Nuestra Historia: Honoring the local Latino Legacy. Dover Historical Society, Dover College Promise, and CCM help generations explore community roots.

Dover is a town shaped by culture, resilience, and transformation. For decades, Latino families have played a vital role in building and enriching this community, yet their stories have often gone untold. “Nuestra Historia: The Latino Legacy in Dover” is a new project committed to changing that. 

The initiative is led by Ed Lopez, program coordinator at Dover College Promise, under the direction of Julian Gomez, executive director of Educational Opportunity Programs at County College at Morris (CCM). This effort is part of a growing collaboration between Dover College Promise and the Dover Area Historical Society. It brings together students, community leaders, business owners, and volunteers to celebrate and preserve the contributions of Latino immigrants who have helped define the Dover we know today.

DOVER COLLEGE PROMISE

Since its founding in 2019, Dover College Promise has partnered with the Dover Area Historical Society to create meaningful, hands-on learning experiences for students. One standout example is Dover: 300 Years, a student-led documentary exploring the town’s history through

interviews and original research. The project resulted in a 25-minute film that was

presented to the community. These efforts allow young people to engage with Dover’s past

while actively shaping its future.

Now, their latest collaboration is Nuestra Historia, a full museum exhibit dedicated to

honoring the legacy of Latinos in Dover. Located inside the Dover Museum, the exhibit will include updated gallery lighting, new digital technology, and a professionally curated display. 

At the center of it all is a simple but powerful belief: Latino residents deserve to see themselves

reflected in the public story of the town they call home.

The entire project team has been guided by a few key questions:

• What brought Latino families to Dover?

• What made them stay?

• Which organizations supported their growth?

• How can we honor the struggles and successes of those who came before us?

To answer these questions, students and volunteers are collecting artifacts, photos, oral

histories, and personal stories from across the community. The exhibit will highlight the

impact of institutions such as the Dover New Jersey Spanish-American Federal Credit Union, also known as La Cooperativa, Club Social Aguadeño, Club Colombia, El Primer Paso, Sacred Heart&Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church, and Fiesta Latina. These were more than organizations. They were community anchors that supported and empowered generations of Latino families.

PARTNERING WITH CCM

The project has also sparked an exciting partnership with the County College of Morris.

While researching Dover’s past, students discovered a collection of rare glass negatives

from the late 1890s that depict buildings, events, and residents from an earlier era. They

reached out to Professor Hrvoje Slovenc of the Photography Department at CCM, and now

students from both institutions are working together to digitize and preserve these historic

images. The restored photographs will be featured in future exhibits at the Dover Historical Society and CCM, helping residents reconnect with the town’s visual history.

Nuestra Historia is more than a museum exhibit. It is a declaration of belonging. It is young people honoring their parents, grandparents, and neighbors. It is a chance for the Latino

community to be seen not as guests in Dover’s story, but as essential contributors to its

foundation and future.

Renovations to the exhibit space are nearly complete. In the meantime, the project team continues to curate the exhibit and invites community members to be part of it.

If you have photographs, documents, flyers, keepsakes, or personal stories that reflect the Latino experience in Dover, your voice matters. Together, we can build a living archive that honors the people who make Dover the vibrant and diverse place it is today.

Follow the project on Instagram and Facebook at @NuestraHistoriaDover, or contact the

team at info@doverhistoricalsociety.org.

Our history is Dover’s history. Let us tell it together.

Roberto F. Gonzalez is the club director of Cabras Football Club and Education Specialist.

Dover College Promise, County College of Morris