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In 1807, Dovers founders, Christian Deardorff and Jesse Slingluff, carved their dream out of Ohios rugged wilderness. Their choice of location on the Tuscarawas River would prove wise as local industry benefited from the proximity to a water source. Progress was slow at first, but the advent of the Ohio and Erie Canal in 1827 and the steel industry, helped the small town on the river grow into a thriving city. Over time, the city developed its own niche with an opera house, community theater, great museums, and wonderful schools. Out of this uniquely American setting came a cast of interesting and enterprising characters. These include industrialist Jeremiah Reeves, Rear Adm. Herald Stout, Broadway actors Elliot and J.C. Nugent, and Pixar Animation Studios writer and director Bob Peterson. Inspired, yet not defined by their small-town roots, the men and women chronicled in this book represent true Americana and the American dream realized.
About the author
Matthew S. Lautzenheiser is the director of the Dover Historical Society and the J.E. Reeves Victorian Home & Carriage House Museum. Dedicated to preserving the rich history of Dover and the Tuscarawas Valley, the Dover Historical Society operates the home of industrialist Jeremiah Reeves on East Iron Avenue in Dover. Legendary Locals of Dover is Lautzenheiser's third book.
