Founding
capital city of the U.S. state of Delaware and seat of Kent County
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Dover ( DOH-vər) is the capital and the second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Delaware, after Wilmington. It is also the county seat 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 metropolitan area. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware River coastal plain. It was named by William Penn for Dover in Kent, England (for which Kent County is named). As of 2024, its population was estimated as 40,191.
The city is named after Dover, in Kent, England. First recorded in its Latinised form of Portus Dubris, the name derives from the Brythonic word for waters (dwfr in Middle Welsh). The same element is present in the town's French (Douvres) and Modern Welsh (Dofr) forms.
Dover was founded as the court town for newly established Kent County in 1683 by William Penn, 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 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 Delaware River. 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, 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 and the Kent County Courthouse.
Dover was most famously the home of Caesar Rodney, the popular wartime leader of Delaware during the American Revolution. He is known to have been buried outside Dover, but the precise location of his grave is unknown. A cenotaph 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, and the city was a "stop" on the Underground Railroad because of its proximity to slave-holding Maryland and free Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It was also home to a large Quaker 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, 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.
On August 4, 2020, Hurricane Isaias produced an EF2 tornado 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 was on the ground for tracked 35.78 miles (57.58 km), becoming the longest-tracked tornado in the state, but there were no casualties.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.7 square miles (59 km2), of which 22.4 square miles (58 km2) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km2), or 1.32%, is water.
Dover has a warm temperate climate or humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa). Summers are hot and humid, with 25 days per year reaching or surpassing 90 °F (32 °C). Brief, but heavy summer thunderstorms are common. Winters are moderated by the Delaware Bay 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 20 °F (−7 °C). Snow is typically light and sporadic, averaging only 13.2 inches (34 cm) per year, and does not usually remain on the ground for long. The hardiness zone is 7b. Spring and autumn provide transitions of reasonable length and are similar, though spring is wetter. The monthly mean temperature ranges from 36.0 °F (2.2 °C) in January to 77.9 °F (25.5 °C) in July. The annual total precipitation of around 47.61 inches (1,209.3 mm) is spread rather evenly year-round.
As of the 2020 census, Dover had a population of 39,403. The median age was 32.8 years. 21.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 87.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 83.7 males age 18 and over.
98.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.1% lived in rural areas.
There were 15,155 households in Dover, of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 31.6% were married-couple households, 20.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 40.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 16,055 housing units, of which 5.6% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.3%.
In 2010, Dover had a population of 36,047. The racial makeup of the city was 48.3% White, 42.2% African American, 2.7% Asian, 0.5% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.1% from other races, and 4.1% from two or more races; 6.6% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
During the census of 2000, there were 32,135 people, 12,340 households, and 7,502 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,435.0 inhabitants per square mile (554.1/km2). There were 13,195 housing units at an average density of 589.2 per square mile (227.5/km2).
As of 2000, 30.0% of households 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 for the city was $19,445. About 11.5% of families and 13.8% of the population were below the poverty line, 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 (~$60,682 in 2025) and 20.5% of the population lived at or below the poverty line.
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, especially as many large American corporations maintain nominal offices in that city to register their Delaware corporation.
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, in the southeast corporate limits of the city. The base houses two airlift wings as well as the U.S. military's only mortuary in the continental U.S., which accepts and processes the remains of soldiers killed in battle. In addition, Kraft Foods and Procter & Gamble have manufacturing facilities in Dover. Kraft Foods' Dover plant has been the plant that manufactures Jell-O since 1964, when it relocated from LeRoy, New York. The P&G plant makes Pampers Baby Fresh wipes. ILC Dover, in nearby Frederica, produces fabrics for military and aerospace uses and is the primary contractor for production of the Apollo and Skylab spacesuits, as well as the spacesuit assembly for the Space Shuttle's Extravehicular Mobility Unit (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 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 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.
Dover is home to Delaware State University, a land-grant university 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 and that college's administrative offices. Dover also has satellite locations of the University of Delaware and Wilmington University.
Three public school districts serve Dover residents. The majority of the city is served by the Capital School District, which includes Dover High School. The southern portion of Dover is served by the Caesar Rodney School District, which includes Caesar Rodney High School 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 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 (DoDEA), but by the Caesar Rodney School District.
Dover Academy, which incorporated in 1810, was a private school. On April 14, 1919, the Delaware General Assembly 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.
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.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Dover, Delaware”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.