Calling All Dover Libraries

We get some strange reference questions but one of the oddest was, “Do you have the skull of Patty Cannon?” We checked the Internet to see what that was all about because we certainly don’t have any skulls here at the Library. We found out that Patty Cannon was notorious for capturing free black people in Delaware and selling them into slavery. She died in jail 1829 while she was being held on four counts of murder. She is thought to be buried in a nearby Potter's Field; except for her skull which is now said to be stored in a hatbox at the Dover, Delaware Library.

It’s not the first time we have gotten a question intended for the Dover Public Library in Delaware. Someone else called to ask who was Miss Delaware in 1964.

We also got a call asking about the Dover’s tragic mining accident. This stumped us until we figured out they were enquiring about Dover, England. Rich coal seams near Dover, England were heavily mined through shafts sunk into coal pits. August 22nd 1908, at the Maypole pit, close to Dover, a mining accident resulted in 75 lives lost due to an explosion.

I am still trying to figure out which Dover library has a collection of art by a famous pin-up artist. Do you know?

These are just a few the Dover Libraries. If you have a question, make sure you contact the right one!

Dover Public Library- Dover, Arkansas
Dover Public Library -Dover, Delaware
Hare Bay/Dover Public Library- Hare Bay Newfoundland, Canada
Dover Town Library Dover, Massachusetts
Dover Free Public Dover, New Jersey
Dover Plains Library- Wingdale, New York
Dover Public Library- Dover, Ohio
Dover Area Community Library -Dover, Pennsylvania
Dover Free Library- Dover, Vermont