The Dover Bridge replaced the Dover Ferry (see below) circa 1810 when the citizens of Talbot and Caroline counties petitioned the Maryland Assembly "for the convenience of the public" to incorporate a company to erect a bridge at the ferry landing site. However, a bridge was not built for another half century. The bridge was located approximately one mile above the old ferry landing. Captain William H. Smith, a civil engineer, built the first bridge. Dover Bridge was the only bridge across the Choptank River between Denton and Chesapeake Bay at the turn of the 19th century. This site served as a steamboat landing at least from 1898 to 1911. Hog Island, the eastern terminus of the Dover Ferry, was a separate steamboat landing located slightly further down the river. It was in use in 1898.
