Come join us at the Woodman Museum for a FREE open house and community event! Guests and activities include: Meet and Greet with Woody the Woodman Polar Bear Red's Good […]
Combing History in New Hampshire: Growing Flax, Processing Linen, and Making Clothes Join us for a special lecture by Dr. Kimberly Alexander, Co-Director of the Woodman Museum's new exhibit, "Combing […]
May 8th @ 7pm-830pm $10 General Admission / $5 for Members Join us for a guest lecture from military historian and Woodman Museum board member, Paul Timmerman, on the history […]
Join us in the Lower Area of Pine Hill Cemetery in Dover for our annual Memorial Day Service. As always we will be partnering with the City of Dover to […]
We are SUPER excited to officially announce our first Magical Maker Fair of 2024 on June 8th!!! Our Magical Maker Fairs are part farmers market, part craft fair, and all […]
Join us by the new Flax and Indigo Garden on the grounds of the Woodman Museum for a special demonstration by Marion Ceres Dillon, local weaver, spinner, and clothing maker. […]
Come join us at the Woodman Museum on Saturday, June 22nd for our first every Summer Solstice Block Party! Come Learn About Sustainable Agriculture: In the age of fast fashion […]
EPS Trivia is a Pop Culture and History knowledge challenge with a twist. Inter-round guessing games based on pop culture primary sources turn into on-the-spot live recordings for the Everything […]
An evening of local live music at the most unique new venue in Dover, NH with all proceeds going to benefit the restoration of the Woodman Museum's historic buildings. Live […]
Join Eric Salmonsen, Dover High School Social Studies teacher and NHCSS board member, to learn how the Everything is a Primary Source teaching method can engage your students, energize your classroom, and […]
Birthplace of the Ninja Turtles Gallery Opening Day 10am-6:30pm Come celebrate the history of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Dover, NH on Saturday August 10th! Enjoy a timed viewing […]
Come enjoy a free Family Movie Night on our grounds featuring last year's TMNT: Mutant Mayhem! Purchase of Birthplace of the Ninja Turtles Gallery Opening Day Tickets are NOT required. […]
Born in nearby Rochester NH, John Parker Hale is best known as the first avowed Abolitionist Senator in the United States. It is an odd irony that, in the two decades Hale was in the Senate, Dover profited from the manufacture of cotton products that were produced by Southern slave labor. Living in William’s own house, Hale took a solid stand against slavery - a position that earned him enmity from Southern leaders, even a death threat on the Senate floor from a colleague. It also earned Hale a statue in 1892 on the lawn of the state capitol in Concord, NH, where his figure now stands with Daniel Webster, President Franklin Pierce and John Stark.
Today, the collections throughout two of the three floors of the Hale House are arranged into galleries displaying Hale Family artifacts, local and regional history, New England period furniture, fine and decorative arts and more.
The younger Charles Woodman inherited the estate from his mother. A successful financier and manager of the Strafford Savings Bank, he resided here throughout his life. He married twice: his first wife, Hannah (Coffin) Woodman, died in 1854 and in 1856 he married Annie (Allen) Woodman. When she died in January 1915, Annie Woodman left the sum of $100,000 “for the establishment …of an institution for the promotion of education in science and art and the increase and dissemination of general and especially historical knowledge.” The trustees of the estate acquired the Woodman house and the adjoining Hale House, which by chance came on the market that same year. The renovation of the interior was directed by local architect J. Edward Richardson, and the Institute opened in July, 1916.
Today, the collections throughout the three floors of the Woodman House are arranged into galleries displaying natural science (mounted specimens, rocks and minerals, fossils, seashells), Native American culture, military history, “childhood” history (schools, Scouting, toys, games and dolls), seasonal themed exhibits and more.
In 1915, Col. Daniel Hall (the founding Head Trustee of the Woodman Museum) had an interview with Mrs. Rounds and broached the matter of having the garrison and its contents removed to the grounds of the Woodman Museum. The proposition proved to be acceptable to her; in due time she made a formal gift of the Damm garrison to the Museum. Daniel Chesley was entrusted with the task of removing the house to its new home; it took him one week, using wooden rollers and a horse, to move the garrison to the grounds. Local architect J. Edward Richardson directed the construction of the protective outer “colonnade” building that surronds and protects the garrison currently.
Today, the collections throughout the two floors of the William Damm Garrison House are arranged into galleries displaying local Colonial and Early American history.
Today, the first floor of the Keefe House (the Thom Hindle Gallery) features rotating artist and artisan exhibitions throughout the year. The second floor of the Keefe House (the Robert Whitehouse Library) serves as administrative offices and a climate controlled archive. The attached two story Carriage Barn houses local and regional transportation, trades, farm, and household collections.
