Dover is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Loudoun County Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2020, the census returned a population of 420,959, making it Virginia's third-most populous county. Loudoun County's seat is Leesburg. Loudoun C ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Dover is located east of Middleburg at the intersection of

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlanti ...

, Champe Ford Road (SR 629 south), and Cobb House Road (SR 629 north). The

Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River * Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Haw ...

begins following Route 50 at this point. Dover as a geographical entity is somewhat exaggerated, seeing as the bend in Route 50 it refers to consists of only few houses, but it has a long pedigree as a named area, appearing on state and national maps. Most likely, its status as a geographical entity stems from the fact that the

Little River Turnpike State Route 236 (SR 236) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs from U.S. Route 29 and US 50 in Fairfax east to SR 400 in Alexandria. SR 236 is a major suburban arterial highway that connects the inde ...

(first

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...

in America) and Aldie-Ashby's Gap Turnpike terminated approximately together here, 1.3 miles west of Aldie.

Historical interest

There are four Virginia

historical marker A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...

s at the site, commemorating John Champe, Revolutionary War Hero, and three

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

markers, including one mentioning the

Battle of Aldie The Battle of Aldie took place on June 17, 1863, in Loudoun County, Virginia, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War. Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry screened Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederate infantry as it marche ...

. Its two distinguishing features are ''Stoke'' (a prominent house where Teddy Roosevelt was a frequent guest) and the Champe Ford Memorial (an

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

commemorating John Champe, handpicked by

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

to re-capture

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...

after his

defection In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

to the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

side. He came very close to succeeding, but at the last moment, Arnold changed plans and the whole endeavor had to be called off. His house was at the crossing of the Little River where the monument stands today, but the house itself had collapsed (according to Col. Harris of ''Stoke'') "sometime in the 90s." He only realized when reading an old journal that one of his old buildings had to have been Champe's residence. Dover Mill, built in 1810 and demolished in 1923 (the stones were reused to build Middleburg Bank) was the original mainstay. Established by the Hixson family, it was a profitable enterprise before the Civil War, but never was able to recover from essentially being on the

front line A front line (alternatively front-line or frontline) in military terminology is the position(s) closest to the area of conflict of an armed force's personnel and equipment, usually referring to land forces. When a front (an intentional or uninte ...

s for several years of war. Dover Mill was also a known landmark for people wishing to travel to the village of Landmark (now uninhabited), by traveling down what is now Champe Ford Road. Dover Academy was a girls school in the mid-19th century as well. The house was eventually purchased by the McCormicks (related to McCormick Spice Company) and is currently owned by a descendant, Jamie McCormick.

Other current structures

''Pheasant's Eye'' was built by the Hixsons as their main resident in the 1820s. There are a few other old houses, as well as Dover Nursery and new farmhouse at the "intersection" (term used advisedly, as there isn't even a stoplight, nor a need for one). The Amazing Race (9.3) shows many of the contestants passing '629' in the dead of night on their way to

Dulles Airport Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located in Loudoun County and Fai ...

. That is probably the only time Dover has appeared on national television.

Michael Dell Michael Saul Dell (born February 23, 1965) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Dell Technologies, one of the world's largest technology infrastructure companies. He is ranked the 2 ...

maintains a residence near Dover. Other notable residents include Virginia Warner (daughter of Sen.

John Warner John William Warner III (February 18, 1927 – May 25, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term Republican U.S. Senator from Virginia from 1979 to 200 ...

) and billionaire Jacqueline Mars of Mars Candy.

References

History of John Champe and a view of the obelisk that marks Dover

External links

{{Loudoun County, Virginia Unincorporated communities in Loudoun County, Virginia