Student Aids with Exhibits At Sawin Museum
The Dover Historical Society is fortunate to have a new student intern working in the Sawin Museum. Cole White, a seventh grader at The Charles River School, has already contributed thoughtfully to several exhibits, including reimagining the depiction of our townspeople’s involvement in World War II. In another exhibit project underway, Cole is helping to convey the spirit of Dover life during the colonial period, inspired by a copy of the speech that Daniel Webster gave in 1825 at the new Bunker Hill monument, specifically addressing a group of veteran Minute Men. This speech was discovered in a drawer at
Introduction to the Dover Historical Society
Welcome to what will be a monthly column about the history of Dover. This month will be an introduction to me, to the Dover Historical Society, and to the little museum that is our base of operations. In the months ahead I hope to present a variety of locally oriented historical matters, focusing upon the organizations and people that have made the town what it is today, and the roles played by Dover residents in national and world events. My name is Elisha Lee and I first came to Dover with my parents in 1959. I grew up on Powissett
Acquisition of Rare 18th Century Record Book
Despite the pandemic, the Dover Historical Society has been moving forward. Although its two museums, Caryl Farm and the Sawin Museum, are closed, the Society is planning for the day when they can once again be open to visitors. The museums have undergone a reorganization of their collections and new exhibits are being planned. The Society has just announced that it has acquired an extremely rare 18th Century tax record book for the Fourth Precinct of Dedham. The handwritten 150 page record lists real estate, personal property, and poll taxes paid by the residents of what is now Dover during the
When a Wrench Was a Wrench, Was a Wrench
You never know what you are going to find in an old workshop on what was once a rather fine Dover estate. On the invitation of the last member of the family to have lived there, my son Philip and I were looking through the clutter in the garage when he approached with an object looking more like a Medieval war club than a tool! The heavy 21 inch long monster was the largest adjustable wrench I had ever seen. Upon closer inspection we noted that it was stamped “BLAKE” in three places, clearly identifying it with that family that
A Mystery Kitchen Utensil Solved!
The Lower Level at the Sawin Museum is chock-full of kitchen tools. Part of the story of these items is the way in which we as humans are constantly improving our methods and technologies. The Museum illustrates this progress in an interactive 19th century Dover kitchen exhibit. Several objects in this collection have as yet unknown purposes, and it is satisfying when we succeed in answering the question: “What is it?” This small, well-worn utensil had an "unspecified use" as it sat on a museum shelf for many years. This mystery object sat on the shelf for years,
Pauper’s Register and the Town Poor
Explorers of town property may have hiked the cart path leading from Strawberry Hill Street to the 66-acre Larrabee-Whiting Estate. While all that remains of Thomas Larrabee’s farmhouse is a cellar hole, our erstwhile Town Historian Frank Smith tells us that it was built by Larrabee’s fellow veterans upon his return from the Revolutionary War in 1778. In 1865 the property was willed by his son Deacon Joseph Larrabee to “to the inhabitants of Dover forever for the relief, comfort, and benefit of the poor persons who have a legal settlement in Dover.” Deacon Larrabee’s language is revealing in its
Luke Dean Spike Tomahawk
I came upon the above artifact some years ago while exploring the Luke Dean cellar hole, which lies on the northwest side of Powisset Pond on land now owned by Hale Reservation. I believe Bob Campbell excavated the site in the 1970’s though I have never seen any documentation of that work. In Biographical Sketches of Dover Soldiers Frank Smith states that he was born to Joseph and Hannah (Baker) Dean on May 29, 1750 on “the homestead” which was then (in 1909) the grounds of the Powisset Club. He married Rebecca Russell in 1771 and had 11 children before
Sawin Safe
There is a large walk-in combination safe at the Sawin Memorial Building. It was clearly installed when the Sawin was built in 1906-07 and has some beautiful brickwork forming the interior walls and ceiling. The safe door has a date of 1906 and was purchased (probably in that year) from the Morris-Ireland Safe Company of Boston. The firm was located at 64 Sudbury Street, a site now occupied by the JFK Federal Building. Morris-Ireland has been out of business for ninety years but it had a colorful history. The Morris & Ireland Safe Company (note the ampersand) was founded in
Our Earliest Residents: The Native American Artifacts Collection
Visitors to the Sawin Museum will note a small collection of Native American artifacts on the Main Level, including both stone tools and a number of baskets. While relatively small in size, the collection is of interest in that it spans roughly 6,000 years of human occupation. Native Americans first arrived in New England with the retreat of the Ice Age roughly 10,000 years ago, however the majority of the stone artifacts in our collection can be reliably dated by their size and shape to the Late Archaic period, between 3,000 and 6,000 years ago. Distinguishing characteristics of the Late
The Boston Post Cane
As President of The Dover Historical Society it gives me great pleasure to announce the recent (2009) discovery and safe return of Dover’s Boston Post Cane, discovered in an antique shop by Dr. Stephen Kruskall, a member of our Advisory Board. The story of the Boston Post Canes began in August of 1909 when Edwin A. Grozier, publisher of the Boston Post, hired J. F. Fradley & Co. of New York to produce them for presentation to the Selectmen in 700 towns throughout Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and Rhode Island. The canes were to be awarded by the Selectmen to
