Dr. Joseph Slingluff House - Dover, OH
Posted by: 
silverquill
N 40° 31.539 W 081° 28.799
17T E 459344 N 4486212
This historic Italianate style house was awarded the Heritage Home designation by the Tuscararwas Heritage Home Association. It dates from 1866 and was the home of Dr. Joseph Slingluff, first mayor of Dover.
Waymark Code: WMBXBT
Location: Ohio, United States
Date Posted: 06/30/2011
Views: 6
Dr. Joseph Slingluff House
Dover, Ohio
From an article in
Amish-Heartland by Sarah Nussbaum:
"In 1806, Christian Deardorff and his brother-in-law Jesse Slingluff purchased 2,175 acres of land in the Tuscarawas Valley. Part of this acreage is now present-day Dover. The original plat of the settlement allowed space for a square with a courthouse, but when Tuscarawas County was formed two years later, New Philadelphia was chosen as the county seat.
Growth in the little village was slow at first. By 1818 there were five buildings in Dover - two residences and three taverns! The year before, however, Deardorff had secured a post office for Dover, and he was serving as the postmaster. In 1820 the population of the fourteen-year-old village was only 46. But this was about to change.
The building of the canal from 1826 to 1830 greatly increased the population of Dover, as the county's only canal tolling station was located there. In twenty years, the population grew from 46 in 1820 to nearly 600 in 1840. By this time Dover had become a flour mill and warehouse center.
At this time there were other places in Ohio known as Dover, so the town's post office was referred to as Canal Dover, to help distinguish it. In 1842 Dover was incorporated as a village, with Dr. Joseph Slingluff as the first mayor.
Dover remained a milling center for many years; it was incorporated as a city in 1901."
The Tuscararwas Heritage Home Association seeks to encourage restoration and preservation of the area's many historic homes and buildings. Recipients are awarded these plaques in recognition of their achievements in historic preservation. From the Association web site:
"Historic preservation and restoration initiatives nationwide have reversed years of deterioration and decay . . . Our plaque symbolizes a property owner’s respect for these principals . . ."
This historic home was also placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.