DOVER, NEW JERSEY

'Dover' is a Town in Morris County, New Jersey, 39 miles (63 km) west by north of New York City on the Rockaway River. As of the United States Census, 2000, the town's population was 18,188. In 1900, 5,938 people lived in Dover; in 1910, 7,468; and in 1940, 10,491.

Contents

History

Life in Dover

Geography

Demographics

Government

Local government

Federal, state and county representation

Education

Transportation

Bus & Rail service

Notable residents

References

External links

History

Dover was incorporated as a village in 1826 and in 1869 as a town. The town charter was amended in 1875. In its past, Dover has had extensive iron and mill works, machine shops, stove, furnace, and range works, boiler and bridge works, rolling mills, drill works, knitting and silk mills, and a large hosiery factory (MacGregory).
Today, Dover has a large Hispanic population with the largest concentrations being of Puerto Rican, Colombian and Mexican ancestry, Hispanics have been a demographic majority since 1980, and are growing quickly. As of the 2000 Census, Dover's population was 57.9% Hispanic, making it the municipality with the fifth highest Hispanic population percentage in New Jersey and one of eight New Jersey municipalities with a Hispanic majority. The surrounding Morris County area is predominantly non-Hispanic (9.8% Hispanic or Latino, of any race).Morris County, New Jersey: 2005 American Community Survey, United States Census Bureau, accessed January 1, 2007. While Dover is not currently financially disadvantaged in comparison to average towns nationwide, it is considerably less affluent (with a median household income of $53,423) than Morris County as a whole (with a median household income of $84,010), thus giving the town a reputation of being poor.

Life in Dover

The community of Dover is centered around a developed downtown area that is filled with many eateries. A vast percentage of these are owned and run by Hispanics of different countries, and feature their ethnic food.^[1] Dover is a haven for all kinds of eating experiences, from sushi to pizza and coffee shops to renowned Irish and Italian food places.
Every Sunday from April to December, there is a flea market downtown.^[2]
Hamilton Field is one of Dover's recreation centers, featuring a football field with bleachers, soccer fields, and a historic cinder track that is used by walkers and joggers.

Geography

Dover is located at (40.885899, -74.558241).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 7.0 km² (2.7 mi²). 6.9 km² (2.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (1.11%) is water.
Hedden County Park, a 380-acre Morris County park, is partly located in Dover, with park entrances in Randolph.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 18,188 people, 5,436 households, and 3,919 families residing in Dover. The population density was 2,620.3/km² (6,788.2/mi²). There were 5,568 housing units at an average density of 802.2/km² (2,078.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 69.45% White, 6.83% African American, 0.34% Native American, 2.47% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 15.99% from other races, and 4.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 57.94% of the population.
11.27% of Dover residents identified themselves as being of Colombian American ancestry in the 2000 Census, the second highest percentage of the population of any municipality in the United States (behind Victory Gardens, New Jersey which had 15.27% of residents so identified) with 1,000 residents identifying their ancestry.^[3]
There were 5,436 households out of which 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.29 and the average family size was 3.55.
In the town the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 36.0% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 106.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.7 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $53,423, and the median income for a family was $57,141. Males had a median income of $31,320 versus $27,413 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,056. About 8.2% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.5% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Dover Town operates using the Town form of government and is governed by a Mayor and Board of Aldermen. The Mayor is elected at large. The Board of Aldermen consists of eight members, with two Aldermen elected to two-year terms from each of the four wards. One Aldermanic seat comes up each year in each ward.
The Mayor of Dover Town is James P. Dodd, whose term of office ends on December 31, 2007.^[4]
Members of the Board of Aldermen are:^[5]

★ '1st Ward:' Frank Poolas (2007) and Michael Picciallo (2008)

★ '2nd Ward:' Michael Ryan (2007) and Patrick Donofrio (2008)

★ '3rd Ward:' James Visioli (2007) and Patrick Fahy (2008)

★ '4th Ward:' Jack Delaney (2007) and Dominic Timpani (2008)

Federal, state and county representation

Dover Town is in the Eleventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 25th Legislative District.^[6]

Education

The Dover School District serves students in Prekindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district are Academy Street Elementary School (K-6), East Dover Elementary School(3-6), North Dover Elementary School (PreK-5), Dover Middle School (7&8) and Dover High School (9-12).
Students in grades K - 12 from Victory Gardens attend the Dover Public School system as part of a sending/receiving relationship. Students in grades 7-12 from Mine Hill Township also participate in the Dover district as part of a sending/receiving relationship.^[7]

Transportation

Roads and highways traveling in or near Dover include Interstate 80, Interstate 280, Interstate 287, U.S. Route 46, New Jersey Route 10 and New Jersey Route 15.

Bus & Rail service

Dover is also served by Morris County Metro routes 2 & 10 regularly as well as NJ Transit's Morristown Line and Montclair-Boonton Line at the Dover station. Lakeland Bus Lines maintains a garage & terminal on Blackwell Street near the border with Rockaway Township.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Dover include:

★ William F. Birch (1870-1946) represented New Jersey's 5th congressional district from 1918 to 1919, was a member of the Dover Common Council for several years and city recorder from 1904 to 1909.^[8]

References

1. Dover New Jersey Restaurants and Food Resources, accessed July 11, 2006.
2. New Jersey Flea Markets, Fairs, & Special Events, accessed July 11, 2006.
3. Colombian Communities, Epodunk. Accessed August 23, 2006.
4. Mayor's page, Town of Dover. Accessed July 10, 2006.
5. Board of Aldermen, accessed May 16, 2007.
6. 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 56. Accessed August 30, 2006.
7. Dover High School Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 4, 2007. "Dover High School, located 40 miles from New York City, services over 900 high school aged students from the Town of Dover, the Borough of Victory Gardens and the Township of Mine Hill. Dover High School is accredited by the Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges and the New Jersey State Department of Education."
8. William Fred Birch biographic profile, United States Congress. Accessed July 25, 2007.

External links

★ Dover Town website

★ Dover School District

★

★ National Center for Education Statistics data for the Dover School District