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The
following are excerpts from Dover Town Plan.
Dover was settled in 1779 by Captain Abler Perry of Hellion, Massachusetts.
The real history of Dover began when a Vermont Charter, signed by
Governor Thomas Chatted, head of the newly formed Vermont Republic,
was granted on November 7, 1780 to William Ward of Newfane and sixty
associates. This parcel of land containing about 26,464 acres was
incorporated into a township named Wardsborough. A petition to divide
the Town of Wardsborough into north and south was signed on September
25, 1878. On October 30, 1810, the Legislative Assembly passed an
Act to incorporate Wardsborough and Dover into separate towns; the
south district called Dover.
The early 1900's brought the beginning of the tourist industry
to the area. Summer residences were established on the Handle
Road and Cooper Hill. Many of the local residents began taking
in summer boarders. People would come by train by way of Wilmington
and Brattleboro to spend one week to the whole summer at various
farms throughout the town.In 1953, Walter Schoenknecht of East
Haven, Connecticut, purchased the Ruben Snow farm, and turned
it into the Mount Snow Ski Area. This marked the beginning of
the Dover we see today. In the beginning there only a couple of
ski lodges in the area. The summer boarders became a thing of
the past, and practically everyone who had a spare room or attic
began taking in skiers. As time went on, lodges and motels began
to spring up as well as restaurants, stores, ski shops and nightclubs.The
early skier was often brought in to Mount Snow by sleigh or Bombardier
when the road to the mountain was dirt and impassable by car.
A new access road, now Route 100, was built and paved.Vacation
home developments sprang up near the base of the mountain. An
airport and golf course were also built. Mount Snow established
its now famous Golf School in the 1970's. In 1996, Mount Snow
was sold to the American Skiing Company. The new owners upgraded
the ski area with increased lift capacity, more snowmaking and
the construction of the Grand Summit Hotel and Conference Center.
The Town of Dover is in the center of southern Vermont. The entire
town covers 35.8 square miles, which is characterized by mountainous
terrain. These ranges have elevations reaching over 2500 feet.
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