Desperate for something to do I started flipping through the Entertainment Book for ideas. I discovered that there were TWO activities in Dover, OH that looked interesting.
Now, Dover is a village of 12,466 people. So it’s quite amazing that there is one something to do, but TWO, that is just phenomenal. So we had to go.
The first stop is the Warther Family Museum. When I first saw it in the book I thought it was the Werther family. You know the caramels. But instead its a family full of carvers and knife makers. I had no idea what to expect. It had a high potential of being very lame, but it wasn’t. It was really fascinating.
Ernest Warther was quite the man. He only had a 2nd grade education but transformed his hobby of whittling into a passion that became a celebrated career. that is still earning money for his family. In the 1920’s he was declared a master carver after his ebony, walnut wood and ivory mini trains toured the United States on a special train exhibit . Every train is intricately carved inside and out. They are an exact replicas of the original, operating on a leather pulley system with actual working parts.
What was most intriguing about the Warthers is their commitment to family, tradition, and love. He didn’t carve these beautiful pieces for the money but his love of his craft and trains. He refused an offer of $50,000 plus $5,000 a year in the early 1900s to keep his trains in Grand Central Station. He said nothing shouuld live in NY for more than a week. He also said that his family was not hurting for money, so if people wanted to see the trains they could come to Dover.
And we did.
Second, on our grand tour of Dover, was the J.E. Reeves Victorian mansion. I had no idea who J.E. was or why he could afford a mansion. It was all a mystery. 
Turns out he was from England and was a trained boiler maker. He and his brothers settled in Ohio and took over a failing steel plant. Together they turned it around and made a ton of money. The brothers then opened a bank and hotel. Times were good for the Reeves, hence the mansion.
When arrived and a small wedding was taking place in the side yard. So we were ushered into the carriage house. It seemed like everything was really casual. There were no set tour times, they just offered them when there were enough for a group or you’d been waiting a sufficient period of time. After a short 10 minute wait we began our tour, around the wedding photos.
Reeves purchased an 1870 farmhouse and created a beautiful Victorian masterpiece. He spared no detail on moldings, furnishing or woodwork. He even put a bathroom in his study. As a member of the Electoral College he held many business meetings in his large study and his private restroom showed his wealth. What as really amazing to me is that they have original Edison-designed lightbulbs in the study, which have been burning since 1976. I think we’re getting robbed with new technology.
AAAAAHhhhh what a delightfully rich day in the land of Dover. Downtown is picturesque. It is mere moments from Amish country and contained so much history, who knew. We even got a treat on our way home. The GPS took us a funky way back to Canton for some reason. We went surface streets instead of on the freeway. About two minutes outside of town was the Dover Dam.
There’s a dam in Dover?! YES! It was a relic from FDR’s New Deal. Built in 1935 on the Tuscarawas River.
Not much else to say about dam. There was no dam tour. I did take some dam photos. LOL had to do it. National Lampoon Vegas Vacation, if you’re wondering where those lines are from. However, in researching the dam history, I did discover the Zoar Village nearby that looks interesting. It was founded by German separtists escaping religious persecution. The Ohio Historical Society owns most of the village now and has restored the buildings and gardens. The village is open from April through October.
Another day trip to be had.
Filed under: Living in Ohio , Dover, Dover Dam, J.E. Reeves Mansion, Ohio, trains, Tuscarawas River, Warther Museum, Zoar Village
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