Coming into its own

Historic N.H. city is full of life, and has plans for more

October 19, 2005|Weekend Planner, Marty Basch, Globe Correspondent

DOVER, N.H. -- The canvas reflected the mill and flowing Cocheco River in front of him. Not far from the Henry Law Park along the river, the covered bridge, and the skate park, Charlie Bryon painted the landscape of the city he calls home.

''The mill buildings are great places for artists," he said. ''There is a lot of red brick. It is quintessential New England."

The red brick of Dover's buildings and sidewalks adds to the character of this small seacoast city. On Central Avenue, the main artery, shops and mills now occupied with offices, restaurants, martini bars, and coffee spots add to the area's flavor. Residents here include a mix of University of New Hampshire staff and medical workers from Wentworth-Douglass Hospital. Students come here for a night out, and the Amtrak Downeaster stops on its way from Boston to Portland, Maine. And history abounds, thanks to downtown's interpretive signs.

The setting also caters to outdoors lovers, with a riverside skate park, waterfalls, boat tours, and walking trails. A seeming cousin to bustling Portsmouth, Dover has found its own voice. Pop into the Chamber of Commerce and see plans for an extensive waterfront development of shops, restaurants, offices, and housing in the heart of the city.

The word is out. Dover's up and coming.

''Dover is an incredible place," Ann Sousa of Lowell, who is planning a move here this fall, wrote in an e-mail after paddling her kayak on the Cocheco. ''I love the energy."

Settled in 1623, Dover was New Hampshire's first permanent settlement and is the seventh-oldest in the country. The Cocheco and Bellamy rivers were waterways for industry, used as shipping lanes and to power sawmills. In the early 1800s, local farmlands made it a prime manufacturing base for cotton goods, and later the brick industry and shoe manufacturing did well.

Visitors can take self-guided walking tours from the gold-domed City Hall, past the Cocheco Mills and the river, Central Square with its informative signs of upcoming events, churches, homes, and the 100-year-old Dover Library.

On Central Avenue, motorists actually stop for pedestrians in the crosswalks. Here, the Woodman Institute contains much about the area's history. Its Damm Garrison House, the oldest house in the city, built in 1675, displays antique clothing, furniture, and tools. The Woodman House features exhibits on natural science, the military, and maps, while the 1813 Hale House displays family items, textile samples, and maritime exhibits.