Exeter, NH Summary

Like New England itself, this quaint town of just 9,560 residents was founded in 1638 due to religious dissent. The Reverend John Wheelwright and his followers settled here, on the Squamscott River just 10 miles from the Atlantic, after they were expelled from the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony situated in Boston for supporting religious reformer Anne Hutchinson.

The riverside location proved well-suited for the construction of a mill. The river also provided access to Great Bay, the Piscataqua River and the seaport at Portsmouth.

When the Revolutionary War broke out, the capital of New Hampshire was moved from Portsmouth to Exeter (the capital was later moved to Concord in 1808).

In 1781 Phillips Exeter Academy, now one of the nation’s most prestigious preparatory schools, was founded in Exeter. Another place of interest is the American Independence Museum in the restored 1700s Ladd-Gilman House on Governor Lane. Early New Hampshire Governor John Taylor Gilman lived here during his 14 terms as chief executive. The museum also includes Folsom Tavern, built in 1775.

Exeter can be reached by car via Hwy 101 (also known as the Exeter-Hampton Expressway).