New state historical highway marker in Dover marks the home of John Parker Hale

posted on: 7/7/2020

The N.H. Division of Historical Resources is pleased to announce that a New Hampshire Historical Highway Marker has been installed in front of the home of John Parker Hale at 192 Central Ave. in Dover.

The marker reads:

“HOME OF JOHN PARKER HALE, 1840-1873

“New Hampshire lawyer, politician and noted abolitionist, Hale lived in this home for nearly 40 years, until his death. During this time, he was elected to the U.S. Congress as a Democrat in 1842, to the U.S. Senate as an Independent in 1847 and again to the U.S. Senate as a Republican in 1855. The first distinctly anti-slavery U.S. senator, he was friendly with President Lincoln, who named him Minister to Spain in 1865. A statue of Hale joins those of Daniel Webster and Gen. John Stark at the State House in Concord.”

Built in 1813, the building is part of the Woodman Institute, which was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

An official unveiling ceremony for the marker will take place on July 8 at 10 a.m.

This is the 264th marker installed in New Hampshire’s Historical Highway Marker program.

Any municipality, agency, organization or individual wishing to propose a historical highway marker to commemorate significant New Hampshire places, persons or events must submit a petition of support signed by at least 20 New Hampshire residents. They must also draft the text of the marker and provide footnotes and copies of supporting documentation, as well as a suggested location for marker placement.

New Hampshire’s historical highway markers illustrate the depth and complexity of our history and the people who made it, from the last Revolutionary War soldier to contemporary sports figures to poets and painters who used New Hampshire for inspiration; from 18th-century meeting houses to stone arch bridges to long-lost villages; from factories and cemeteries to sites where international history was made.

An interactive map of all of the state’s historical highway markers is available at the N.H. Division of Historical Resources’ website, nh.gov/nhdhr.

The New Hampshire Historical Highway Marker program is jointly managed by the N.H. Division of Historical Resources and N.H. Department of Transportation.