Bell Road Bridge / Dover

This Pratt through-truss bridge, erected in 1891, was built by the Wrought Iron Bridge Company of Canton, Ohio. The bridge was assembled on site by a local crew using iron connecting pins that are visible at the deck level. These pins, unique to nineteenth century iron work, made bridges easy to assemble and capable of flexing to accommodate varying weights. The bridge is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Dover Judge Samuel Dexter and Isaac Pomeroy built a sawmill here in 1832. After 1846, Daniel B. Sloan and Company replaced the sawmill with a gristmill called Dover Mills, which spurred the village’s growth. In 1849 the Base Lake Post Office opened here. Sometime after 1861, Thomas Birkett bought the mill and built a church in the hamlet of Dover. In 1882 the post office was renamed for him. Today only the mill’s cut stone foundation and the mill stream remain visible northwest of this bridge.