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BHistory
History · Exeter

Exeter’s post office opened in 1849, and 5 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns · #36 of 38 in Rhode Island. What drives it

Most of Exeter was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. 5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 15 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1790.

1849first post office
5on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Exeter’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Exeter began

When was Exeter founded?

1849

The Exeter post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Pine Hill (1827), Liberty (1880) and Austin (1898), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 2,495 in 17902020 census: 6,460177 years

How historic is Exeter?

B

More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Exeter post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Exeter’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Exeter is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #36 of 38 in Rhode Island. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Exeter’s overall grade.
Founding era1849, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19406.3% of homes (±4.1) · typical RI town 20.1% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register5 listings, 25 historic buildings, 34.7 per 10,000 residents · typical RI town 94.7 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 56%
NewerOlder
Rhode Island towns of 2,500+ (38)Ahead of 5%

Rhode Island towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Rhode Island town has 94.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Exeter’s 34.7 sits below most of its state (18% of Rhode Island towns have fewer) while its 25 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). 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’s past

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

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Exeter, and 10 old place names are still on the map.A town of family graveyards99 cemeteries and burying grounds inside Exeter.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1830 and 1910, then grew 8-fold.On the map since 18906 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 2001. Watch Exeter change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

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

Exeter’s post office has been open since 1849. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Pine Hill
1827–1922
Exeter
1849–today
Liberty
1880–1925
Austin
1898–1912
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AustinBlack PlainFishervilleGardners CornerHorn HeapLewis CityLibertyMillvillePine HillTripps Corner
Gone or out of use
Albert Farms AirportairportAustin SchoolschoolCamp Fire Girls CamplocaleChestnut Hill SchoolschoolHall SchoolschoolOld Exeter Poor FarmlocaleQueens FortparkRhode Island State HospitalhospitalYawgoo Schoolschool
99family graveyards and cemeteries inside Exeter
Albert Sweet LotAmos Perkins LotAmos Whitford LotAmos Whitford LotAnthony - Arnold PlotArnold - Sherman LotAugustus Sweet LotBenjamin Potter LotBoone Family LotBraman LotCaptain Henry Reynolds LotCaptain Reynolds Lillibridge LotCaptain Stephen Lewis LotCard PlotCezar Onion LotChamplin Greene Burial GroundChamplin LotChestnut HillDaniel Barber LotDaniel Dawley LotDawley - Straight LotDawley Brown PlotDowley PlotEben Henry LotEber J Sherman PlotEber Sherman LotEber Sherman PlotElezer Slocum PlotEllet Lock LotExeter Historical Cemetery 51Exeter Historical Cemetery 55Exeter SchoolEzekiel Austin LotGardiner Lillibridge LotGardner LotGardner Servant LotHazard Sherman PlotHenry Barber LotIndian RockJames Ray LotJames Sheldon LotJob Kenyon LotJohn Brainard LotJohn ChapmanJohn Gardner LotJohn Lewis LotJohn Sherman LotJohn Sweet LotJohnathan Lillibridge LotJoseph James LotJoseph Tisdale LotJudge Robert Crandall LotJudge William Bliven LotLewis - Himes - Tillinghast PlotMoses Barber LotNathan Hathaway LotNicholas Bates LotNoel Allen LotOld Baptist Church YardOld GardnerOliver Lockwood LotPardon Tillinghast LotPedigreen Tripp LotPeleg Arnold LotPerkins Family LotPerkins LotPhillipsPreacher Smart LotReverend Solomon Sprague LotReynolds Barber LotRhode Island Veterans MemorialRichmond Family LotRobert Gardner LotRobert Willcox LotRose LotRue Richmond LotSamuel Arnold PlotSamuel S Whitford LotShebney Dawley LotShermanSprague Tefft LotStraight PlotStutley Tillinghast LotSunderland LotSweet - Tripp LotTefft Barber LotThomas Lewis LotThomas Wilcox LotTillinghast PlotWalker LotWhitford PlotWhitman - Thurston LotWhitman Lillibridge LotWilcox - Durfee LotWilcox LotWillcox - Tate LotWilliam Gardiner LotWilliam Potter LotZebulan Gardner Lot
See all 99

Albert Sweet Lot Cemetery · Amos Perkins Lot Cemetery · Amos Whitford Lot Cemetery · Amos Whitford Lot Cemetery · Anthony - Arnold Plot · Arnold - Sherman Lot Cemetery · Augustus Sweet Lot Cemetery · Benjamin Potter Lot Cemetery · Boone Family Lot Cemetery · Braman Lot Cemetery · Captain Henry Reynolds Lot Cemetery · Captain Reynolds Lillibridge Lot Cemetery · Captain Stephen Lewis Lot Cemetery · Card Plot · Cezar Onion Lot Cemetery · Champlin Greene Burial Ground Cemetery · Champlin Lot Cemetery · Chestnut Hill Cemetery · Daniel Barber Lot Cemetery · Daniel Dawley Lot Cemetery · Dawley - Straight Lot Cemetery · Dawley Brown Plot Cemetery · Dowley Plot · Eben Henry Lot Cemetery · Eber J Sherman Plot · Eber Sherman Lot · Eber Sherman Plot · Elezer Slocum Plot · Ellet Lock Lot Cemetery · Exeter Historical Cemetery 51 · Exeter Historical Cemetery 55 · Exeter School Cemetery · Ezekiel Austin Lot Cemetery · Gardiner Lillibridge Lot Cemetery · Gardner Lot Cemetery · Gardner Servant Lot Cemetery · Hazard Sherman Plot · Henry Barber Lot Cemetery · Indian Rock Cemetery · James Ray Lot Cemetery · James Sheldon Lot Cemetery · Job Kenyon Lot Cemetery · John Brainard Lot Cemetery · John Chapman Cemetery · John Gardner Lot Cemetery · John Lewis Lot Cemetery · John Sherman Lot Cemetery · John Sweet Lot Cemetery · Johnathan Lillibridge Lot Cemetery · Joseph James Lot Cemetery · Joseph Tisdale Lot Cemetery · Judge Robert Crandall Lot Cemetery · Judge William Bliven Lot Cemetery · Lewis - Himes - Tillinghast Plot · Moses Barber Lot Cemetery · Nathan Hathaway Lot Cemetery · Nicholas Bates Lot Cemetery · Noel Allen Lot Cemetery · Old Baptist Church Yard Cemetery · Old Gardner Cemetery · Oliver Lockwood Lot Cemetery · Pardon Tillinghast Lot Cemetery · Pedigreen Tripp Lot Cemetery · Peleg Arnold Lot Cemetery · Perkins Family Lot Cemetery · Perkins Lot Cemetery · Phillips Cemetery · Preacher Smart Lot · Reverend Solomon Sprague Lot Cemetery · Reynolds Barber Lot Cemetery · Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery · Richmond Family Lot Cemetery · Robert Gardner Lot Cemetery · Robert Willcox Lot Cemetery · Rose Lot Cemetery · Rue Richmond Lot Cemetery · Samuel Arnold Plot Cemetery · Samuel S Whitford Lot Cemetery · Shebney Dawley Lot Cemetery · Sherman Burial Ground · Sprague Tefft Lot Cemetery · Straight Plot · Stutley Tillinghast Lot · Sunderland Lot Cemetery · Sweet - Tripp Lot · Tefft Barber Lot Cemetery · Thomas Lewis Lot Cemetery · Thomas Wilcox Lot Cemetery · Tillinghast Plot · Walker Lot Cemetery · Whitford Plot · Whitman - Thurston Lot Cemetery · Whitman Lillibridge Lot Cemetery · Wilcox - Durfee Lot Cemetery · Wilcox Lot Cemetery · Willcox - Tate Lot Cemetery · William Gardiner Lot Cemetery · William Potter Lot Cemetery · Zebulan Gardner Lot Cemetery

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

People over time

Exeter, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,000180018501900195020002,883 in 1830Low: 778

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1830 and 1910, then grew 8-fold.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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 →

Native Americans lived in the town prior to King Philip's War, and Wawaloam, a female Narragansett/Nipmuc leader lived in the town in the 1660s. The town of Exeter was formed in 1742 from the western part of North Kingstown. The name Exeter derives from the county town and cathedral city of Exeter in Devon, England. Numerous other places have also been given the name. Exeter is noted by folklorists as the site of one of the best documented examples of vampire exhumation: the Mercy Brown Vampire Incident of 1892.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Exeter, 1821 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1821Born hereJob Kenyon is born here
  3. 1827Post officeThe Pine Hill post office opens
  4. 1849Post officeThe Exeter post office opens
  5. 1880Post officeThe Liberty post office opens
  6. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 20th century
  8. 1922Post officeThe Pine Hill post office closes
  9. 1925Post officeThe Liberty post office closes
  10. 1939In the archiveCoat of arms of
  11. 1973In the archiveFOUNDATION FOR A STONE BARN--ALL THAT REMAINS OF AN ABANDONED FARM IN
  12. 1980In the archiveTest run of the high-speed Amtrak Acela train in New England before putting it into servi…
  13. 21st century
  14. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 6,460
By decade

Exeter, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
Coat of arms of1939Coat of arms of
1940s–1960snothing 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
1970s–1980s5 items
FOUNDATION FOR A STONE BARN--ALL THAT REMAINS OF AN ABANDONED FARM IN1973FOUNDATION FOR A STONE BARN--ALL THAT REMAINS OF AN A…STONE BARN FOUNDATION--ALL THAT REMAINS OF AN ABANDONED FARM IN1973STONE BARN FOUNDATION--ALL THAT REMAINS OF AN ABANDON…Test run of the high-speed Amtrak Acela train in New England before putting it into service1980Test run of the high-speed Amtrak Acela train in New …Test run of the high-speed Amtrak Acela train in New England before putting it into service1980Test run of the high-speed Amtrak Acela train in New …The Amtrak Acela High-speed train doing a test run through New England before it is put in service1980The Amtrak Acela High-speed train doing a test run th…
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
Today12 recent
Hall School2013Hall SchoolExeter Grange2013Exeter GrangeChestnut Hill Baptist Church2013Chestnut Hill Baptist ChurchOakharbour12010Oakharbour1OHSign2010OHSignExeter RI lg2010Exeter RI lgGrange in2009Grange inBaptist Church in2009Baptist Church inHighest point in Washington County, Rhode Island2008Highest point in Washington County, Rhode IslandExeter RI highlight2008Exeter RI highlightMercyBrownGravestone2007MercyBrownGravestoneMercyBrownGravestone (bearb Sp)2007MercyBrownGravestone (bearb Sp)
On the map

Exeter on the map, 1890 to 2001

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 1890 USGS mapExeter on the 1943 USGS mapExeter on the 1955 USGS mapExeter on the 1970 USGS mapExeter on the 1996 USGS mapExeter on the 2001 USGS map1890Kent 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.

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.

Coat of arms of
Retake this viewCoat of arms of, 1939

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

5 listings protect 25 historic buildings

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

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
25
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Austin Farm Road Agricultural Area
Austin Farm Road Agricultural AreaBaptist Church in ExeterSimon Lillibridge FarmLawton's MillQueen's Fort
BuildingsDistrictsSites

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian1
Colonial1
Greek Revival1
Austin Farm Road Agricultural AreaDistrict
Baptist Church in ExeterLate Victorian
Simon Lillibridge FarmBuilding
Lawton's MillBuilding
Queen's FortSite

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

Help out

Finish Exeter’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCoat of arms of: 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.

North Kingstown29 historic placesA−West Greenwich2 historic placesB−Richmond6 historic placesASouth Kingstown25 historic placesAHopkinton4 historic placesAEast Greenwich12 historic placesA

Questions about Exeter’s history

What year was Exeter founded?

The Exeter post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Exeter rank for history?

Exeter is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns, #36 of 38 in Rhode Island. 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?

5 listings: 3 buildings, 1 historic district, the Austin Farm Road Agricultural Area, with 15 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 25 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Exeter?

6% of Exeter’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.1 points), against a typical 20% for a Rhode Island town; the median home was built in 1987.

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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.