School House Site: At the entrance to the cemetery was the Pine Hill School House, built in 1712. For many years, half the grammar school housed primary grades while the other half housed secondary. By 1904, only forty 5th and 6th graders were taught here and the school was used as a ward house during elections. Being a ward house caused much inconvenience "to teachers and children by moving books, supplies and seats every caucus and election." Therefore, in 1905, the building was closed.

1. Peirce Tomb: The Peirce family including Andrew Peirce, Capt. Andrew Peirce and Andrew Peirce III, were shipping traders who ran 60-ton vessels from Portland to Gloucester to Boston and beyond.

2. Capt. William Flagg: Spent his life on the sea from age 12 and made his living as a privateer: especially in the War of 1812.

3. Elisha Thomas: A Revolutionary War veteran who was the first person to be executed in Dover by hanging. He fatally stabbed Capt. Peter Drown during a drunken brawl. Originally Thomas’ stone was erected in a north-south direction instead of the customary east-west facing because he was a convicted murderer. The Daughters of the American Revolution later erected the stone in the correct direction because of his exemplary war record.

4. Nathaniel Ela: Owned Ela’s Tavern, a Dover hot spot.

5. Indian Grave Stones(3 rocks): The Indians called their burial ground "the Pines." Here are 3 triangular stones from 173, marking the Indian site. Notice that the area surrounding these stones was left untouched and not used for burial as the colonists respected the Indian’s burial place.

6. Ezra Green: Green was a surgeon on board John Paul Jone’s ship The Ranger. He was also Dover’s first postmaster, appointed by George Washington. He died at age 101 and had 13 children.

7. Daniel Osborne: Owned an iron foundry on the Bellamy River at Sawyer Lower Mills. He was a prominent Quaker and President of the Savings Bank for County of Strafford.

8. Henry Law: He owned a harness shop and much real estate. He donated several of the parks in Dover and the land for a recreation center, located in Herny Law Park, downtown.

9. Cordelia Teatherly (The Weeping Bride): Originally engaged to Henry Law. It is said Henry was unable to accept her dog and asked her to get rid of it. When she refused, he called off their engagement. Upon her death she asked that her plot have a stone of a woman weeping with her back turned to Henry Law’s plot, signifying her sadness at his injustice.

Click on the image above for a photo of The Weeping Bride
(Henry Law's plot is at her back)

10. Rev. Jonathan Cushing: He was the first minister of the 1st Parish Church, from 1717-1769.

11. William King Atkinson: President of Dover’s first bank, NH Strafford Bank in 1803. He was also Atty. General of NH from 1807-1812.

12. Hosea Sawyer: A merchant who built the Sawyer Building in 1823 for $9300. You can see the building in its original state at the corner of Portland Avenue and Main Street.

13. Moses Paul: The Masonic Lodge in the downtown was named for him. He played an important role as an agent for the Cochecho Manufacturing Company from 1834-1860.

14. Gov. Charles Sawyer: Governor of NH from 1887-1889. Also acted as an agent for Sawyer Woolen Mills, overseeing 450 employees.

15. Annie Woodman: She left $100,000 to the city for the establishment of a museum, The Woodman Institute. Today, the museum is one of Dover’s premier attractions, containing one of only a few original garrison buildings still in existence.

16. Harrison Haley: He built the first Garrison Hill Observatory Tower which was made of wood and burned in 1897. In 1994, a new steel tower was erected. From the top, you can see the White Mountains and the ocean. (See the tower on the Downtown Tour.)

17. Oliver Wyatt: A merchant and tailor whose house is on the Historic House Tour.

18. Ricker Memorial Chapel: The chapel, a gift from Mary A. Ricker as a memorial to her deceased daughter, Mary E. Ricker, who died of peritonitis at age 34 after falling from her horse. The cornerstone was laid Nov. 10,1911 and the chapel was given to the city on Sept. 29, 1912. Most of the yellow brick for the chapel was made in Dover.

Meeting House Marker: To the right of the chapel, near the Cushing tomb, is the marker indicating the third meeting house of the First Parish Church. This marker also sets the boundries of the cemetery as stated by the town in 1731. Behind the Chapel is the cement foundation of a beautiful Gazebo that once graced the cemetery.

19. Joseph Morrill: He started as a mill overseer, then got into real estate. He owned the two Morrill blocks downtown and planted all the shade trees from Franklin Square to Garrison Hill Tower.

20. Capt. Washington Hardy: A sea captain who circumnavigated the globe 13 times and traded heavily in China and Japan. Some of his items are on display at The Woodman Institute Museum.

21. Theodore Woodman: A rental magnate who always gave Christmas trees to his tenants. He gave $30,000 to begin Towle Field(now Woodman Park School). The Woodman Block, on the corner of Hale Street and Central Avenue, is still in its original state and can be seen on the Historic House tour.

22. James Lothrop: A major entrepreneur and mayor of Dover who owned Lothrop’s Drugstore, Lothrop’s Piano, Lothrop’s Publishing, Lothrop’s/ Farnham’s Department Store and more.

23. Nealley Plot: Benjamin Nealley was a mill overseer and an abolitionist active as a "conductor" on the underground railroad.

B. Franklin Nealley, son of Benjamin. He was a dry goods merchant, mayor and state senator. The Schooner "B. Franklin Nealley" was named for him.

24. Caroline and Charles Shackford: Husband and wife who were active Quakers and descendants of the Osbornes. (See #7.)

25. GAR Monument: The Grand Army of the Republic Monument and site listing the 111 "Fallen Heroes" of the Civil War.

26. William S. Gookin: Dover’s famous artist whose portrait and landscapes are very valuable today. His painting graces the cover of this publication.

27. Charles Cartland: President of Strafford National Bank from 1891-1923 and known as the "Dean of Bankers in NH."

28. Col. Daniel Hall: You can see the Hall house on the Historic Tour. Daniel was a lawyer, judge and famous orator. He was an aide to President Lincoln during the Civil War.

29. John P. Hale: Abolitionist, US Congressman and Senator. He was a Free Soil candidate for President and an Ambassador to Spain. He owned one of the houses that is now part of the Woodman Institute Museum.

30. Alonzo Quint: Clergyman and author of Historical Memoranda of Ancient Dover.

31. John Scales: Last headmaster of Franklin Academy and author of History of Dover 1623-1865.

32. George Wadleigh: an author who wrote Notable Events in the History of Dover from 1st Settlement in 1623 to 1865.

33. Michael Reade: Immigrant from Ireland who became a land speculator and merchant on Dover’s waterfront landing. ( His house is on the National Register of Historic Places and can be seen in the Downtown Tour.)

34. William Woodman: Treasurer for Savings Bank of County of Strafford and President for Strafford National Bank. (See his house on the Historic House Tour.)

35. Thomas Cushing: Railroad bridge builder and real estate magnate who owned 57 properties in Dover in the 1860’s.

36. Mary Ricker Gallagher: Memorialized by the Ricker Chapel which her mother had built in 1911.

37. Edmund Lane: He was a bookseller and stationer. (His house, the Wheeler/Lane house can be seen on the Historic House Tour.)

38. Maj. Joseph Abbott: A major entrepreneur who owned an ice company, hauling, hay, bedding, and grain company, as well as, a quarry in Durham.

39. Col. Andrew Young: a civil war veteran who developed Ricker Field. He was the Collector of Internal Revenue for the 1st NH District.

40. Gov. Noah Martin, MD: Elected NH’s Governor in 1852. Founded the Dover Medical Society. (His house is on the House Tour.)

41. Sarah Low : Dover’s Civil War nurse who was in Washington D.C. and Virginia from 1862-1865 tending the sick. Granddaughter of William Hale.

42. John Wheeler: Owned an apothecary shop at Tuttle Square. (S

43. Thomas Garland and Caroline Garland: He was Dover’s first Librarian and clerk of the Printworks. His daughter was Dover’s second librarian for over 50 years. At a trustees meeting in 1933, she said "ooh" laid on the couch and died.

End of Tour C

Tour A  |  Tour B  |  Begin Tour C