Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Exeter Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
B−History
History · Exeter Township

7 of Exeter Township’s places are on the National Register

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns · #701 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Most of Exeter Township was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1980.

7on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Exeter Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Exeter Township’s history

How historic is Exeter Township?

B−

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Exeter Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Exeter Township is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #701 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Exeter Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19405.1% of homes (±1.4) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register7 listings, 13 historic buildings, 5.1 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 54%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 32%

Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Exeter Township’s 5.1 sits above most of its state (68% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 13 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Exeter Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages7 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Exeter Township, and 57 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18948 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1999. Watch Exeter Township change.A town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers, 1862–1933.Landmarks on the Register7 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Seven other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Baumstown
1835–1904
Stonersville
1847–1971
Exeter Station
1861–1900
Jacksonwald
1870–1956
Limekiln
1870–today
Stonetown
1897–1904
Lorane
1900–1955
Reiffton
1925–1949
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AVM EstatesBaumstownBordic Trailer ParkBrice VillageCountry Club RunCountry Club Run IICrestwoodCrestwood SouthDevon GreenEastwickExeter Golf Club EstatesExeter VillageFairview ParkFairwayFarming RidgeFive PointsForest CourtFurnace HillGlen Oley FarmsGolfshire HillsGreen Tree AcresGreenviewGrist Mill FarmsHeisters Creek
Gone or out of use
Carsonia ParkparkKlapperthal PavilionbuildingLincoln Homesteadlocale
9cemeteries and burying grounds inside Exeter Township
DeTurkExeter FriendsForest Hills Memorial ParkHechler - Esterly FamilyKlein - Close FamilyPet AnimalRitter Number 2SchwarzwaldYoung - Kissling

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

On the map

Exeter Township on the map, 1894 to 1999

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

Exeter Township on the 1894 USGS mapExeter Township on the 1913 USGS mapExeter Township on the 1947 USGS mapExeter Township on the 1950 USGS mapExeter Township on the 1968 USGS mapExeter Township on the 1974 USGS mapExeter Township on the 1983 USGS mapExeter Township on the 1999 USGS map1894Reading sheet · 1:62,500

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

By decade

Exeter Township, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s–1880s2 items
Township map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, from actual surveys1862Township map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, from actu…Map1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Berks County - Exeter - ED 6-4, ED 6-30, ED 6-31, ED 6-3218801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania …
1890s–1910snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1920s–1930s16 items
Old Daniel Boone homestead, pioneer's birthplace in Pennsylvania, may be turned into museum1922Old Daniel Boone homestead, pioneer's birthplace in P…HABS PA,6-STONV.V,1- (sheet 0 of 2) - Exeter Friends Meeting House, State Route 662 (Exeter Township), Stonersville, Be…1933HABS PA,6-STONV.V,1- (sheet 0 of 2) - Exeter Friends …HABS PA,6-STONV.V,1- (sheet 0 of 2) - Exeter Friends Meeting House, State Route 662 (Exeter Township), Stonersville, Be…1933HABS PA,6-STONV.V,1- (sheet 0 of 2) - Exeter Friends …HABS PA,6-STONV.V,1- (sheet 1 of 2) - Exeter Friends Meeting House, State Route 662 (Exeter Township), Stonersville, Be…1933HABS PA,6-STONV.V,1- (sheet 1 of 2) - Exeter Friends …HABS PA,6-STONV.V,1- (sheet 1 of 2) - Exeter Friends Meeting House, State Route 662 (Exeter Township), Stonersville, Be…1933HABS PA,6-STONV.V,1- (sheet 1 of 2) - Exeter Friends …HABS PA,6-STONV.V,1- (sheet 2 of 2) - Exeter Friends Meeting House, State Route 662 (Exeter Township), Stonersville, Be…1933HABS PA,6-STONV.V,1- (sheet 2 of 2) - Exeter Friends …HABS PA,6-STONV.V,1- (sheet 2 of 2) - Exeter Friends Meeting House, State Route 662 (Exeter Township), Stonersville, Be…1933HABS PA,6-STONV.V,1- (sheet 2 of 2) - Exeter Friends …HABS PA,6-STONV.V,2- (sheet 0 of 9) - Mill Tract Farm, Mill Road (Exeter Township), Stonersville, Berks County, PA1933HABS PA,6-STONV.V,2- (sheet 0 of 9) - Mill Tract Farm…HABS PA,6-STONV.V,2- (sheet 1 of 9) - Mill Tract Farm, Mill Road (Exeter Township), Stonersville, Berks County, PA1933HABS PA,6-STONV.V,2- (sheet 1 of 9) - Mill Tract Farm…HABS PA,6-STONV.V,2- (sheet 2 of 9) - Mill Tract Farm, Mill Road (Exeter Township), Stonersville, Berks County, PA1933HABS PA,6-STONV.V,2- (sheet 2 of 9) - Mill Tract Farm…HABS PA,6-STONV.V,2- (sheet 3 of 9) - Mill Tract Farm, Mill Road (Exeter Township), Stonersville, Berks County, PA1933HABS PA,6-STONV.V,2- (sheet 3 of 9) - Mill Tract Farm…HABS PA,6-STONV.V,2- (sheet 4 of 9) - Mill Tract Farm, Mill Road (Exeter Township), Stonersville, Berks County, PA1933HABS PA,6-STONV.V,2- (sheet 4 of 9) - Mill Tract Farm…HABS PA,6-STONV.V,2- (sheet 5 of 9) - Mill Tract Farm, Mill Road (Exeter Township), Stonersville, Berks County, PA1933HABS PA,6-STONV.V,2- (sheet 5 of 9) - Mill Tract Farm…HABS PA,6-STONV.V,2- (sheet 6 of 9) - Mill Tract Farm, Mill Road (Exeter Township), Stonersville, Berks County, PA1933HABS PA,6-STONV.V,2- (sheet 6 of 9) - Mill Tract Farm…HABS PA,6-STONV.V,2- (sheet 7 of 9) - Mill Tract Farm, Mill Road (Exeter Township), Stonersville, Berks County, PA1933HABS PA,6-STONV.V,2- (sheet 7 of 9) - Mill Tract Farm…HABS PA,6-STONV.V,2- (sheet 8 of 9) - Mill Tract Farm, Mill Road (Exeter Township), Stonersville, Berks County, PA1933HABS PA,6-STONV.V,2- (sheet 8 of 9) - Mill Tract Farm…
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
The story

How Exeter Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Exeter Township.

Read it all →

The name Exeter derives from the town of Exeter in Devon, England. Numerous other places have also been given the name Exeter.

The John Bishop House, Boonecroft, Exeter Friends Meeting House, Levan Farm, Mordecai Lincoln House, Mill Tract Farm, and Snyder Mill are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Exeter Township, 1835 to 1971

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1835Post officeThe Baumstown post office opens
  3. 1847Post officeThe Stonersville post office opens
  4. 1861Post officeThe Exeter Station post office opens
  5. 1862In the archiveTownship map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, from actual surveys
  6. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Berks County - Exeter - ED 6-4, ED…
  7. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 20th century
  9. 1900Post officeThe Exeter Station post office closes
  10. 1904Post officeThe Baumstown post office closes
  11. 1922In the archiveOld Daniel Boone homestead, pioneer's birthplace in Pennsylvania, may be turned into muse…
  12. 1933In the archiveHABS PA,6-STONV.V,1- (sheet 0 of 2) - Exeter Friends Meeting House, State Route 662 (Exet…
  13. 1971Post officeThe Stonersville post office closes
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Berks County - Exeter - ED 6-4, ED 6-30, ED 6-31, ED 6-32
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Pennsylvania - Berks County - Exeter - ED 6-4, ED 6-30, ED 6-31, ED 6-32, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Exeter Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

7 historic places in Exeter Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
13
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Daniel Boone Homestead Site and Bertolet Cabin
Mill Tract FarmBoonecroftJohn Bishop HouseMordecai Lincoln HouseSnyder MillDaniel Boone Homestead Site and Bertolet CabinReading Country Club
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Georgian2
Colonial English1
Palladian1
Penn Plan1
Gristmill1
Mill Tract FarmGeorgian
BoonecroftColonial English
John Bishop HouseGeorgian
Mordecai Lincoln HousePenn Plan
Snyder MillGristmill
All 7 listings
Daniel Boone Homestead Site and Bertolet CabinBuilding · listed 1972Reading Country ClubDistrict · listed 2018

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Exeter Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,000198020002020Peak: 25,550

Between 14,419 and 25,550 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Exeter Township

Nobody well known was born in Exeter Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
John UpdikeAmerican novelist, poet · b. 1932
Wallace StevensAmerican poet · b. 1879
Chad HurleyAmerican businessman, co-founder of YouTube · b. 1977
John BarrassoAmerican physician and politician · b. 1952
Spencer Fullerton BairdAmerican naturalist, ornithologist, ichthyologi… · b. 1823
A
Austin SwiftAmerican actor · b. 1992
Help out

Finish Exeter Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Robeson Township4 historic placesA−Oley Township6 historic placesABirdsboro1 historic placeA+Amity Township7 historic placesBSt. Lawrence2 historic placesBGibraltar1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLower Alsace TownshipIts storyBAlsace TownshipIts storyC+Cumru Township2 historic placesBReiffton2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Exeter Township’s history

How does Exeter Township rank for history?

Exeter Township is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #701 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Exeter Township?

7 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Daniel Boone Homestead Site and Bertolet Cabin (listed 1972, the first), and 1 historic district, the Reading Country Club, with 2 contributing buildings. 13 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Exeter Township?

5% of Exeter Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1985.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (17), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (7), Wikipedia, 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.