Dover

Miles from Boston 16
Population 5,558
Median house price $950,000 (January to June 2005)
Tax rate $8.44
Transportation No state highways; member, MBTA
MCAS Dover is a member of the Dover-Sherborn regional school system, whose students ranked 20th out of 373 systems statewide, the same as Wayland, Westford, and Conway, according to a Boston Globe analysis of 2004 MCAS results.
Census facts Median family income is $157,168, compared to a national rate of $50,046, and 78 percent of residents held a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to national rate of 24 percent.
Website www.doverma.org

DOVER -- There are thousands of miles of state-owned highways in Massachusetts, but not one inch of them passes through here, one of the most affluent towns in Massachusetts and a place where residents cherish its rural character.

Instead of traveling numbered roads, residents rely on a town-only street system laid out, as one town report describes it, ''like irregular spokes on a wheel" that meet at the center of town. Top speed limit is 40 miles an hour.

Once part of Dedham, Dover was first settled around 1635 and became a town in 1836. For decades it was a farming community, a heritage that has been carefully preserved even as the town has evolved into a bedroom community.

Dover has ''scenery common to farming communities in New England such as open pasture land, stands of white pine, birch, oak and maple, old stone walls dividing properties, farm houses and barns," boasts the town's 2005 master plan. In recent years, Dover has resisted bringing industry within its borders -- 90 percent of the town is zoned residential -- and relies on home property taxes for about 97 percent of its annual budget, town records show.

The primary consumer of revenue is the town's high-performing school system, a regional system linked with neighboring Sherborn, which was ranked in the top 25 systems statewide in a Globe analysis of 2004 MCAS results, according to town reports.

Among numerous lands protected by the town and private groups, many of which provide hiking and recreation, are the 695-acre Noanet Woodlands and the 85-acre Chase Woodlands, both owned by The Trustees of Reservations.

On a recent week, Realtor.com listed 53 single-family homes, ranging from $495,000 for a one-bedroom, one-bath, 1,308-square-foot home to $6.85 million for a five-bedroom, three full and two half-bath, 6,017-square-foot home. Condo prices ranged from $459,000 to $599,000.

JOHN ELLEMENT

260 Dedham St. One-family Colonial, built in 2000, 7,117 square feet, 11 rooms, 6 bedrooms, 7 1/2 baths, on 123,710-square-foot lot. $3,175,000

48 Glen St. One-family Colonial, built in 1962, 2,612 square feet, 9 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, on 44,962-square-foot lot. $690,000

19 Powisset St. One-family Colonial, built in 1985, 3,609 square feet, 11 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, on 97,357-square-foot lot. $1,137,000

8 Sherbrooke Drive One-family Colonial, built in 1968, 3,625 square feet, 10 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, on 49,576-square-foot lot. $875,000

7 Tubwreck Drive One-family Cape, built in 1967, 3,346 square feet, 10 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, on 87,120-square-foot lot. $1,200,000