Prior to the Revolutionary War, the "Lower Counties on the Delaware" were leased by William Penn, who wanted an outlet to the sea for his Pennsylvania province. Penn founded Dover as a court town for Kent County in 1683, naming it for the city of Dover in England. In 1717, Dover was officially laid out by a special commission of the Delaware General Assembly. In 1777, with the imminent threat of British raiders on the Delaware River, the capital was moved from New Castle to the safer, centrally-located Dover.

The Green, a lush square lawn that was once the site of fairs and markets, lies in the heart of Dover. Many historic buildings are clustered around the Green, ranging in age from Colonial times to the Victorian period. At one end of the Green stands the Old State House, where the Colonial delegates met in 1787 to ratify the United States Constitution, making Delaware the first state in the U.S. Christ's Church on the Green features a monument to Caesar Rodney, an esteemed patriot and signer of the Declaration of Independence.