Sawin Museum

The Dover Historical Society was established in 1895 to collect and preserve the objects, documents and stories of the town’s past. As its collection grew, the Society needed a permanent place where these materials could be protected and shared with the community.

Benjamin and Eudora Sawin, charter members of the Society, recognized that need. Because the couple had no surviving children, Benjamin’s will left the remainder of his estate to the Historical Society on the condition that it construct a building bearing the Sawin name. If the Society failed to complete the building within two years of his death, the property was to pass to the town for the benefit of its “worthy” poor.

The Society fulfilled the terms of the bequest. Designed by architects Philip Howard and Walter P. Henderson, the Sawin Memorial Building was completed in 1906 and formally opened on May 14, 1907. Its Federal-style design, red brick exterior, white marble details and enduring inscription created a small but dignified memorial to the couple whose generosity made it possible.

Now known as the Sawin Museum, the building presents Dover’s history through household objects, tools, toys, photographs, documents and materials associated with the town’s schools, industries and military service. Exhibits include a nineteenth-century schoolroom, a cobbler’s workshop and objects that reflect the everyday lives of generations of Dover residents.

The Sawins did more than provide a building. Their gift created a permanent home for the ordinary objects and local stories that might otherwise have disappeared, allowing a small community to preserve and interpret its own history.