Cherry Hill as everyone in this location at that time had cherry trees.

Built in 1866, 92 N. Main St. was believed to be the oldest house in Dover Borough but since then, further discoveries have indicated otherwise. The house across the street at 81 N. Main St. or the one at 30 N. Main St. could be older houses as they are both known to be of log construction. In the process of researching older houses, an interested borough resident found that the house at 4 S. Main St. which houses Taylor’s Treasures is also made from logs and could be another candidate for the oldest house in Dover, PA.

At the back of 82 N. Main St. was a factory that made women’s and children’s dresses in the 1940’s.                                                     

54 N. Main St. was the home of Grass’s Candy & Bakery Shop.  The ovens were located to the rear of the house in a small unattached building.

54 1/2 N. Main Street was Aughenbaugh’s Store.  Food, candy, soda, shoes, boots, hardware, ribbon, and lamp oil were sold here. Under the porch behind the lattice work is a metal ring that was used to tie up horses and a piece of metal that was used to scrape the mud from boots.  Right next to the porch in a separate building are cellar doors which at one time served as a coal chute.  

A building behind the property shown below at the corner of Mayfield & 48-50 N. Main St. housed Hershey’s Bakery. It is no longer standing.

The Dover Garage at 44 N. Main St. was the livery stable where travelers passing through Dover from as far away as Baltimore and Philadelphia would stop to pick up a horse or horse and carriage.  Dover was the end of the line for the street car from York, PA.  The next building at 38 N. Main St. was the site of the National House Hotel.  The house that stands here now was built using the stone from the old hotel.

                                                                  44 North Main St.

                                                                                                                 38 N. Main Street

Across the street at 41 & 43 N. Main St. was a general store then known as Daron’s of Dover where the proprietors sold beautiful dishes along with fabric, thread and household items. 

Mr. Artzberger bought the building and ran a restaurant there for many years. His daughter and her husband bought the restaurant which subsequently became Butch Myer’s Pool Hall as well as a restaurant.  Patrons played pool and cards in a room at the rear. A food bar occupied the left side of the building.  When a couple ordered sodas, the lady would get the straw and the gentleman had to drink out of the bottle.  

Dr. Lewis Herrold and Dr. Nathan G. Wallace, both general practitioners, lived in the next house at 36 N. Main St.   Dr. Wallace opened his Dover practice in 1883.   He was a well to do man. When he passed away, he left his money in trust to be used in the service of the community of  Dover. Most notably, Dr. Wallace donated the money for the bell at the Calvary Lutheran Church.

The Ray Bitting Insurance agency has occupied the building at 35. N. Main St. since 1988.  It had once been used as a hatter’s shop.  A butcher shop once stood on the site behind the house.

29 N. Main St. was owned by David Brillhart. In 1912 he operated The Oyster Parlor in this building and in the same year connected it to a factory for making hosiery which he operated for several years.  The factory made stockings for both men and women.

The next stop at 28 N. Main St. is now a flower shop. In 1954 it was owned by Leroy Walton and served as a cigar factory.  After the cigar factory closed, it was occupied by a jewelry store, then Dave’s Shoe Store and finally, currently, the Golden Carriage flower shop.

Susie Latshaw lived at 20 N. Main St. and sold Larkin’s products ranging from soap to packaged food to household products.   She was the first person in town to sell pudding and Jello.  Susie was known to use a broom to chase off anyone caught trespassing on her property. If nothing else, young trespassers learned to respect the property of others.

21 N. Main St, recently the home of Dellinger’s Motors, was once the location of Crone’s Furniture Store where at one time P. A. Lauer was the town undertaker and a furniture maker.  At Christmas time the windows were decorated with toys, including an American Flyer train displayed under the huge Christmas tree. In the late 1800’s there was a buggy shop in the rear of the building and also a blacksmith shop.

In the lot that is occupied by part of  Kelly Transit was Holtzapple’s grocery store at 16 N. Main St. At 14 N. Main St. was a residence and post office and later the home of Lankford Insurance Agency.  From about 1929 and for the next 26 years or so, the building was the home of three former Dover postmasters: J. William Strayer, William Lauer and Edison Brown.  The house was demolished in 1982 to make way for a new Dover branch of the York Bank & Trust Co.  The previous York Bank’s Dover office building was built in 1924 and was razed around 1982.  The later bank building now houses Kelly Transit. 

Across the street at 9 N. Main St. is Calvary Lutheran Church.  This church is 107 years old, one of the oldest churches in the borough.  It was built in 1900 at a cost of $8000. The bell in the church tower was donated by Dr. Samuel Wallace of the noted Wallace family.  The clock was bought by the Dover citizens.   

Next at 5 N. Main St. is the Englehart Melchinger house which is listed on the National Register of Historic places.  The building’s architecture is in the Italianate Greek Revival style. Englehart Melchinger was a prominent 19^th c. businessman who acquired personal wealth through a number of successful business pursuits. During the Civil War, in July of 1863, J.E.B. Stuart used this home for his office during his brief stay in Dover. It has been reported this house was once part of the underground railroad. 

6 N. Main St. was Dr. John Ahl’s office where he cared for wounded Civil War soldiers. This building has also served as a drug store and a post office.

1 N. Main St. is currently the site of Laird’s Security Vault and was the site of the first separate post office building in the Dover Borough. Previously, post offices were located in private homes. Mail came to the post office by horse and wagon. B & S Racing Collectibles, CC Kottcamp and Detter’s TV Shop later occupied this building. 

Across the square at 2 S. Main St. is Botterbusch Jewelry Store. In the early 1800’s, at the rear of this building, Peter Wiest opened a store. In 1843 during a terrible snow storm, a fire broke out destroying Mr. Wiest’s merchandise. During this fire the tavern located across the square also burned.  Persevering  in spite of  this tragedy, Mr. Wiest eventually moved his business to York and started the P. Wiest Department Store located on W. Market St. just off the square. 

At 4 S. Main St., now Taylor’s Treasures, a log home housed W. H. Linebaugh’s Store, a soda fountain and restaurant.  In 1977 it housed Ernst Pharmacy, followed by the 3 C’s Coin Shop in the 1980’s whose owner, Bill Neuhaus, was murdered during a robbery there.  

 East across the square at 11 S. Main is Tom’s Mobil Station where, on the corner, once stood the Blue Bell Market. In the parking area in front of the store, the Morton Salt delivery man would would write in the parking lot with a box of salt, “Morton was here.”  Next door to the Blue Bell Market on S. Main St. was the Hotel Dover. When Herbie Lewis purchased the Market building, he opened up a Western Auto Store on the premises. This structure was demolished and ultimately Tom’s Mobil Station came to occupy the site. In the 1970 there was an Amoco gas station at this location.  This particular Dover Borough corner has undergone numerous changes throughout the years. 

Building has been razed

Down the street at 23 S. Main St. is Baughman’s Memorial Service which has been in operation since 1875. Harry Baughman’s residence stood where the flag pole stands now. Harry’s son Nelson and his wife Edna lived at 23 S. Main St. They carried on the business.   

Their son Donald and their daughter Sharon now continue the business. Donald resides at 31 S. Main St., and Sharon lives at 33 S. Main St., once a cigar factory.   

44 S. Main St. was occupied by Dr. Blair English, a veterinarian. Annie Stambaugh, Dover’s first telephone operator, worked out of this building. She used the old time plug in switchboard. In 1938 she was given a permit to turn on the siren when she received a call for a fire. In the other half of the house, her mother had a millinery shop where all the women came to purchase their hats.   The house still has the big mirror on the wall and the shelves where she displayed the hats.  Cemented into the garage foundation at the back of the house is a headstone which reads, “John Henry Died Nov. 12 1853(?).Is this a true grave site?  No one knows. 

A headstone stands in the back yard of the house at 54 S. Main St. It marks the resting place of Clayton Berkheimer who, according to the marker, died July 30, 1891 at age 3 months. The marker may have been relocated here from a cemetery, but no one is certain.

50 S. Main St. was the first location of Emig Funeral Home, later moved to E. Canal Street, then to its present location on 47 Queen St.

The chiropractor office at 56 S. Main St. was once the site of  Quickel’s Supply Company, later purchased by Boyd Mundis who renamed it Mundis Supply Company.  Here people bought feed and coal.  Later a hardware and lumber store which did millwork occupied the site.   More recently a pizza shop operated a business here until it burned. A real estate office, a soft pretzel shop, and a laundry were located where currently a laundromat does business.

Back across the street at 59 S. Main St. was Snelbecker’s Store which opened in 1929 during the depression. The owners traded goods in place of money and gave credit when necessary. A variety of merchandise was available to the customers. Anna Snelbecker was also in later years a reporter for several newspapers.

Proceeding up Old Mill St. in front of the laundromat to Reservoir St. to School Lane and then to the driveway to the high school off of  W. Canal St. is the former location of 46 W. Canal St. and the site of the three room school which was later torn down to make way for the new high school. The 1^st and 2^nd grades were consolidated in one room, 3,4,5 in another, and 6 and 7 in the front of the building.  Back in the corner of the lot was the outhouse. The original high school was built in 1928-1930 and was torn down in the late 1950’s. The present building was constructed in 1960 and remodeled in 2005. 

Across from the school at 81 W. Canal St. is Dover Tax Service and KT’s Pizza where the former Decker’s Meat Market and Locker store was located.  In the summer customers would appear on the street with coats and gloves to enter the cold storage locker for which they paid a rental fee for freezer space.  Students frequented the store at lunch time, but following a serious car accident nearby involving a student during the lunch period, the school instituted closed lunches.  The sharp curve (scene of the accident) by the bridge was eliminated when the road was straightened. The original road turns left at the western end of the bridge.

 On W. Canal St. is another old church, the United Church of Christ. 

In back of the church to the left between the church parking lot and Mayfield St. is a cemetery. Frederick Stouch (Stough), his wife Eve and Daniel Stouch are buried here.  Frederick was a sergeant who served in the First Battalion of the Sixty-first Regiment of Pennsylvania during the War of 1812. At one time a wrought iron fence framed this small cemetery.  People fell on hard times and sold the fence. The Greater Dover Historical Society is trying to gain the rights to maintain the property and replace the wrought iron fence with a replica. The head stones were originally standing, but when they cracked and fell over, they were placed flat in the ground in cement.   

East on W. Canal St. is the site of the old Union Fire and Hose Fire Company at 17 W. Canal St. which began operations in the fall of 1844.The company had a hand pumper called “Old Mason” which it had purchased from the Vigilant Company of York and which was in use until 1885. The Fire House charter was dedicated in 1912; the company continued operations here until 1953. Before the building served as a fire house, it was George Strayer’s buggy shop.

At the rear of 15 W. Canal St. was another blacksmith shop which is no longer standing. 

Across the square at 6 E. Canal S., on a vacant lot and part of Tom’s Service Station parking lot, was the site of the Jacob Joner Council.  The Junior Order of United American Mechanics came into being on Sept. 18, 1907.  In 1913 the council organized and equipped a “uniform rank” with forty-five Springfield rifles at the cost of $1.50 each. Members from this group who entered the World War I had some training using fire arms.

A resident of Dover, Gayle Heagy’s father, owned Emig’s funeral home once located here at 6 E. Canal St.  When a call came in, the family would have to move the furniture out of the living room and dining room into the small kitchen, so the funeral could be held in the living room. After the funeral concluded, the furniture was moved back until before long, the space would be needed once again and the process would repeat itself.

At 8 E. Canal St. is Tiny Blessing Day Care Center, once the location of a Western Auto Store and a bicycle shop.  

Next at 29 E. Canal St. was Toomey’s Cigar Factory. Their cigars were sent all around the world. Some tobacco used in the production of Toomey cigars was grown in the York area.

The old jail site is located on the alley known as City Hall Drive. In 1904 the jail was built by Hess Brothers. Because construction of the jail took much longer than expected, the workers celebrated its completion in a local tavern on the square. They drank too much and ended up being the first ones to be incarcerated in the jail house. The first 3^rd grade class (1995-1996) had its first walking tour along City Hall Drive and was concerned that the site of the jail was unmarked.  Within eight months of its October visit, the class had saved enough money to buy a marker. The marker has cracked over the years due to cold weather.  It has been removed; Mr. Donald Baughman will be making a replica.  When the replica is put in place, a small iron fence, forged by Theodore Ziegler of Wellsville, PA, will surround it. The old jail now stands in the Dover Community Park along with the Log House on W. Canal Road. 

The next building to the south on City Hall Drive is where Mr. David Brillhart moved the hosiery shop from Main St. At one time forty to fifty people were hired to make men’s socks. In 1951 Mr. Brillhart relocated to Queen St. The employees would arrive for work at 5:00a.m., so they could get off before it got hot in the afternoon.  Nearby residents would be awakened early in the morning by the humming of sewing machines.    

37 E. Canal St. was the site of the Keystone Creamery property which was owned by Calvin Hoffman. Farmers brought in milk in eight gallon cans. After the cream was removed, it was used to make butter.  The skim milk was sold for table use or to feed the animals. Behind the creamery were a dam and a pond with an outlet creek. A lot of hockey games were played on the pond. The farmers would cut ice from the pond for use in their ice boxes.  There was also an ice storage plant on the site.  The ice blocks were separated with saw dust to prevent them from sticking together. The pond has been drained, but the creek can still be seen running along side the Rutter’s store. In the 1960’s the former creamery became Wineka Feed Service. Later the property was sold to David Laird .

The Otterbein Cemetery is located on E. Canal St., past the Y in the road and behind a house on the left hand side of the street. The cemetery contains some Rauhausers and Frysingers headstones.

The walking tour concludes with a return to the Blacksmith Shop on Butter Road.