157 Central Avenue
Standing on the spot where blacksmith David Hanson built his large two-story house in 1780, this Federal-style three-story home is the second house on this site. Supposedly built by the Hanson Brothers circa 1807, this house was occupied during the 1830s and 40s by the Tredick family, wealthy Dover dry goods merchants. By the 1860s, its owner was Henry Sayward (1818-1901).
Sayward was originally a stage driver on the Dover to Boston Route, then the first conductor on the Dover and Winnepesaukee Railroad, and eventually a partner in Niles and Company Boston Express which ran daily cars to Boston from the B&M railroad depot on Third Street. Sayward bought out his partner (and neighbor) Daniel Niles in 1887.
In 1900, Sayward sold this house to Winfield S. Bradley (1848-1928), a Vermont native who had married Martha Sawyer (1851-1937), daughter of Sawyer Mills magnate Jonathan Sawyer and sister of N.H. Governor Charles Sawyer. Not surprisingly, Bradley then opened the Dover Clothing Company, official retailer for Sawyer Woolens, The Bradley’s son, Franklin S. (1880-1964), a Packard dealer and proprietor of Bradley’s Dover Garage, inherited the home, but sold it during the 1940s. Ir was drastically altered and today there are ten rental units at the site.
From the 1997 Heritage Walking Tour booklet