Tuttle Square Park is a beautiful pocket garden as the result of the hard work of many volunteers and supporters from the community. The park beautifies a busy gateway intersection, and celebrates the history of the site that dates back to 1734 when a tavern owner by the name of Christine Otis Baker occupied the site. The granite thresholds in the garden are recycled from the original structure’s foundation.

Christine Otis was born in Dover in March 1689 in her father’s garrisoned house that stood where Milk St. is presently. Her house was burned and her father was killed during the Cocheco Massacre of 1689. She was taken prisoner and brought to Canada, along with her mother and half brothers and sisters. In Montreal, she was educated in a nunnery; however she could not be persuaded to become a nun. She married a Frenchman in 1707, who died 7 years later leaving her a young widow with three children.

She met Captain Baker, a representative for the General Court in Massachusetts in 1714 and after a brief courtship they were married. They resided in Boston and later Deerfield and Brookfield, NH, before returning to Dover. The Royal Governor, Benning Wentworth, always visited Christine’s establishment for “the reputation of her repasts” and the “good cheer” he found there. The tavern was reported to be “trim, tidy, and efficient.”

By 1790, the site of the tavern had become Toppan’s Variety Store. One account says that the building was then “moved off” and another one was constructed in the same location. By the early 1800s, it was called the Perkins Block, owned by hardware store owner Jeremy Perkins until 1883. Then the building became John E. Kennedy’s Saloon until about 1909. In the twentieth century, the building was the site of the Wentworth Apartments. The structure burned in a fire in the summer of 1968.

In early 2002, the then property owners decided to deed the property back to the City of Dover. City planners and Dover Main Street thought it would be a beautiful location for a pocket garden. The site had been neglected for years, and car batteries littered the area where the Bradford Pears are now planted. Thanks to the efforts of numerous organizations and individuals, the garden has become aa pleasant, welcoming addition for residents and visitors of the city.

Sponsors/Supporters:

DF Richard Energy, Marilyn Donnelly, City of Dover, Dover Main Street, Karen Drapaniotis, Norm Fracassa, Jr., GC AAA Fencing, Federal Savings Bank, First Parish Church, Kevin Guy Real Estate, Valerie Hurst, LandCare Associates, Lineweber & Giffen Insurance, Richard Martusello, Deb Morgan, My Friend’s Place, Mr & Mrs. George Perrine, Mike Provost, Photosmith, Sweet Meadows Flower Shop, David Ridley, Kirt & Britt Schuman, Mr & Mrs David Slater, Sundance Signs.

The Tuttle Square Park was designed by Norm Fracassa, Jr. – Landscape Architect

See Tuttle Square Park Photos