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History · Exeter

Exeter’s post office opened in 1871, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1969 on and the census since 1880.

1871first post office
0on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Exeter began

When was Exeter founded?

1871

The Exeter post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Woodard (1871), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 412 in 18802020 census: 523155 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.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Exeter are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 941 in 1930; 523 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Exeter’s homes were built before 1960.
★ 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.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Exeter, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 941

Peaked at 941 in 1930; 523 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Exeter’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Exeter came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Exeter.

Read it all →

In 1870, Dr. Horace Greeley Smith and his wife filed a homestead claim at the site of present-day Exeter. In an earlier scouting trip, Smith had determined that the site would lie near the line of the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad as it extended itself westward.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Exeter, 1871 to 1973

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Exeter post office opens
  3. 1871Post officeThe Woodard post office opens
  4. 1871Post officeThe Woodard post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1914Born hereRichard A. Dier is born here
  7. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 941
  8. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1973Born hereJeff Zeleny is born here
By decade

Exeter, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Exeter, Nebraska downtown 32011Exeter, Nebraska downtown 3Exeter, Nebraska downtown 22011Exeter, Nebraska downtown 2Exeter, Nebraska downtown 12011Exeter, Nebraska downtown 1NEMap-doton-Exeter2005NEMap-doton-Exeter
On the map

Exeter on the map, 1969 to 1985

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Exeter. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Exeter on the 1969 USGS mapExeter on the 1985 USGS map1969Exeter sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Exeter.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Exeter

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Jeff ZelenyAmerican TV journalist · b. 1973
Richard A. DierUnited States federal judge · b. 1914
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Exeter’s post office has been open since 1871. Another post office, Woodard, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Exeter
1871–today
Woodard
1871–1871
18701950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Exeter’s history

What year was Exeter founded?

The Exeter post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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 (4), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.