Recently there has been movements to change the name of Dover Township to that of the village of Toms
River. Proponents of the name change say that there is confusion between the official name, Dover
Township, and name of the downtown area. I do not deny that there is some confusion, and that the
proponents have good intentions, although I believe that their proposal might in the long run create more
confusion than already exists.
   It would be safe to say that when there is a problem to solve, you must identify the root cause of the
problem and attack that cause to properly achieve a sustainable solution. A doctor or chiropractor will
tell you that if you have a pain, that there is usually an underlying problem which is causing the
symptom, and to prescribe a pain killer will mask the problem, but will not cure it. In the same manner,
renaming the town will mask the problem, but will not solve it. In fact, I believe the name change might
even worsen it.
   First of all we must define the problem which is that people are identifying the town by the name of a
section of it. The identity problem also goes beyond Dover Townships borders to its neighbors in
Manchester and Berkeley Townships. Because the Toms River Post Office serves the Pine Lake Park section of Manchester and the Holiday City section of Berkeley, residents in those areas have Toms River mailing addresses. Proponents of the name change claim that mail is being confused between Dover Township and Dover in North Jersey. This is one of their strongest propaganda arguments and has had some legitimacy in the past prior to the zip code system. In today’s 9 digit automated mailing systems, the name of the town has become irrelevant when it comes to accurate mail delivery. The proponents of the name change have now as in the past also used some gibberish about if look up the name of Toms River in the dictionary or encyclopedia it would refer to it as a village with the population of 8000. That alone is a good reason not to change the name.
   So what is the cause of the problem? The main cause is that the Post Office is located in the Toms
River village section and used as the mailing address. If the US Post Office had located its office in
Pleasant Plains years ago, we would be calling the town Pleasant Plains today, it’s as simple as that.
Dover Township comprises a large geographical area which includes numerous villages and sections and in
the past, the Toms River section became the most prominent because of its position as a crossroad and
county seat. Being the first section to have a school, the name of the school system adopted the name of
Toms River, which should have been Dover. Because the Toms River village also happened to be transgressed by two major highways such as Route 9 and the Garden State Parkway, it also gained the status as a stop on the road maps. In my opinion there are three major contributing factors why people refer to Dover Township as Toms River, the first being the Post Office, the second being the Board of Education and the third being the Chamber of Commerce. If those three major influences were to change their name to the proper Dover Township name, a majority of businesses and entities would follow.
   The Village of Toms River has a historic past, and the name Toms River is mostly about the past.
Today Dover Township is a vibrant cosmopolitan entity comprised of many economic and social areas
including East Dover, West Dover, North Dover, Silverton, Pleasant Plains, Ortley Beach, Ocean Beach,
Pelican Island and more. The common denominator which unites all of these sections is Dover Township.
Lets face the facts, since the 1970’s, the Toms River section of Dover has been in different stages of
decline while the rest of the township has been expanding. Many sections of Dover Township have surpassed it’s former rival economically . If it wasn’t for a constant influx of revitalization efforts in the past
thirty years and the seat of municipal and county offices, the Toms River Village would be as dead as a
door knob. Toms River is about the past, Dover Township is about the future.
   Another consideration to consider before making a name change is the cost to the taxpayers which can
climb up into the millions not including the costs to the private sector.If an alternative, such as making the Post Office change its name was enacted, the burden of the cost would be placed on the federal government instead of the residents of Dover. We will probably be seeing high tax increases due to the new change of government added costs and the open space frenzy. The added cost of having to rewrite all township documents, signs, maps, vehicles, etc., will further aggravate the situation. Even though changing the name sounds good on the surface, many new problems will be created. The private sector will probably be hit with an even  bigger bill to revamp literature, signs, business cards. Maps with have to be redrawn, history books would have to be updated. A Dover name change will not relieve the name confusion with Manchester and Berkeley Townships.
   The Dover Township - Toms River identity crisis is a problem which has been developing for many years
and no-one seems to have had foresight to properly manage the problem. I agree with the name change
proponents that action needs to be taken, although I think there is a better easier method. The first
part is to forget about changing the name to Toms River Township. The second would be to force the Post
Office to change the mailing address to Dover Township. The third is to force the Post Office to allow
Berkeley Twp. and Pine Lake Park residents to use their native town names even if they are served by the
Dover Post Office. That the Board of Education and Chamber of Commerce voluntarily agree to change their names to Dover Township.
   Lastly, it would be a shame for the township to lose its historical name which dates back to the 1600
’s, before the existence of the United States. If the steps were taken as specified above, it would
create enough influence to sway the majority of people to use one unified name of Dover Township.