Haunted Woods

I have had two residents of Dover come in recently, and ask about the empty house that is at the intersection of route 108 (Durham Rd.), and Back River Road. They had been looking at it for years and just wondering what the story of the house is. The house, which is known as Dunn's Tavern, was included in the The Dover Heritage Walking Tours in the years 1988 and 1995. There is also some interesting information from Mary P. Thompson's book "Landmarks in Ancient Dover." Here are some of the highlights:

"This colonial house is well over 200 years old. In 1780 it was operated as a tavern by Col. Benjamin Titcomb (1743-1799), a Revolutionary War veteran wounded in 3 battles. In 1820, Captain Samuel Dunn (1766 - 1850) bought the tavern. In 1825, Dover dignitaries gathered here to pay tribute to General Lafayette, who was touring New Hampshire. As the general entered from Durham, a thirteen gun salute was fired from atop Pine Hill to the assembly at the tavern."

"The tavern continued operations through the 1840s and the home remained in the Dunn family until Miss Eliza Dunn's death at the age of 80 in 1898. By 1899 the house had been converted to tenement housing for the workers at Sawyer Mills. The house is presently unoccupied due to pending litigation concerning its ownership (remember that was written in 1988)."

"Adjacent to Dunn's Tavern was a reputedly haunted area known as Dunn's Woods. These dark, damp, lonely woods were enclosed by hills and were remote from any dwelling. It was said to be the scene of many a robbery by day and supernatural occurance by night. The ghost stories originated from the phosphorescent lights which on dark nights were often seen to gleam among the bogs and decayed wood, startling the belated and weary traveler."