Join the Woodman Museum for this spectacular event. This July, five tall ships plus the Gundalow will sail up the Piscataqua River. The Parade of Sail and Flotilla is scheduled […]
All concerts will run from 4 pm to 7 p.m. at the museum at 182 Central Ave., Dover. The museum grounds open at 3:30 p.m. Bring a lawn chair […]
All concerts will run from 4 pm to 7 p.m. at the museum at 182 Central Ave., Dover. The museum grounds open at 3:30 p.m. Bring a lawn chair […]
All concerts will run from 4 pm to 7 p.m. at the museum at 182 Central Ave., Dover. The museum grounds open at 3:30 p.m. Bring a lawn chair […]
From the Forest to the Sea: Pre-Contact Native American Archaeology on the Regional and Local Scale Presented by: Jacob Tumelaire, MA, RPA Owner, Director and Principal Investigator Independent Archaeological Consulting, […]
Simon Goodall Griffin- NH’s General Presented by: Paul Timmerman, Woodman Museum Chair, Civil War Historian This presentation offers a summary of Simon Goodall Griffin of New Hampshire. From 1st Bull Run […]
Art of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Come by the Thom Hindle Gallery for a FREE special exhibition featuring the works of artist and collectors of Dover, NH's most […]
Where: Woodman Museum 182 Central Ave. Dover, NH When: Saturday, September 16th Time: Doors Open at 6pm, Movie Starts at 7pm Event Includes: Outdoor Movie Showing of the First […]
A Stitch in Time: History of Textiles and Clothing in Dover Guest Speaker: Linnea Nemeth Textile Historian Dover City Councilor This presentation offers a history of textiles, clothing, and […]
Kismet Quartet Kismet quartet was formed in 2010 and includes members Liz LeClair from Milton, NH (baritone), Debbie Bartol from Nashua, NH (bass), Susan Prescott from Kingston, NH (lead), and […]
At Pine Hill Cemetery 131 Central Ave Dover, NH. Tours every half hour 10am-3:30pm (except 12:30pm for actors lunch break). Come and hear tales of Dover’s past brought to […]
The Woodman Museum will be hosting an all-day event complete with reenactors from the Revolutionary war to today.
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.
