Dover was either named by British aristocrats in the 1830s for Dover, Kent, England or by Stephen Rye in 1832 for Dover, Tennessee.[3] Incorporated December 31, 1852,[4] Dover was the county seat for Pope County from 1841 to 1887[5] with the county's brick courthouse on the square bounded by present-day Camp, Market, Water, and Elizabeth Streets.[6]
During the American Civil War, what little civil authority there was collapsed throughout Arkansas. By 1863, in most of the state, travel was dangerous, farming hazardous, and county government inoperative.[7] Pope County records at Dover were moved to a cave for protection. Several skirmishes took place in the county, but there were no major engagements. On April 8, 1865, Dover, including the courthouse, was burned.[8][9][10]
During the military reconstruction period (1867-1868), companies E and G of the Nineteenth Infantry[11] were stationed in Pope County and headquartered at Dover for a year and a half.[12] Arkansas became the second former Confederate state to be fully restored to the Union in June 1868. However, political and social stability was still years away.
Between 1865 and 1870, at least four county officials were assassinated:[13] Sheriff Archibald D. Napier and Deputy Sheriff Albert Parks on October 24, 1865, County Clerk William Stout on December 4, 1865, and Sheriff W. Morris Williams on August 20, 1866.
On March 1, 1870, the new Pope County jail in Dover was burned.[14] A man named Glover later claimed responsibility.[15]
As the county seat, Dover played a significant role during period of a little over seven months in 1872 and 1873 that came to be known as the Pope County Militia War, with several significant incidents occurring in or near the town. However, there were no battles or skirmishes. There were no engagements between organized opponents of any kind. Instead, an irregular armed group sometimes referred to as a militia,[16] and headed by four county officers, exerted excessive and harsh control over the county, including threats to burn the county seat.[17][18] By the end of the period, three of the four officials were dead.
Winds from a storm on March 8, 1878, damaged the county courthouse in Dover, rendering it "unfit and unsafe".[19] With the county having no funds to repair the structure, its condition became a consideration for some in the issue of moving the county seat, with citizens of Russellville offering a building site and $2,500 to build a new courthouse there at no cost to the taxpayers.[20][21] A church was used for a courtroom during terms of the circuit court while the courthouse was unavailable.[22]
With the new railroad running eight miles south of the county seat at Dover and the gradual relocation of county commerce toward Russellville and Atkins, moving the county seat was inevitable. Russellville was developing into the business center of the county[23] and a newer town, Atkins, was growing fast and would compete as a potential new location for the county seat.
It took 15 years from an act from the Arkansas General Assembly moving the county seat to Russellville—reversed the next year, sending it back to Dover—until the new courthouse was completed in Russellville. Dover had been selected in the 1840s for its more central location in the county. Thirty years later, the southern townships held the majority of the population and paid a large majority of the taxes.[24]
After a judge ordered a March 19, 1887, special election, the county seat was moved from Dover to Russellville after the Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed the judge's ruling on June 4, 1887.
More than half of the businesses in the commercial part of town were lost to fire on February 15, 1930, as were at least 8 homes on two city blocks. At least 11 businesses were lost or badly damaged. A fire truck from neighboring Russellville helped in fighting the fire, but with no municipal fire water system, the truck had to draw water from a large well at a Dover business. Fighting the blaze, thought to have originated as a grass fire, was hampered by the lack of a water supply and high winds. The buildings lost were of wood frame construction.[25][26][27]
The Simmons massacre
On December 22 and 26, 1987, Ronald Gene Simmons, of near Dover, killed all fourteen members of his family during a Christmas reunion at the Simmons property 5 miles north of Dover. Two days later, he continued his killing spree in the county seat of Russellville, having targeted previous employers and co-workers, killing two and wounding two more.[28] Simmons was arrested without resistance, was sentenced to death on December 10, 1989,[29] waived mandatory appellate review,[30] and executed on June 25, 1990, the quickest sentence-to-execution time in the United States since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.8 square miles (4.7 km2), all land.
Ecologically, Dover is located within the Arkansas Valley Hills subregion within the larger Arkansas Valley ecoregion. The subregion is a thin transition area between the flat and fertile Arkansas Valley Plains to the south along the Arkansas River, and the steep and densely forested lands of the Boston Mountains in northern Pope County.
The mild hills historically supported oak-hickory forest or oak-hickory-pine forest. Elevation changes and soil types make the Arkansas Valley Hills largely unsuitable for row agriculture. Instead, forest has been cleared for pastureland, poultry farming or ranching. Logging remains an important land use where elevation or soil makes livestock farming unsuitable. Many of the smaller streams and watercourses are completely dry in summer.[31]
As of the census[33] of 2000, there were 1,329 people, 529 households, and 372 families residing in the city. The population density was 732.7 inhabitants per square mile (282.9/km2). There were 579 housing units at an average density of 319.2 per square mile (123.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 97.37% White, 0.23% Black or African American, 0.68% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.60% from other races, and 0.98% from two or more races. 1.96% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 529 households, out of which 37.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were married couples living together, 16.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.5% were non-families. 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.3% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,697, and the median income for a family was $33,879. Males had a median income of $25,625 versus $19,073 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,261. About 10.6% of families and 14.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.9% of those under age 18 and 14.0% of those age 65 or over.
Dover operates within the mayor-city council form of government. The mayor is elected by a citywide election to serve as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the city by presiding over all city functions, policies, rules and laws. Once elected, the mayor also allocates duties to city employees. The Dover mayoral election in coincidence with the United States midterm elections. Mayors serve four-year terms and can serve unlimited terms. The city council is the unicameral legislature of the city, consisting of six council members. Also included in the council's duties is balancing the city's budget and passing ordinances.
Education
Primary and secondary education is provided by the Dover School District, which leads to graduation from Dover High School.
^Deane, Ernie (1986). Arkansas Place Names. Branson, Missouri: The Ozarks Mountaineer. p. 83.
^An act to incorporate the Town of Dover, in Pope County (Acts Passed at the Ninth Session of the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas ed.). Akrkadephia, Arkansas: R. L. Pegues, State Printer. 1853. pp. 280–283. Retrieved December 23, 2022. Approved 31st December, 1852
^"Election Abstract". Russellville Democrat. March 23, 1887. p. 3. Russellville's Majority 128
^"The Court House at Dover". The New York Herald. No. 275 Vol XXVII. New York: James Gordon Bennett. September 30, 1872. p. 5. Retrieved March 7, 2023. In the middle of the village, upon a square, stands the naked brick courthouse... It is fifty feet square, two stories high, and the roof rises from the four sides to the centre. In each side is a door, and from each of these doors the spectator can see four streets of the village, coming into the square at the corners.
^Dougan, Michael B. (1976). "7) The Third Year of the War". Confederate Arkansas - The People and Policies of a Frontier State in Wartime. Tuscalooosa, Alabama: The University of Alabama Press. p. 96. ISBN9780817305222.
^Gillet, Orville; Worley, Ted R. (Summer 1958). "Diary of Orville Gillet, U. S. A., 1864-1865". The Arkansas Historical Quarterly. 17 (2). Little Rock and Fayetteville, Arkansas: Arkansas Historical Association: 193. doi:10.2307/40038015. JSTOR40038015. Retrieved January 24, 2023. April 8. Staid in Camp all day. Rebs burnt 23 Buildings in Dover
^"Dover (Pope County)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Central Arkansas Library System. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
^"Arkansas's Iliad". The New York Herald. No. 13189. James Gordon Bennett Jr. September 30, 1872. p. 7. Retrieved February 2, 2023. We lost nearly all our town in the war. Our own boys burned it to keep the federals from occupying it, after they had driven out the women and children.
^Reynolds, Thomas J (1908). "Pope County Militia War". In Reynolds, John Hugh (ed.). Publications of The Arkansas Historical Association, Vol. 2. Fayetteville, Arkansas: Arkansas Historical Association. pp. 174–198. Retrieved January 16, 2023. In the spring of 1867 two companies of 'regulars' under the command of Major Mulligan, United States army, came to Dover, the county seat, to aid the civil authorities and in the interest of the Freedman's Bureau. These soldiers had a welcome reception and after a year and a half departed, regretted by all. The officers of the companies, by their gentlemanly bearing and conservative methods, made friends in every class of people.
^"Arkansas's Iliad". The New York Herald. No. 13189. James Gordon Bennett Jr. September 30, 1872. p. 7. Retrieved February 2, 2023. In this period, several county officials were killed, although the citizens disavow the acts, and say that they were private assassinations arising from personal causes.
^"Pope". Daily Arkansas Gazette. No. 90, 51st year. Little Rock, Arkansas: Woodruff & Blocher. March 8, 1870. p. 2. Retrieved March 12, 2023. On Tuesday night the jail was discovered in flames and in a few minutes was destroyed. The building had just been completed at a cost of $2500. The fire was evidently the work of an incendiary, as the locks were found in the flames with the bolts all drawn. There were four prisoners confined in the jail, all of whom escaped.
^"Killings of Drake and Glover". Memphis Daily Appeal. No. 275 Vol 32. Memphis, Tennessee. September 25, 1872. p. 1. Retrieved March 12, 2023. Glover... boasted... of what he had done, and told them that he had burned several jails in the western counties since had burned the one at Dover...
^"Arkansas's Iliad". The New York Herald. No. 13189. James Gordon Bennett Jr. September 30, 1872. p. 7. Retrieved February 2, 2023. After the new and disfranchising constitution went into operation a lull ensued, and for some time everything was quiet, but the county officials of Pope, who were all republicans and secret leaguers, grew more and more obnoxious to the people and both sides were surly, muttering and threatening. The native republicans, who go by the name of 'Mountain Feds,' took sides with their Sheriff and County Clerk, and as the time of another election drew near the county authorities claimed that the insecurity of the times demanded martial law in Pope County.
^Affairs in Arkansas, Reports of Committees of the House Of Representatives, 2nd Session of the 43rd Congress. 1875-'75. Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office. 1875. pp. 97–98. Retrieved January 6, 2023. Deposition of William F. Grove, taken August 6, 1873...On arriving in sight of Dover I saw quite a number of armed men drawn up in the street, and on arriving in town found there between seventy and eighty men. I asked them why they were armed. They told me that Dodson had threatened to kill some of them and burn the town down. I asked them if they had any idea that he would kill any of them if he got them, or burn their town down. They said they did, for he had already partially carried out one threat by killing Hale and Tucker.
^"Affidavit of Perry West and G. W. Cox". Daily Arkansas Gazette. No. 197, 53rd year. Little Rock, Arkansas: Woodruff, Blocher & Adams. July 17, 1872. p. 2. Retrieved March 12, 2023. .. on or about the 15th of April, 1872, John Williams, deputy sheriff, gave me orders to shoot or lead Nat Hale, John Hale, Reese Hogan, Harry Pointer, and John Young, saying, 'In fact, shoot any of them that impose upon you, come and give yourself up, and the governor will pardon you,' and he went so far as to say that he was going to get rid of the McCune and Hale outfit... The said John Williams said that he had orders to burn Dover, and he intended to do it. Note 1: West and Cox were members of John Williams' militia company Note 2: The affidavit was first published in the Russellville Tribune which was burned with all its back issues on September 8, 1872.
^"The Court House 'Gone Up'". The Russellville Democrat. No. 8 Vol IV. Russellville, Arkansas: The Russellville Printing Association. March 14, 1878. p. 3. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
^"Come. Let Us Reason Together". The Russellville Democrat. No. 32 Vol IV. Russellville, Arkansas: The Russellville Printing Association. August 29, 1878. p. 2. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
^"Circuit Court". The Russellville Democrat. No. 35 Vol V. Russellville, Arkansas: The Russellville Printing Association. September 25, 1879. p. 3. Retrieved March 26, 2023. The village church was being used as a court house.
^"Where should the county seat be located?". The Russellville Democrat. Russellville, Arkansas: The Russellville Printing Association. August 8, 1878. p. 2. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
^"Fine Cuts". The Russellville Democrat. No. 26 Vol IV. Russellville, Arkansas: The Russellville Printing Association. July 25, 1878. p. 3. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
^"Half of Dover Destroyed by Fire". The Star Progress. Berryville, Arkansas. February 20, 1930. Flames Cause $100,000 Loss in One-Time Pope County Seat
^"Fire Sweeps Whole Town of Dover". Harrison Daily Times. No. 116. Harrison, Arkansas. February 15, 1930. p. 1.
^"Entire Town of Dover, Arkansas Threatened by Fire". Fayetteville Daily Democrat. Vol. 36, no. 73. February 15, 1930. p. 1.
^Reske, Henry (February 1990). "Death Wish, Supreme Court Preview". ABA Journal. 76 (2). American Bar Association: 36. JSTOR20760883. Retrieved March 7, 2023. The would-be waiverer in the case is Ronald Gene Simmons, the Arkansas mass murderer who was sentenced to death in 1988.
