The story
Read it all →How Exeter came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Exeter.
Exeter was platted in 1880. The city was named after Exeter in Devon, England.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Exeter
Exeter’s post office opened in 1880
Most of Exeter was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1890.
1880first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Quick answers
How Exeter began
When was Exeter founded?
1880
The Exeter post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 244 in 18902020 census: 733146 years
Founding year: the first Exeter post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Exeter’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Exeter’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Exeter’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Exeter, census by census
Lost a third of its people between 1900 and 1940, then more than doubled.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Exeter’s Wikipedia page.
Timeline
Exeter, 1880 to 2010
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1880Post officeThe Exeter post office opens
- 1888Born hereEd Hawk is born here
- 20th century
- 1937
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 21st century
- 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 772
By decade
Exeter, decade by decade
Today1 recent
2004On the map
Exeter on the map, 1937 to 1974
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Exeter. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1937Cassville sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Exeter.
Every building
Exeter, building by building, 1902–1914
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1902Sheet 1 of 1Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Questions about Exeter’s history
What year was Exeter founded?
The Exeter post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.