Exeter, NH
Founded in 1638 by Reverend John Wheelwright and his followers, Exeter is one of New Hampshire’s oldest towns. Its location along the Exeter and Squamscott rivers supported early mills, shipbuilding, and maritime trade. During the American Revolution, Exeter served as New Hampshire’s capital, placing the town at the center of the state’s emerging government. Phillips Exeter Academy, founded in 1781, added an enduring educational presence to the community.
Exeter’s historic homes, public buildings, riverfront, and town center preserve stories connected to colonial settlement, independence, commerce, education, and everyday life. The meeting of freshwater and tidal rivers shaped the town’s early development, bringing mills and maritime businesses into close proximity. Around this waterfront grew a downtown whose streets and buildings continue to reflect Exeter’s evolution from a colonial settlement into a center of government, trade, and community life.
Recent Posts
The Squamscott House
The substantial brick building at 24 Front Street has served Exeter as a hotel, student residence and place of political gathering. Known historically as the Squamscott House and later as Gorham Hall, it connects the town with the organizing efforts that preceded the emergence of the Republican Party. The present building dates to 1851. Abraham […]
The Congregational Church
The Congregational Church on Front Street traces its beginnings to Exeter’s founding in 1638. Reverend John Wheelwright and his followers established both the congregation and the settlement after his expulsion from Massachusetts Bay Colony. Religious disagreement was therefore part of the community’s history from its beginning. The present meetinghouse dates to the late 1790s and […]
Phillips Exeter Academy
Founded in 1781 by John and Elizabeth Phillips, Phillips Exeter Academy emerged during the American Revolution, when the future of the country remained uncertain. Their gift established a school intended to unite intellectual development with moral responsibility. The relationship between goodness and knowledge became an enduring principle of the institution. The academy formally opened in […]
The Cutler and Harris Building
At 127 Water Street, a plaque identifies a building associated with generations of Black business ownership in Exeter. Its history connects the Cutler and Harris families with the shops, restaurants and services that sustained downtown commerce during the nineteenth century. Rufus Cutler, the son of Revolutionary War veteran Tobias Cutler, established businesses on Water Street […]
The Ioka Theatre and Mayer Building
The Mayer Building on Water Street preserves the setting of a new form of entertainment that arrived in Exeter during the early twentieth century. Built in 1915 for the Ioka Theatre, it brought a purpose-built moving-picture venue to the commercial heart of town. The building’s name and surviving IOKA lettering recall that original role. Judge […]
The Great Dam
At the meeting of the freshwater Exeter River and the tidal Squamscott River, a rocky channel marks a place that helped shape the town’s development. For centuries, dams harnessed the river’s power here. The removal of the Great Dam in 2016 opened another chapter, restoring the river’s flow through a landscape long altered for industry. […]
The Long Block: Housing Exeter’s Mill Workers
At the corner of Franklin and Water streets, the Long Block preserves a residential side of Exeter’s industrial history. Its extended wooden façade, repeated entrances and substantial chimneys distinguish it from a single-family house. Built around 1826 as a four-unit tenement, it provided homes for workers employed in nearby mills. The building occupies the site […]
The Eagle Steamer House
The brick Steamer House on Water Street recalls a turning point in Exeter’s firefighting history. Its broad arched entrances, tall upper windows and small rooftop tower distinguish it from neighboring commercial buildings. Behind those entrances once stood equipment purchased to give firefighters greater power against the fires threatening downtown. In 1873, Exeter purchased a steam […]
New Hampshire’s Revolutionary Capital
The “Revolutionary Capital” marker in downtown Exeter recalls a time when the town became the center of New Hampshire’s emerging government. As royal authority weakened, representatives gathered here to organize resistance, direct military support and establish a government that could function without a British governor. Exeter’s political importance grew in July 1774, when delegates met […]
Odd Fellows Hall and the Burlingame Block
Two names on this Water Street building reveal different chapters of its history. “Burlingame” identifies the commercial block, while “Odd Fellows Hall” recalls its association with a fraternal organization. Built around 1874, the three-story brick structure combined downtown business space with rooms above, bringing commercial and community activities together under one roof. The building’s elaborate […]
The Sullivan-Sleeper House: Inn by the Bandstand
Built in 1809, the Sullivan-Sleeper House stands on Front Street overlooking Exeter’s town center. Now known as the Inn by the Bandstand, it began as the family home of George Sullivan, a lawyer and statesman. Its three-story Federal-style form belongs to a group of neighboring houses that preserve the scale and character of early nineteenth-century […]
Swasey Parkway
Along the Squamscott River, Swasey Parkway preserves a landscape transformed through one resident’s generosity. Dedicated in November 1931, the parkway was a gift from inventor and industrialist Ambrose Swasey, who wanted to improve Exeter’s waterfront and create a welcoming public space near the town center. This shoreline had once been a working part of Exeter’s […]
