Hey everyone i'm here in Dover, New Jersey. At one time it was the most important industrial town in
Morris County. It had dozens of mills, iron work facilities. But just like every industry town,
after World War 2 the economy went to a long decline. Everything stagnated,
but they kept this historic downtown intact which helped to revitalize the area. It's cheap,
has great parks, and mountainous terrain so a lot of new residents moved in
the Iron Act of 1750 by the British government restricted the manufacturing of iron products,
which bankrupted him and he was forced to sell off his property. This opened up the land to
further development and more residents moved in creating a small village where Dover is now.
In the 1820s the Morris Canal was built through the downtown area helping it become an important
transportation port. A large boat basin was also constructed to help boats load and unload raw
materials. The primary goal of the canal was to help move coal from Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley
to northern New Jersey's growing iron industry. The canal originally extended
from Phillipsburg all the way to Newark NJ. In 1848 the Morrison & Essex Railroad was
constructed and by the mid-1800s Dover became an industrial town with extensive milling and
ironworks facilities. Iron ore was mined from the surrounding hills and then smelted in the
town's furnaces to produce metal. The population continued to grow and it was finally incorporated
as a town in 1869 with the name Dover chosen. In 1904 a trolley was built along Blackwell Street
that would eventually be linked to nearby Elizabeth by 1911. By this time the Morris
Canal became obsolete and the whole canal network was largely disassembled by the 1920s.
The area where the boat basin used to be located is where JFK Park sits now.
The trolley system was also dismantled in the 20s because of the popularity of the automobile.
By the 1950s the ironworks factory started shutting down and the economy went into a long
recession for many years. By the 1980s the town started to rehabilitate its historic buildings
and the Blackwell Street Historic District was created to promote redevelopment.
This historic area has many impressive buildings that were constructed at a time
when dover was experiencing an economic boom because of the iron industry.
The Baker Theater built in 1884 as a 1,600 seat grand opera house exemplifies this prosperity
and remains today as the most recognizable landmark in town. It sat dilapidated for many
years before being fully restored in 1998. Another important landmark from this era is
the first presbyterian church built in 1901 in the romanesque revival style.
The Dover Historical Society is located next door in a home built in the late 1800s.
The Society operates a museum there that showcases Dover's history
with a New Jersey electric trolley exhibit on the second floor.
Today Dover still remains a blue-collar town, but its cheap cost of living and abundance of nearby
parks has helped to attract new residents, which has led to more commercial investment in the area.
The town is also one of the few places in New Jersey where the majority of the population
is a minority. According to a 2010 census, nearly 70 percent of their residents identify themselves
as hispanic. Many of the locals are of Mexican, Colombian, Dominican, and Puerto Rican ancestry.
This mix of Spanish influences has inspired a diverse restaurant scene
with dozens of festive shops that makes Dover eclectic and unique.
it's quiet, it has birds. It's great!
This is JFK Park. Located in a downtown area. This is where the town has most of its major events
throughout the year such as the Christmas tree lighting, Easter egg hunt, halloween parade, and
summer concerts are held here. This area used to be where the old Morris Canal ran through and then
in 1963 they built over it and they renamed it JFK in his honor, the same year they was assassinated.
I'm here in Hedden Park. Located in the southwestern portion of town.
It's by far the biggest park in the area covering 380 acres. There are several parks in town,
but this is the one that you want if you don't have a lot of time and you had to choose one.
There's baseball fields, there's a pond, there's picnic areas, there's a pavilion.
You feel completely surrounded by nature. So if you're coming
from major city and you want some privacy, some fresh air to relax in, this is the one you want.
This is the Waterworks Park located just above Hedden Park. There's a basketball court,
there is a pavilion here, the Rockaway River runs through, which is kind of nice. There's
reminds me of Montclair, New Jersey because you have a historic cute downtown area
that's surrounded by rolling mountains and just like that town the reason you come
to places like Dover is to get out into the fresh air to see the wilderness. I mean look at this.
Oh man! And also a lot of good food options. Everything is affordable. A lot of latin influence
in this town so you'll find Colombian spots, Honduran, Peruvian. I'll come back here just