Dover ( ) is the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

and the second-most populous city of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

. It is also the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Kent County and the principal city of the Dover metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Kent County and is part of the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

– Wilmington– Camden, PA– NJ–DE– MD, combined statistical area. It is located on the St. Jones River in the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

coastal plain. It was named by

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

for

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, England (for which Kent County is named). As of 2020, its population was 39,403.

Etymology

The city is named after

, in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. First recorded in its Latinised form of '' Portus Dubris'', the name derives from the Brythonic word for waters (''dwfr'' in

Middle Welsh Middle Welsh (, ) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh (). Literature and history Middle Welsh is ...

). The same element is present in the town's French (Douvres) and Modern Welsh (Dofr) forms.

History

Dover was founded as the court town for newly established Kent County in 1683 by

, the proprietor of the territory generally known as the " Lower Counties on the Delaware." Later, in 1717, the city was officially laid out by a special commission of the

Delaware General Assembly The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 representatives. It meets at Legi ...

. The capital of the state of Delaware was moved here from New Castle in 1777 because of its central location and relative safety from British raiders on the

. Because of an act passed in October 1779, the assembly elected to meet at any place in the state they saw fit, meeting successively in Wilmington,

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

, Dover, New Castle, and Lewes again, until it finally settled down permanently in Dover in October 1781. The city's central square, known as The Green, was the location of many rallies, troop reviews, and other patriotic events. To this day, The Green remains the heart of Dover's historic district and is the location of the

Delaware Supreme Court The Delaware Supreme Court is the sole appellate court in the United States state of Delaware. Because Delaware is a popular haven for corporations, the Court has developed a worldwide reputation as a respected source of corporate law decisions, ...

and the Kent County Courthouse. Dover was most famously the home of

Caesar Rodney Caesar Rodney (October 7, 1728 – June 26, 1784) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, and politician from St. Jones Neck in Dover Hundred, Kent County, Delaware. He was an officer of the Delaware militia during the French and Indian War ...

, the popular wartime leader of Delaware during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. He is known to have been buried outside Dover, but the precise location of his grave is unknown. A

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty grave, tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere or have been lost. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although t ...

in his honor is erected in the cemetery of the Christ Episcopal Church near The Green in Dover. Dover and Kent County were deeply divided over the issue of

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, and the city was a "stop" on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

because of its proximity to slave-holding

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and free

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. It was also home to a large

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

community that encouraged a sustained emancipation effort in the early 19th century. There were very few slaves in the area, but the institution was supported, if not practiced, by a small majority, who saw to its continuation. The Bradford-Loockerman House, Building 1301, Dover Air Force Base, John Bullen House, Carey Farm Site, Christ Church, Delaware State Museum Buildings,

John Dickinson House The John Dickinson House, generally known as Poplar Hall, is a National Historic Landmark on the John Dickinson Plantation in Kent County, Delaware, south of Dover. It was the boyhood home and sometime residence of Founding Father John Dick ...

, Dover Green Historic District, Eden Hill, Delaware Governor's Mansion, Greenwold, Hughes-Willis Site, Loockerman Hall, Macomb Farm, Mifflin-Marim Agricultural Complex, Old Statehouse, Palmer Home, Town Point, Tyn Head Court, and Victorian Dover Historic District are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. On August 4, 2020, Hurricane Isaias produced an

EF2 tornado The Enhanced Fujita scale (abbreviated EF-Scale) is a scale that rates tornado intensity based on the severity of the damage a tornado causes. It is used in the United States and France, among other countries. The EF scale is also unofficially ...

that struck the city. Trees were significantly damaged, including some that fell on homes, roofing was blown off a middle school, a warehouse had metal walls torn off, some tractor trailers were blown over and a garage was severely damaged. Damage in Dover was rated EF1. The tornado would be on the ground for tracked , becoming the longest-tracked tornado in the state, but there were no casualties.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.32%, is water.

Climate

Dover has a warm

temperate climate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ra ...

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Cfa''). Summers are hot and humid, with 25 days per year reaching or surpassing . Brief, but heavy summer thunderstorms are common. Winters are moderated by the

Delaware Bay Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States, lying between the states of Delaware and New Jersey. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltw ...

and the partial shielding of the Appalachians, though there are normally 8−9 days when the daily high remains below freezing and 15 nights with lows below . Snow is typically light and sporadic, averaging only per year, and does not usually remain on the ground for long. The

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

is 7b. Spring and autumn provide transitions of reasonable length and are similar, though spring is wetter. The monthly mean temperature ranges from in January to in July. The annual total precipitation of around is spread rather evenly year-round.

Demographics

In 2010, Dover had a population of 36,047 people. During the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 32,135 people, 12,340 households, and 7,502 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 13,195 housing units at an average density of . According to the 2020 United States census, its population grew to 39,403 people. In 2010, the racial makeup of the city was 48.3%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 42.2%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 2.7% Asian, 0.5% Native American, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 2.1% from other races, and 4.1% from two or more races; 6.6% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. In 2000, the racial makeup of the city was 54.9% White, 37.2% African American, 0.5% Native American, 3.2% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.6% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races; 4.1% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. By 2021, the

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

estimated its racial makeup was 41.5%

non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

, 40.5% African American, 0.6% Native American, 2.4% Asian, 9.7% two or more races, and 8.1% Hispanic or Latino of any race. As of 2000, there were 12,340 households, out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.4% were married couples living together, 16.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.2% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.98. In the city of Dover the age distribution of the population shows 23.5% under the age of 18, 15.7% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.1 males. In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $38,669, and the median income for a family was $48,338. Males had a median income of $34,824 versus $26,061 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $19,445. About 11.5% of families and 13.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 19.6% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over. In 2021, the median household income for a household in the city was $51,073 (~$ in ) and 20.5% of the population lived at or below the poverty line.

Economy

Delaware's largest employer is also Dover's: the state government. A large portion, but not all, of the state's bureaucracy is in and around Dover. Wilmington, in northern Delaware and the state's largest city, has many state offices and employees one might expect to find in the state capital, including the headquarters of the Office of the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

, especially as many large American

corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

s maintain nominal offices in that city to register their

Delaware corporation The Delaware General Corporation Law (sometimes abbreviated DGCL), officially the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (Title 8, Chapter 1 of the Delaware Code), is the statute of the Delaware Code that governs corporate law in the U. ...

. Dover is one of the fastest-growing areas in Delaware, due in large part to the relatively low cost of living. As a consequence, the Kent County government is a major employer in the area. Apart from the state and county governments, Dover's significant employers include

Dover Air Force Base Dover Air Force Base or Dover AFB is a United States Air Force (USAF) base under the operational control of Air Mobility Command (AMC), located southeast of the city of Dover, Delaware. The 436th Airlift Wing is the host wing, and runs the bu ...

, in the southeast corporate limits of the city. The base houses two airlift wings as well as the U.S. military's only

mortuary A morgue or mortuary (in a hospital or elsewhere) is a place used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification (ID), removal for autopsy, respectful burial, cremation or other methods of disposal. In modern times, corpses have cus ...

in the continental U.S., which accepts and processes the remains of soldiers killed in battle. In addition,

Kraft Foods Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate (company), conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July ...

and

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...

have manufacturing facilities in Dover. Kraft Foods' Dover plant has been the plant that manufactures

Jell-O Jell-O (stylized in all caps) is an American brand offering a variety of powdered gelatin dessert (fruit-flavored gels/jellies), pudding, and no-bake cream pie mixes. The original gelatin dessert ( genericized as jello) is the signature of ...

since 1964, when it relocated from LeRoy, New York. The P&G plant makes Pampers Baby Fresh wipes.

ILC Dover ILC Dover is a special engineering development and manufacturing company, globally headquartered in Frederica, Delaware. It specializes in the use of high-performance flexible materials, serving the aerospace manufacturer, aerospace, personal pr ...

, in nearby Frederica, produces fabrics for military and aerospace uses and is the primary contractor for production of the

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

and

Skylab Skylab was the United States' first space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three trios of astronaut crews: Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4. Skylab was constructe ...

spacesuits, as well as the spacesuit assembly for the

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

Extravehicular Mobility Unit The Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) is an independent spacesuit that provides environmental protection, mobility, life support, and communications for astronauts performing extravehicular activity (EVA) in Geocentric orbit, Earth orbit. Introd ...

(EMU). Several local and national retailers and restaurants line US 13 through Dover, with the Dover Mall situated along this corridor and serving as the area's only shopping mall. One weekend a year in the spring,

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

races are held at Dover Motor Speedway, attracting about 65,000 spectators. Attendance at the races is much lower than in the 1990s and 2000s, when 140,000 spectators sometimes came. The races bring in increased patronage for local businesses, and hotels and motels sell out weeks in advance. Many race fans camp in RVs and tents adjacent to the track. These races, and in recent years adjacent

slot machine A slot machine, fruit machine (British English), poker machine or pokie (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. A slot machine's standard layout features a screen disp ...

gambling at Bally's Dover, contribute millions of dollars to Dover's economy. Firefly Music Festival has been held in the Woodlands of Dover Motor Speedway every summer since 2012.

Education

Colleges and universities

Dover is home to

Delaware State University Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a Statutory college#Outside New York State, privately governed, state-assisted Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Land-grant university, land-grant research universi ...

, a

land-grant university A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts, Morrill Acts of 1862 and ...

and Delaware's only historically black university. The city was also home to Wesley College, which is now the Delaware State University Downtown campus. Campus Community School, a public charter school, is located on the Wesley College grounds. It is also home to the Terry Campus of the

Delaware Technical Community College Delaware Technical Community College (previously Delaware Technical & Community College, also known as DTCC, Delaware Tech, or Del Tech) is a public college, public community college in the U.S. state of Delaware. Delaware Tech is an open admis ...

and that college's administrative offices. Dover also has satellite locations of the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

and Wilmington University.

K-12 education

Three public school districts serve Dover residents. The majority of the city is served by the

Capital School District Capital School District is a public school district in Kent County, Delaware in the United States. It serves the greater Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Do ...

, which includes Dover High School. The southern portion of Dover is served by the

Caesar Rodney School District The Caesar Rodney School District (CRSD) is a public school district based in Wyoming, Delaware ( USA). The current superintendent is Dr. Corey Miklus. History It was established on July 1, 1915, as State Consolidated District No. 1. The school ...

, which includes

Caesar Rodney High School Caesar Rodney High School is a public high school located in Camden, Delaware, just south of Dover. The school is in Caesar Rodney School District. Its enrollment is over 2,000. During 1983 to 1984, Caesar Rodney was recognized as a Blue Ribb ...

located just outside the city in Camden. The Polytech School District, which includes Polytech High School located in Woodside, serves as an overlay district for vocational-technical students. The Dover Air Force Base

Middle School Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

is located on the premises of the Dover Air Force Base. This school is unusual in that it is run not by the

Department of Defense Education Activity The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is a federal school system headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, responsible for planning, directing, coordinating, and managing prekindergarten through 12th grade educational programs on beh ...

(DoDEA), but by the Caesar Rodney School District. Dover Academy, which incorporated in 1810, was a private school. On April 14, 1919, the

created the Dover Special School District. The Delaware State Board of Education counted Dover's segregated school for black children as its own school district in minutes recorded during the 1919-1920 school year. The Dover special school district merged into the Capital School District on July 1, 1969.

Culture

The former Dover Opera House, built in 1904, was renovated and converted to the Schwartz Center for the Arts, which hosted performances by the Dover Symphony Orchestra, ballet, and classic films. The Schwartz Center for the Arts closed on June 30, 2017, due to financial issues. The Kent County Theatre Guild was founded in 1953 and presents a five-show season at the organization's theater, the Patchwork Playhouse. It is run solely by volunteers, who handle everything from governance and building maintenance to set construction, acting and directing. It is open to anyone interested in participating in or learning about live theater. Dover is also home to The Children's Theatre, Inc. of Dover and Kent County, a non-profit organization. The Delaware State Library, the Delaware State Museum, and the Delaware State Archives are in downtown Dover and are open to the public for research and browsing. In Dover's historical district is the Sewell C. Biggs Museum of American Art, featuring collections from the Colonial days to the present. An

Amish The Amish (, also or ; ; ), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church fellowships with Swiss people, Swiss and Alsace, Alsatian origins. As they ...

community resides to the west of Dover, consisting of 11 church districts and about 1,650 people. The Amish first settled in Kent County in 1915, with the settlement almost dying out in the '20s and '30s, but rebounding from the 60's to present. The area is home to several Amish businesses selling items such as Amish food, furniture, quilts, and handmade crafts. Every September, th
Amish Country Bike Tour
the largest bike ride in Delaware, takes place in the area. In recent years, increasing development has led to the decline in the number of Amish living in the community, with some moving to areas with cheaper farmland and less traffic, such as Michigan, Upstate New York, Illinois, Kentucky, and southern Virginia.

Parks and recreation

The City of Dover Parks & Recreation Department maintains several parks in the city, consisting of three larger parks and 27 smaller parks. Silver Lake Park is a 182-acre park located along Silver Lake and offers fishing, boating, a walking/jogging path that provides views of the lake, a playground, benches, and pavilions. Schutte Park offers a variety of athletic facilities including 10 multipurpose fields, four lighted softball fields, a pavilion, a playground, a cross country course, waking paths, the Dover Little League baseball fields, and the John W. Pitts Recreation Center. The recreation center at Schutte Park has meeting rooms, a gym with two basketball courts and three volleyball courts, and an indoor walking track; it is home to a variety of fitness classes, sports, and sport leagues. Dover Park offers three tennis courts, a softball field, multipurpose field, two basketball courts, a disc golf course, and two pavilions. Dover is home to several smaller neighborhood parks including City Hall Plaza, Continental Park, Crossgates Park, Division & Kirkwood Streets Park, Kirkwood & Mary Streets Park, Hamlet, Heatherfield East, Mallard Pond, Mayfair Park, Millcreek Park, New & Dover Streets Park, Orville Myers, Paul's Property, Richardson Park, Saulsbury Park, The Green, Turner Drive, Westfield, Westwind Meadows, Williams Park, and Woodbrook.

Media

Two

newspapers A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

are headquartered in Dover, the ''

Dover Post ''The Dover Post'' is a weekly newspaper and online website published in Dover, Delaware. The parent company of ''The Dover Post'' is GateHouse Media, a U.S. newspaper publisher, headquartered in Fairport, New York Fairport is a village (Ne ...

'', printed weekly and online, and the daily ''

Delaware State News ''Delaware State News'' is an American daily newspaper published in Dover, Delaware. It is owned by Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA and prints seven days a week. It bills itself as "The Capital Daily" and "downstate Delaware's dominant daily news ...

''. Kent County is within the Philadelphia television market, with the local

Xfinity Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, doing business as Xfinity, is an American telecommunications business segment and division of the Comcast Corporation. It is used to market consumer cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless servic ...

cable system carrying most channels from that city, alongside

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

stations

WBOC-TV WBOC-TV (channel 16) is a television station in Salisbury, Maryland, United States, affiliated with CBS and Fox. It is the flagship television property of the Milton, Delaware–based Draper Holdings Business Trust, and is co-owned with low ...

16 ( CBS), WMDT 47 ( ABC), WCPB 28 (

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

), and low-powered

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

affiliate

WRDE-LD WRDE-LD (channel 31) is a low-power television station in Salisbury, Maryland, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by the Draper Holdings Business Trust alongside dual CBS and Fox affiliate WBOC-TV (channel 16), and low-power Ca ...

31. WBOC-TV maintains a bureau in Dover, and

WHYY-TV WHYY-TV (channel 12) is a television station licensed to Wilmington, Delaware, United States, serving as the primary PBS member station for the Philadelphia area. It is owned by WHYY, Inc., alongside NPR member WHYY-FM (90.9). WHYY-TV and WH ...

12, the PBS member station in Philadelphia, maintains a studio and broadcasting facility in Dover. WHYY programming is seen locally on WDPB-TV channel 64 from Seaford (part of the Salisbury television market). WDDE, Delaware's first NPR station, launched in August 2012. It broadcasts on 91.1 FM. Delaware was the last state in the nation to have an NPR station located within its borders.

Sports

Dover Motor Speedway is home to a

race weekend in July. The race weekend features the

ARCA Menards Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car racing, stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into ...

on Friday, the

NASCAR Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level NASCAR Cup Series, Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a Undercard, support ...

on Saturday, and the

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

on Sunday. Located with Dover Motor Speedway is Bally's Dover, a harness

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

track, hotel and casino. The harness track is located within the NASCAR track. The two colleges in town are both active in sports. The Wesley College Wolverines are a perennial powerhouse in

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...

football, where they began play in the

New Jersey Athletic Conference The New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC), formerly the New Jersey State Athletic Conference, is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. All of its current full members are public universities in New Jers ...

in 2015, while other sports compete in the Capital Athletic Conference. The Delaware State Hornets compete in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

, with football competing at the FCS level of Division I, as a member of the

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC ) is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and the Mid-A ...

made up of other

historically black colleges and universities Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

. For one week during the middle of July every year, Dover also hosts the Big League ( Little League 16–18) Eastern Regionals, attracting teams from all of New England and the Mid-Atlantic. There are several

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

s located near Dover. They include the Maple Dale Country Club in Dover, Wild Quail Country Club near Camden, Jonathan's Landing Golf Course near Magnolia, Dover Center Par 3 and Driving Range in Dover, and the Eagle Creek Golf Course (Must have military I.D.) on the Dover Air Force Base. Historically, Dover hosted a farm team of the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

in the

Eastern Shore Baseball League The Eastern Shore Baseball League was a class D minor league baseball league that operated on the Delmarva Peninsula for parts of three different decades. The league's first season was in 1922 and the last was in 1949, although the years were not ...

. It also served as an affiliate of the minor-league

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

. The teams were variously known as the Senators, Dobbins, Orioles, and Phillies. In 2008, there was high attendance for the NASCAR races and Delaware State's football team making its first FCS tournament appearance.

Combat Zone Wrestling Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion founded in 1999 by John Zandig. Commonly associated with the 2000s hardcore wrestling genre, early CZW shows showcased a brand of wrestling dubbed by the p ...

held its yearly Tournament of Death in Dover twice.

Government

Dover is governed via the council-manager system with an elected mayor, currently Robin R. Christiansen since 2014. The council consists of nine members, eight of whom are elected from four districts with each district having two members. One member of the council is elected at large. Municipal elections, which are

nonpartisan Nonpartisan or non-partisan may refer to: __NOTOC__ General political concepts * Nonpartisanship, also known as Nonpartisanism, co-operation without reference to political parties * Non-partisan democracy, an election with no official recognition ...

, are held on the third Tuesday in April in odd-numbered years. The mayor is elected directly by the city voters for a four-year term. City council members are elected to staggered four-year terms. There have been four full-time Mayors of Dover to date: James "Hutch" Hutchison from 1994 to 2004; Stephen Speed from 2004 to 2007; Carleton Carey from 2007 to 2014; Robin R. Christiansen since 2014. The Dover Police Department provides police services to the city of Dover. The police department is led by a Chief of Police, currently Thomas Johnson, and consists of 101 officers, responding to 43,000 calls a year. The Dover Police Department is composed of several sworn police units along with civilian units. Fire protection in Dover is provided by the Dover Fire Department, a

volunteer fire department A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respo ...

which has served the city since 1882 and operates two stations in Dover. Station 1 is the department's headquarters and houses Engines 4, 6, and 7; Ladder 2; Rescue 1; Brush 9; and Marine 1. The Dover Fire Department Museum is also located at the headquarters. Station 2 houses Engines 2 and 3; Ladder 1; Utility 1; and the foam trailer. Dover is the only state capital in the United States with a volunteer fire department. Federally, Dover is part of Delaware's at-large congressional district, represented by Democrat Sarah McBride, elected in 2024. The state's senior member of the United States Senate is Democrat

Chris Coons Christopher Andrew Coons (born September 9, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Delaware, a seat he has held since 2010. A member ...

, first elected in 2010. The state's junior member of the United States Senate is Democrat

Lisa Blunt Rochester Lisa LaTrelle Blunt Rochester (née Blunt; born February 10, 1962) is an American politician serving since 2025 as the junior United States senator from Delaware. From 2017 to 2025, she served as the U.S. representative for . A member of the ...

, elected in 2024. The governor of Delaware is Democrat Matt Meyer, elected in 2024.

Infrastructure

Transportation

The most prominent highway serving Dover is the

Delaware Route 1 Delaware Route 1 (DE 1) is the longest numbered state highway in the U.S. state of Delaware. The route runs from the Maryland state line in Fenwick Island, Delaware, Fenwick Island, Sussex County, Delaware, Sussex County, where the ...

toll road, which is the main route to Wilmington and the Delaware Beaches. It passes east of downtown, with the toll portion ending near the

and DE 1 continuing south on Bay Road. U.S. Route 113 formerly ran along Bay Road from Milford to US 13 near the State Capitol Complex, but was decommissioned north of Milford in 2004 to avoid the concurrency with DE 1 between the Dover Air Force Base and Milford. US 13 NB past US 13 ALT-Leipsic Road

The main north–south highway through central Dover is U.S. Route 13, which runs through the main commercial strip of Dover on the multi-lane, divided Dupont Highway. An alternate route of U.S. Route 13, U.S. Route 13 Alternate, passes through downtown Dover on Governors Avenue. Delaware Route 8 is the main east–west route through Dover, passing through downtown on Division Street and West Dover on Forrest Avenue. It continues west toward

to provide access to the

Chesapeake Bay Bridge The Gov. William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge (informally called the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and, locally, the Bay Bridge) is a major twin bridges, dual-span bridge in the U.S. state of Maryland. Spanning the Chesapeake Bay, it connects the ...

Delaware Route 15 Delaware Route 15 (DE 15) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Delaware. The route runs from Delaware Route 14, DE 14 west of Milford, Delaware, Milford in Kent County, Delaware, Kent County north to Delaware Route 71, DE&nbs ...

passes north–south through the western part of Dover along Hazlettville Road, West North Street, Saulsbury Road, and McKee Road. Dover is one of only four state capitals not served by an

Interstate highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

Pierre, South Dakota Pierre ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of South Dakota and the county seat of Hughes County. As of the 2020 census, its population was 14,091. Pierre is the eleventh-most populous city of South Dakota, and the second-least populo ...

;

Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Missouri. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 United States census, ranking as the List of cities in Missouri, 16th most popu ...

; and

Juneau, Alaska Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Southeast Alaska, Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the ...

are the other three state capitals with this distinction. Parking in the downtown area of Dover consists of free on-street two-hour parking and five off-street parking lots offering a total of 440 spaces. Parking lots in downtown Dover contain a mix of permit parking,

parking meter A parking meter is a device used to collect money in exchange for the right to Parking, park a vehicle in a particular place for a limited amount of time. Parking meters can be used by Municipality, municipalities as a tool for enforcing their i ...

s, and free two-hour, 15-minute, and handicapped parking spaces along with spaces reserved for tenants and apartments. Parking is free on evenings and weekends.

is located within the southeast corporate limits of Dover. Airports near Dover with commercial air service include the Wilmington Airport in Wilmington, the Wicomico Regional Airport in

Salisbury, Maryland Salisbury ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wicomico County, Maryland, United States. Salisbury is the largest city in Eastern Shore of Maryland, the state's Eastern Shore region, with a population of 33,050 at the 2020 United States census ...

, the Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, and the Philadelphia International Airport in

. Other general aviation airports near Dover include Chandelle Estates Airport to the northeast of the city, Delaware Airpark near Cheswold, and Jenkins Airport near

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

Dover is located on a former

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

line, later operated by

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals, the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...

, and

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

and now operated by the

Delmarva Central Railroad The Delmarva Central Railroad is an American short-line railroad owned by Carload Express that operates of track on the Delmarva Peninsula in the states of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The railroad operates lines from Porter, Delaware to Ha ...

as its Delmarva Subdivision. Into the 1950s multiple PRR passenger trains daily, on a

- Cape Charles, Virginia circuit, made stops in Dover, including the ''

Del-Mar-Va Express The ''Del-Mar-Va Express'' was a named passenger train of the Pennsylvania Railroad that at its peak went from New York City to the southernmost point of the Delmarva Peninsula, Cape Charles, Virginia. Initiated in 1926, the train's north–sout ...

'' and the night train, the ''Cavalier.'' Passenger service ended when the ''Blue Diamond'' was discontinued on December 31, 1965. In later years, Dover was served by special

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

trains to

races at

Dover International Speedway Dover Motor Speedway (formerly known as the Dover International Speedway from 2002 to 2021 and as the Dover Downs International Speedway from 1969 to 2001) is a oval track in Dover, Delaware. The venue has hosted major events since its inaugu ...

and the Delaware State Fair in Harrington. Today, the rail line is just used for local freight. The closest passenger rail station is the Wilmington station in Wilmington, served by Amtrak's

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston in the north to Washington, D.C., in the south, with major stops in Providence, Rhod ...

and SEPTA Regional Rail's

Wilmington/Newark Line The Wilmington/Newark Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail commuter rail system in the Philadelphia area. The line serves southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware, with stations in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, Wilmington, Delaware, and ...

DART First State The Delaware Transit Corporation, operating as DART First State, is the only public transportation system that operates throughout the U.S. state of Delaware. DART First State provides local and inter-county bus service throughout the state and al ...

provides local bus service throughout Dover and Kent County, radiating as a hub-and-spoke system from the Dover Transit Center in downtown. They also provide inter-county service to Wilmington on the Route 301, Middletown on the Route 302, Georgetown on the Route 303, and

on the Route 307 and seasonal service to Lewes on the Route 305 "Beach Connection".

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. is an American operator of Intercity bus service, intercity bus services. Greyhound operates the largest intercity bus network in the United States, and also operates charter and Amtrak Thruway services, as well as interci ...

are provided as intercity bus transportation along a route running between the

Port Authority Bus Terminal The Port Authority Bus Terminal (colloquially known as the Port Authority and by its acronym PABT) is a bus station, bus terminal located in Manhattan in New York City. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving ab ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

, with a bus stop at the

7-Eleven 7-Eleven, Inc. is an American convenience store chain, headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Seven-Eleven Japan, which in turn is owned by the retail holdings company Seven & I Holdings. The chain was founde ...

store along U.S. Route 13 in the northern part of Dover.

Utilities

The city of Dover provides various utility services to businesses and residents. The Department of Public Works provides trash collection, recycling, water, and sewer service to the city.

Republic Services Republic Services, Inc. is a North American waste disposal company whose services include non-hazardous solid waste collection, waste transfer, waste disposal, recycling, and energy services. It is the second largest provider of waste disposal in ...

provides recycling collection under contract to the city. The City of Dover Electric Department provides electricity to the city and some surrounding areas to the south and east, including the town of Little Creek. The city's electric department is a member of the Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation, a wholesale electric utility that represents municipal electric departments in the state of Delaware. The City of Dover Electric Department generates some of its electricity from the Van Sant Generating Station, which consists of one natural gas-powered unit that is used on a limited basis. The city also generates electricity from

solar power Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to c ...

at the Dover SUN Park, a 10 MW solar power farm on 103 acres at the Garrison Oak technology park owned by SunPower. The remainder of the city's electricity is purchased. Natural gas service in Dover is provided by Chesapeake Utilities.

Health care

Bayhealth Medical Center Bayhealth Medical Center is a healthcare system serving the central and southern portion of Delaware in the United States. Locations Bayhealth Medical Center operates two hospitals: Bayhealth Hospital, Kent Campus in Dover, Delaware, Dover and Ba ...

operates the Bayhealth Hospital, Kent Campus in Dover. The hospital offers various inpatient services including a birthing room and cardiovascular and cancer services. The Kent Campus also offers numerous outpatient services, patient and family support services, community outreach, and imaging services. The hospital has a 24-hour

emergency room An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pat ...

with a Level III trauma center.

Notable people

* Jacob Appel (born 1973), short story writer and bioethicist, lived in Dover 1982–1991 * David H. Berger (born 1959), 38th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps * Madison Brengle (born 1990), professional tennis player * Randy Bush (born 1958),

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player *

Annie Jump Cannon Annie Jump Cannon (; December 11, 1863 – April 13, 1941) was an American astronomer whose cataloging work was instrumental in the development of contemporary stellar classification. With Edward C. Pickering, she is credited with the creation of ...

(1863–1941), astronomer and co-creator of Harvard Classification Scheme *

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American artist who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contemporary American c ...

(born 1943), underground artist, lived in Dover from 1959 to 1961 * William D. Denney (1873–1953), 56th Governor of Delaware, born in Dover * Murphy Guyer (born 1952), actor, director, playwright, born in Dover * Doug Hutchison (born 1960), actor, born in Dover * Gilder D. Jackson Jr. (1893–1966), Brigadier General USMC during World War II * Mike Meade (born 1960), NFL player, born in Dover * Teri Polo (born 1969), actress, born in Dover * Mabel Lloyd Ridgely (1872–1962), suffragist and historical preservationist, based in Dover * Ian Snell (born 1981), Major League Baseball pitcher * Dave Taylor (born 1957), retired professional wrestler * Rob Tornoe (born 1978), nationally syndicated, award-winning cartoonist, attended Dover High School * Alexei Trader (born 1965),

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

bishop

References

External links

City of DoverKent County & Greater Dover Convention and Visitors Bureau
{{Authority control Cities in Delaware Cities in Kent County, Delaware County seats in Delaware 1683 establishments in Delaware Populated places established in 1683 State capitals in the United States