Nowadays, few people know about Paul Revere’s first ride, which was to Portsmouth in December 1774, or that New Hampshire’s Provincial Congress adopted the first state constitution on January 5, 1776, essentially declaring independence six months before anyone else. In this illustrated program, NH Historical Society’s Mary Adams will explore this fascinating history.

If you cannot attend in person, the program may be viewed through Zoom and Channel 6. If you’d like to attend by Zoom, pre-register or access the program here.

Please note that this will not be recorded or available on our website after the program.

Please join us for our Holiday Open House, now on THURSDAY, December 4th, due to the snowstorm! Come see our Christmas room and enjoy great company, tasty treats and good cheer while shopping our selection of historical gifts.

This event is open to the public; there is a $5 suggested donation for non-members (or $1 for students)

Dine at OTTO Pizza in downtown Exeter anytime on Monday, November 17th and they will donate 10% of the proceeds of your meal to the Exeter Historical Society. Enjoy an excellent meal while also helping us preserve Exeter’s history! It’s a win-win!

John Herney shares the story of Oliver Moulton Chadwick and the Exeter Chadwicks in this illustrated program. From their early days, the Chadwick family made Exeter their home. Their stories illuminate not only the history of this town, but significant events in our nation's history. From the Revolutionary War to the days of the Alamo, from shipwrecks at sea to dogfights in WWI, the Chadwick history reveals much about the dignity of service to one's community and to the nation.

If you cannot attend in person, the program may be viewed through Zoom and Channel 6. If you’d like to attend by Zoom, pre-register or access the program here.

Bring your friends and family to Sea Dog Brewing Company for a fun night of history trivia! The cover of $25/person (or $20/member) — includes refreshments. Curator Barbara Rimkunas will be the Quiz Master; trivia will begin at 7:00pm. (Doors open at 6:00pm.) This event is hosted and generously sponsored by Sea Dog Brewing Company. Seating is limited.

Buy tickets here.

Co-executive director and curator Barbara Rimkunas will share the process of utilizing a wide variety of source materials to uncover stories of the lives of several of Exeter’s Black Revolutionary War Veterans and their families, highlighting our research methods and incorporating the stories of Jude Hall, Oxford Tash, and Hannah Merrill as examples.

If you cannot attend in person, the program may be viewed through Zoom and Channel 6. If you’d like to attend by Zoom, pre-register or access the program here.

Art historian and educator Jane Oneail will explore some of the most brazen criminal acts in the art world. Her lecture features works by artists including da Vinci, Michelangelo and Rembrandt. Learn more about works that were targeted and how they were recovered and restored for our enjoyment today. 

If you cannot attend in person, the program may be viewed through Zoom and Channel 6. If you’d like to attend by Zoom, pre-register or access the program here: https://bit.ly/ArtOfTheScandal-2025-9-2

We often think of the American Revolution as a war between Americans and the British, but a significant number of Americans remained loyal to Britain, even fighting on their side. Some families were torn apart by the war, when members chose opposite sides. Discover what motivated the Loyalists, and what happened to them during the war, particularly in New Hampshire.  We’ll also examine what they did after the war, and the great impact they had outside the U.S.

Presenter Eleanor Strang is the retired director of the Kelley Library, the public library of Salem, NH.  For the past eleven years, she has been developing and teaching history courses for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

A brief annual meeting will take place immediately following the program. We ask that members stay to vote on the slate of trustees and the by-laws.

If you cannot attend in person, the program may be viewed through Zoom and Channel 6. If you’d like to attend by Zoom, pre-register here.

The historical society is partnering with Exeter High School and Rho Kappa for a celebration of learning. From 6 - 6:30pm, we will hold a reception featuring food and beverages. Visit with Rho Kappa inductees and learn what excites them about their learning in Social Studies Classes. During the program - from 6:30 - 7:30pm - we’ll have the Exeter Historical Society awards — including the Nancy Carnegie Merrill HIstory Award and the Malcolm Wetherbee Award — and the Rho Kappa cording ceremony.

This event is free and open to the public.

James A Tufts, professor at Phillips Exeter Academy for fifty years, was an educator to thousands of students, and a community leader. This multimedia presentation will include dozens of photographs and written records preserved by the family. Presenters Thomas Tufts, Jonathan Ring, and Jim Tufts will draw their comments from diaries, letters and first-hand commentary about their great grandfather, and his contributions to education and Exeter life.

If you cannot attend in person, the program may be viewed through Zoom, Facebook, and Channel 6. If you’d like to attend by Zoom, pre-register here.

Join the Exeter Historical Society for Community Night at Ore Nell’s Barbecue. Enjoy central Texas style barbecue and 20% of the proceeds will benefit the Society.

Women have long been the subject of art, often depicted as nothing more than objects of desire. How do images of women change when women become the creators? In this program, speaker Jane Oneail examines the history of women in art in brief and then explores the lives, careers and works of several major women artists from the Renaissance to the twentieth century. Artemisia Gentileschi, Mary Cassatt, and Frida Kahlo are some of the artists discussed in this program. This program is generously sponsored by the New Hampshire Humanities.

If you cannot attend in person, the program may be viewed through Zoom, Facebook, and Channel 6. If you’d like to attend by Zoom, pre-register here.

What does the name “IOKA” mean? Where were the secret tunnels? Was The Addams Family filmed in Exeter? Local historians often have to confront the unofficial history of their community. Untangling truth from fiction, when there are sometimes vocal stakeholders involved, can be quite a challenge. How can we tell what is real versus what is believed to be real? This program explores some strange stories, long-held beliefs and flat-out urban legends from the town of Exeter, in an effort to explain how they start, spread and stick. Join Exeter Historical Society co-executive director and curator,, Barbara Rimkunas, as she tries to find the truth without ruining everyone’s childhood. Perhaps there are some real stories out there just odd enough to replace the fiction?

If you cannot attend in person, the program may be viewed through Zoom, Facebook, and Channel 6. If you’d like to attend by Zoom, pre-register here.

In this illustrated program, Dave Saums—editor of the Rutland Railroad Historical Society’s Newsliner Quarterly Journal—will explore the movement of milk by railroad, which is how milk was collected from across New England and upstate New York and delivered to the Boston and New York milk markets. These daily trains were critical to providing fresh milk for city children until trucks and the highway system became the preeminent mode of transport in the 1960s.

If you cannot join us in person, the program can be viewed through Zoom, Facebook, and on Exeter TV Channel 6. If you’d like to attend by Zoom, pre-register here.

Please join us for our Holiday Open House! Come see our Christmas room and selections from our Window to the Past exhibit. You can enjoy great company, tasty treats and good cheer while shopping our selection of historical gifts.

This event is open to the public; there is a $5 suggested donation for non-members (or $1 for students).

NOTE: This event is being held on the second Tuesday of the month, breaking with our tradition of programs on the first Tuesday.

Visit us at the Exeter Historical Society during the town’s Holiday Block Party. We’ll offer a kids’ “Make and Take” ornament with guest helpers including Susan Brooks Drinker. We’ll have our 2023 ornament featuring the Exeter Town Hall available for purchase.

Join us for light refreshments and a chance to view the new exhibit, Eyes on Exeter: the Photography of Ben Swiezynski, with friends, new and old.

From the late 1940s through the mid 1990s, Ben Swiezynski and his Graflex camera were a familiar presence around Exeter, as Ben captured on film many facets of town life and the people of that period.  In this program, his son Jim will show a selection of pictures from Ben's 50-plus years of professional photography.

NOTE: This program is on Wednesday, rather than our typical Tuesday evening, so that it does not conflict with the Presidential election.

If you cannot join us in person, the program can be viewed through Zoom, Facebook, and on Exeter TV Channel 6. If you’d like to attend by Zoom, pre-register here.

Come see us at Talbot Gym on Election Day! Stop by our booth in the atrium and say hi!

Dine at OTTO Pizza in downtown Exeter anytime on Monday, October 28th and they will donate 10% of the proceeds of your meal to the Exeter Historical Society. Enjoy an excellent meal while also helping us preserve Exeter’s history! It’s a win-win!

Old New England cemeteries provide an intriguing window into the deaths, lives, and artwork of our 17th and 18th century foremothers and fathers. Exeter, New Hampshire, has several early cemeteries and in this illustrated presentation, historian and paranormal investigator Thomas Spitalere of Haverhill, Massachusetts, will examine some of the art of early headstones and the artists who made them.

If you cannot attend in person, the program may be viewed through Zoom, Facebook, and Channel 6. If you’d like to attend by Zoom, pre-register here.

Bring your friends and family to Sea Dog Brewing Company for a fun night of history trivia! The cover of $25/person (or $20/member) — includes refreshments. Curator Barbara Rimkunas will be the Quiz Master; trivia will begin at 7:00pm. (Doors open at 6:00pm.) This event is hosted and generously sponsored by Sea Dog Brewing Company. Seating is limited.

Click here to purchase tickets. For more information, visit the event page.

Timber established Portsmouth, Portland and Bangor as important ports, sending New England lumber around the world. Folklorist Jeff Warner relates the songs and stories of the people who worked the wintry woods, showing their humor and their grit, and giving us a glimpse into everyday life in long ago lumber camps.  This program is sponsored by the NH Humanities.

If you cannot join us in person, the program can be viewed through Zoom, Facebook, and on Exeter TV Channel 6. If you’d like to attend by Zoom, pre-register here.

We are holding our first Appraisal Day fundraiser since 2009 on Saturday, July 27, 11am - 2pm.

Not Yet Members: $10 for the first item; $15 for 2 items
Members: $5 per item

We are proud to welcome two appraisers: Mark Sisco of Sisco Antiques in Rockland, Maine; and Dan Olmstead of Daniel Olmstead Antiques in Newfields, New Hampshire

Water Street Bookstore will donate a portion of the day’s sales to the Exeter Historical Society on Thursday, July 11th. Stop by and pick up some summer reading!

Join us for a light reception celebrating the Exeter Brass Band — and view the exhibit.

America's most beloved illustrator created dozens of images related to the second World War. What happens when an artist known for his use of humor tackles the serious subject of war? This program explores how Norman Rockwell's work departs from earlier artistic interpretations of American conflicts and considers how and why he chose specific wartime themes to present to the millions of readers of the Saturday Evening Post. This program is free and open to the public and is generously sponsored by the NH Humanities. Immediately following the program we will hold the historical society’s annual business meeting; we ask that members attend the meeting.

*This program is a change from what was originally advertised, Rosie’s Mom: Forgotten Women of the First World War. Speaker Carrie Brown had a last-minute family conflict, so we will be arranging for her to present this program at a later date. Thank you for your understanding.

If you cannot join us in person, the program can be viewed through Zoom, Facebook, and on Exeter TV Channel 6. Register for Zoom here.