Dover, Pennsylvania

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Dover, Pennsylvania
Borough
Englehart Melchinger House from SE (rear) Dover PA.JPG
Englehart Melchinger House
York County Pennsylvania incorporated and unincorporated areas Dover highlighted.svg
Location in York County and the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
USA Pennsylvania location map.svg
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Dover
Location of Dover in Pennsylvania
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Dover
Dover (the United States)
Coordinates: 40°00′14″N76°50′58″W / 40.00389°N 76.84944°W / 40.00389; -76.84944
Country United States
State Pennsylvania
County York
Settled1764;261 years ago (1764)
Incorporated1864;161 years ago (1864)
Government
 • TypeBorough Council
 • MayorDennis Hernley[ citation needed ]
 • PresidentAndrew Kroft
Area
[1]
 • Total
0.54 sq mi (1.41 km2)
 • Land0.54 sq mi (1.41 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
443 ft (135 m)
Population
 (2020) [2]
 • Total
1,954
 • Density3,598.53/sq mi (1,390.20/km2)
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
Zip code
17315
Area code(s) 717; prefixes 292, 308 [3]
FIPS code 42-19696
Website doverboroughpa.com

Dover is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,953 at the 2020 census. [4] The borough is located about eight miles from downtown York. [5]

Contents

History

Dover United Church of Christ on a vintage postcard Dover PA Reformed Church PHS168.jpg
Dover United Church of Christ on a vintage postcard

James Joner purchased 203 acres (0.82 km2) in 1764 and laid out the town of Dover. It was known generally as Joner's Town until 1815, when a Dover post office was established. [6]

During the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War, Dover was briefly occupied overnight, June 30 – July 1, by Confederate cavalry under J.E.B. Stuart.

Dover was incorporated in 1864, 100 years after its founding.

The Englehart Melchinger House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. [7]

Geography

Dover is located in York County at 40°0′14″N76°50′58″W / 40.00389°N 76.84944°W / 40.00389; -76.84944 (40.003846, -76.849397), [8] 5 miles (8 km) northwest of the county seat of York. The borough is entirely surrounded by Dover Township.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.5 square miles (1.3 km2), all land.

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1850 246—
1860 30222.8%
1870 41838.4%
1880 415−0.7%
1890 46512.0%
1900 438−5.8%
1910 57631.5%
1920 535−7.1%
1930 67626.4%
1940 7338.4%
1950 80910.4%
1960 97520.5%
1970 1,16819.8%
1980 1,91063.5%
1990 1,884−1.4%
2000 1,815−3.7%
2010 2,00710.6%
2020 1,953−2.7%
2021 (est.)1,947 [4] −0.3%
Sources: [9] [10] [11] [2]

As of the census [10] of 2000, there were 1,815 people, 770 households, and 489 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,623.6 inhabitants per square mile (1,399.1/km2). There were 790 housing units at an average density of 1,577.2 per square mile (609.0/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 96.47% White, 1.05% African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.83% Asian, 0.72% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.43% of the population.

There were 770 households, out of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 23.7% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 98.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.9 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $41,250, and the median income for a family was $46,086. Males had a median income of $33,796 versus $22,826 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $19,108. About 4.3% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.5% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Education

Post office Dover, PA Post Office.JPG
Post office

Dover's public schools are operated by the Dover Area School District.

Intelligent design controversy

Dover received national attention in 2004–05, after the Dover Area School District voted to include the following statement about intelligent design in the biology curriculum of its schools:

The Pennsylvania Academic Standards require students to learn about Darwin's Theory of Evolution and eventually to take a standardized test of which evolution is a part.
Because Darwin's theory is a theory, it continues to be tested as new evidence is discovered. The theory is not a fact. Gaps in the theory exist for which there is no evidence.
A theory is defined as a well-tested explanation that unifies a broad range of observations.
Intelligent Design is an explanation of the origin of life that differs from Darwin's view. The reference book Of Pandas and People is available for students who might be interested in gaining an understanding of what Intelligent Design actually involves.
With respect to any theory, students are encouraged to keep an open mind. The school leaves the discussion of the Origins of Life to individual students and their families. As a Standards-driven district, class instruction focuses upon preparing students to achieve proficiency on Standards-based assessments. [12]
Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District (page 1)

Aftermath

The controversial statement by the school board triggered the court case Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District in late 2005. The case was resolved on December 20, 2005, when Judge John E. Jones III ruled that the Dover Area School District cannot teach Intelligent Design in a science class room, due to its religious origins. The separation of church and state principle, as derived from the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibits any government agency from endorsing religious points of view. [13] [14]

In an upset election on November 8, 2005, the eight Republican school board members who voted for the language were all defeated by the challengers from the Dover Cares slate—four Democrats and four Republicans, forced by election rules to run on the Democratic ticket—who opposed the teaching of intelligent design in a science class. [15]

Over the past few years Dover has incorporated a Comparative Religion course as an elective for students who want to learn more about all the religions of the world.

Pat Robertson

Two days after the upset, Pat Robertson commented on the election results on The 700 Club :

I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God. You just rejected Him from your city. [16] [17]

He later revisited his previous warning:

God is tolerant and loving, but we can't keep sticking our finger in His eye forever. If they have future problems in Dover, I recommend they call on Charles Darwin. Maybe he can help them. [16] [17]

Notable people

Related Research Articles

Intelligent design (ID) is a pseudoscientific argument for the existence of God, presented by its proponents as "an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins". Proponents claim that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." ID is a form of creationism that lacks empirical support and offers no testable or tenable hypotheses, and is therefore not science. The leading proponents of ID are associated with the Discovery Institute, a Christian, politically conservative think tank based in the United States.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Behe</span> American biochemist, author, and intelligent design advocate

Michael Joseph Behe is an American biochemist and an advocate of the pseudoscientific principle of intelligent design (ID).

The intelligent design movement is a neo-creationist religious campaign for broad social, academic and political change to promote and support the pseudoscientific idea of intelligent design (ID), which asserts that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." Its chief activities are a campaign to promote public awareness of this concept, the lobbying of policymakers to include its teaching in high school science classes, and legal action, either to defend such teaching or to remove barriers otherwise preventing it. The movement arose out of the creation science movement in the United States, and is driven by a small group of proponents. The Encyclopædia Britannica explains that ID cannot be empirically tested and that it fails to solve the problem of evil; thus, it is neither sound science nor sound theology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedge strategy</span> Creationist political and social agenda

The Wedge Strategy is a creationist political and social agenda authored by the Discovery Institute, the hub of the pseudoscientific intelligent design movement. The strategy was presented in a Discovery Institute internal memorandum known as the Wedge Document. Its goal is to change American culture by shaping public policy to reflect politically conservative fundamentalist evangelical Protestant values. The wedge metaphor is attributed to Phillip E. Johnson and depicts a metal wedge splitting a log.

<i>Of Pandas and People</i> Creationist supplementary textbook by Percival Davis and Dean H. Kenyon

Of Pandas and People: The Central Question of Biological Origins is a controversial 1989 school-level supplementary textbook written by Percival Davis and Dean H. Kenyon, edited by Charles Thaxton and published by the Texas-based Foundation for Thought and Ethics (FTE). The textbook endorses the pseudoscientific concept of intelligent design – the argument that life shows evidence of being designed by an intelligent agent which is not named specifically in the book, although proponents understand that it refers to the Christian God. The overview chapter was written by young Earth creationist Nancy Pearcey. They present various polemical arguments against the scientific theory of evolution. Before publication, early drafts used cognates of "creationist". After the Edwards v. Aguillard Supreme Court ruling that creationism is religion and not science, these were changed to refer to "intelligent design". The second edition published in 1993 included a contribution written by Michael Behe.

The "Teach the controversy" campaign of the Discovery Institute seeks to promote the pseudoscientific principle of intelligent design as part of its attempts to discredit the teaching of evolution in United States public high school science courses. Scientific organizations point out that the institute claims that there is a scientific controversy where in fact none exists.

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<i>Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District</i> 2005 court case in Pennsylvania

Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, 400 F. Supp. 2d 707 was the first case brought in the United States federal courts testing a public school policy requiring the teaching of intelligent design (ID). The court found intelligent design to be not science. In October 2004, the Dover Area School District of York County, Pennsylvania, changed its biology teaching curriculum to require that intelligent design be presented as an alternative to evolution theory, and that Of Pandas and People, a textbook advocating intelligent design, was to be used as a reference book. The prominence of this textbook during the trial was such that the case is sometimes referred to as the Dover Panda Trial, a name which recalls the popular name of the Scopes Monkey Trial in Tennessee, 80 years earlier. The plaintiffs successfully argued that intelligent design is a form of creationism, and that the school board policy violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The judge's decision sparked considerable response from both supporters and critics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dover Area School District</span> School district in Pennsylvania

The Dover Area School District is a midsized, rural, public school district located in York County, Pennsylvania. It serves Dover Township and the Borough of Dover. According to the 2010 United States Census, the district community's population grew to 25,779 people. The population of the district was 22,349 people, according to the 2000 federal census. The educational attainment levels for the Dover Area School District population were 87% high school graduates and 14.7% college graduates.

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The intelligent design movement has conducted an organized campaign largely in the United States that promotes a pseudoscientific, neo-creationist religious agenda calling for broad social, academic and political changes centering on intelligent design.

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Brian J. Alters is a Canadian academic who is a professor in Chapman University's College of Educational Studies. He directs Chapman's Evolution Education Research Center, has taught science education at both Harvard and McGill Universities, and is regarded as a specialist in evolution education.

<i>Uncommon Dissent</i> 2004 anthology edited by William A. Dembski

Uncommon Dissent: Intellectuals Who Find Darwinism Unconvincing is a 2004 anthology edited by William A. Dembski in which fifteen intellectuals, eight of whom are leading intelligent design proponents associated with the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture (CSC) and the International Society for Complexity, Information and Design (ISCID), criticise "Darwinism" and make a case for intelligent design. It is published by the publishing wing of the paleoconservative Intercollegiate Studies Institute. The foreword is by John Wilson, editor of the evangelical Christian magazine Christianity Today. The title is a pun on the principle of biology known as common descent. The Discovery Institute is the engine behind the intelligent design movement.

The Discovery Institute has conducted a series of related public relations campaigns which seek to promote intelligent design while attempting to discredit evolutionary biology, which the Institute terms "Darwinism". The Discovery Institute promotes the pseudoscientific intelligent design movement and is represented by Creative Response Concepts, a public relations firm.

<i>The Devil in Dover</i> 2008 book by Lauri Lebo

The Devil in Dover: An Insider's Story of Dogma v. Darwin in Small-Town America is a 2008 book by journalist Lauri Lebo about the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District intelligent design trial, through her own perspective as a local reporter on the trial as she confronted her own attitudes about organized religion and her father who was a fundamentalist Christian.

References

  1. ↑ "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Area Code 717 phone numbers". Whitepages. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  4. 1 2 "City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2021". Census.gov. US Census Bureau. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Matt's Auto Glass LLC to Dover". Matt's Auto Glass LLC to Dover. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  6. ↑ "The History of Dover Borough". The Greater Dover Historical Society. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  7. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  8. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  10. 1 2 "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  11. ↑ "Incorporated Places and Minor Civil Divisions Datasets: Subcounty Resident Population Estimates: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012". Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 11, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  12. ↑ Banerjee, Neela (January 16, 2005). "An Alternative to Evolution Splits a Pennsylvania Town". NYTimes.com . Retrieved January 13, 2008.
  13. ↑ "Judge rules against 'intelligent design' in science class". CNN.com . Retrieved January 13, 2008.
  14. ↑ "'Intelligent design' teaching ban". BBC.co.uk. December 20, 2005. Retrieved January 13, 2008.
  15. ↑ Goodstein, Laurie (November 10, 2005). "A Decisive Election in a Town Roiled Over Intelligent Design". NYTimes.com . Retrieved January 13, 2008.
  16. 1 2 "Pat Robertson admonishes town that 'voted God out'". TheNewsTribune.com. Archived from the original on March 13, 2007. Retrieved January 13, 2008.
  17. 1 2 "Robertson: God May Smite Down Town That Voted Out Anti-Evolution School Board". FoxNews.com. November 11, 2005. Retrieved January 13, 2008.
  18. ↑ "Christopher Thorn". Blind Melon. Archived from the original on March 28, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
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