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 and the Rho Kappa cording ceremony.

Join us for a reception celebrating the Seacoast NH LGBT History Project Exhibit at the Exeter Historical Society. We'll chat about the exhibit and enjoy some goodies.

This talk explores some of the roots of orality in connection with Lucy Terry Prince, the first known African American poet in the U.S. Lucy’s poem, Bars Fight, survived for 100 years in oral tradition before appearing for the first time in 1854 in the Springfield Daily Republican. Poet, journalist, author and artist Shanta Lee will explore how Prince’s poem’s survival fits within a constellation of other poets in journeying from the oral to the written.

This program is free and open to the public and is generously 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. Register for Zoom here.

While mass communication was a relatively new phenomenon in the Civil War era, people were eager to keep abreast of the latest developments in the conflict that engulfed their nation. Print media played a critical role in tracking the war and its ramifications on Exeter residents and their loved ones. Letters, magazines, and especially newspapers were essential for keeping the local community up to date on the progress of the war. Join educator Caroline Collins Siecke as she examines how news got from the front lines to the home front in the 1860s.

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.

Exeter Hospital trained scores of nurses at their Exeter Nurses Training School between 1906 and 1935. Many of the graduates found themselves serving through two world wars, a worldwide flu pandemic in 1918, and the polio crisis of the 1940s & 50s. Historical Society co-executive director Barbara Rimkunas will discuss the school and its graduates in this illustrated program.

PLEASE NOTE: this program will be held virtually ONLY. The program can be viewed through Zoom (pre-register here), on our Facebook page, and on Exeter TV Channel 6.

New England railroads once utilized otherwise empty weekend passenger trains to carry eager skiers to the slopes of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York state. In this illustrated program, Dave Saums - editor of the Rutland Railroad Historical Society’s Newsliner Quarterly Journal - will explore the memorable era when the Boston & Maine Railroad ran their “snow trains”, before well-plowed highways eliminated them.

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.

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).

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.

Dine at OTTO Pizza in downtown Exeter on Monday, November 20th between 5pm and 8pm 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!

Join us for a reception and see our current exhibit featuring photographs of Exeter residents and landmarks as they look now and as they looked in bygone days.

While LGBTQ+ people have participated in all aspects of our region’s history, their stories have not always been told. Tom Kaufhold and Holly Cashman will present on their work to uncover and document the stories and experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals, businesses, and organizations in the New Hampshire Seacoast.

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.

An event in celebration of Indigenous Culture with Pennacook Abenaki Chiefs. There will be children’s activities: music, storytelling, arts and crafts, and a scavenger hunt.

The event will take place at Founders Park (next to the Exeter Public Library) from 12:30pm to 3:30pm.

The pressure on producers and directors to create a film that will bring in audiences and profits can clash with the desire of historians to reveal an accurate depiction of the historical events or people. Dr. Steve Eames will explore the tension between creating a successful popular historically based film and the actual history.

If you’d like to join us virtually, you may watch it on Exeter TV Channel 6, on our Facebook page, or through Zoom (register in advance here).

Bring your friends and family to Sea Dog Brewing Company for a fun night of history trivia! Cover of $25/person — $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 or for more information.

Exeter, New Hampshire's history mirrors that of the country. Founded by a minister searching for religious freedom, the town played a part in the American Revolution and birthed notable sons and daughters with worldwide impacts. But to those residents and current ones, Exeter is simply "home." Journalist and author Kathleen D. Bailey will compare our present to our past and discuss how we understand our history.

The program will be held in person and virtually on Zoom and our Facebook page, as well as broadcast on Channel 22. Register for Zoom here.

Quilts tell stories, and quilt history is full of myths and misinformation as well as heart-warming tales of service and tradition. Nearly every world culture that has cold weather uses quilted textiles-quilting is NOT just an American art. New England Quilt Museum curator Pam Weeks weaves world history, women's history, industrial history and just plain wonderful stories into her presentation. Participants are invited to bring one quilt for identification and/or story sharing. Prompted in part by the material culture at hand, the presenter may speak about fashion fads, the Colonial Revival, quilt-making for Civil War soldiers, and anything else quilt-related she can squeeze in. This program is generously sponsored by the New Hampshire Humanities and co-hosted by Exeter TV and is free and open to the public. To watch on Zoom, registration is required. Register here.

Visit our 2022 annual report here.

Youth Night is the annual celebration of history education in the SAU16 district, hosted by the EHS. Come join us for an evening of recognition for outstanding scholars of history and social studies, led by the historical society's student trustees. Awards are given in recognition of Nancy Carnegie Merrill and Malcolm Wetherbee, two long-time Exeter residents who were dedicated to preserving and promoting local history.

Every town and watershed in New Hampshire has ancient and continuing Native American history. From the recent, late 20th century explosion of local Native population in New Hampshire back to the era of early settlement and the colonial wars, John Moody explores the history of New Hampshire's Abenaki and Penacook peoples with a focus on your local community. This program is generously sponsored by the New Hampshire Humanities and co-hosted by Exeter TV and is free and open to the public.

We highly recommend that you attend in person, if you are able. The speaker has limitations on the Zoom presentation, and you may not be able to see the entire program. However, if you can only attend virtually, pre-registration is required to view the program on Zoom. Register here.

The program will not be recorded for later viewing, per the speaker’s request.

After 20 years of Downeaster Service to the town of Exeter, what have we learned? Who’s riding the trains? What’s in the future for the Downeaster and Exeter? Robert Hall will try to answer these questions.

To watch the program on Zoom, registration is required. Register here.

This virtual program offers a fun and engaging look at the historic and unusual weathervanes found on New Hampshire's churches, town halls, and other public buildings from earliest times down to the present. Highlighted by the visual presentation of a sampling of the vanes found throughout the state, Glenn Knoblock's program will trace the history of weathervanes, their practical use and interesting symbolism, as well as their varied types and methods of manufacture and evolution from practical weather instrument to architectural embellishment. This program is generously sponsored by the New Hampshire Humanities and co-hosted by Exeter TV and is free and open to the public.

For more information or to register for Zoom, click here.

Exeter’s Robinson Female Seminary educated local young women from 1867 – 1955. Barbara Rimkunas will present the story of the school, its founder, William Robinson, and some of the more notable alumnae.

The presentation will be held in person at the Exeter Town Hall and will also be broadcast on Channel 98, Zoom, and Facebook Live. For more information or to register for Zoom, click here.

Join us for great company, tasty treats and good cheer!

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

The Historical Society is joining ‘Second Friday Exeter’ for the month of November! The main gallery will feature an exhibit of portraits and candid photographs of Exeter residents. In honor of Veterans Day, we will feature photographs of Exeter residents who have served in the military. If you would like to add a photo of a family member who served, please bring it and we’ll add it to the exhibit. Stop by Friday, November 11 from 4:00 to 8:00pm or during our regular hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 2:00 - 4:30pm and Saturday, 9:30am to Noon.

New Hampshire has attracted and inspired artists since the colonial era. In this program, Jane Oneail will consider works by itinerant and folk painters, landscape artists drawn to the state's scenic vistas, and modern artists that adopted bold styles to depict everyday life in the Granite State. This program is generously sponsored by the New Hampshire Humanities and co-hosted by Exeter TV and is free and open to the public. The presentation will be at the Exeter Town Hall, broadcast through Zoom and on Channel 98, and will be on Facebook Live. For more information or to register for Zoom, click here.

Join the Exeter Historical Society, Keene State College Special Collections & Archives, and the Louis de Rochemont Heritage Films, Inc. for the Exeter, New Hampshire, premiere of The Whistle at Eaton Falls. The 1951 movie, starring Lloyd Bridges, Ernest Borgnine, and Dorothy Gish, was filmed in Exeter, Dover, Portsmouth and Boston. Produced by Louis de Rochemont — of “March of Time” newsreel fame — the film’s focus is on labor unions and workplace politics.

For more information, including the 1951 trailer, click here.

'Ramblin’ Richard' Kruppa reviews the major events of WWI and sings the songs that were popular in the day, accompanying himself on guitar, banjo, and baritone ukulele. Further, he explains how the songs related to the life and the times of Americans in that era — songs that have remained familiar and beloved to this day.

Bring your friends and family to Sea Dog Brewing Company for a fun night of history trivia! Cover of $25/person — $20/member — includes refreshments. Curator Barbara Rimkunas will emcee the event; trivia will begin at 6:30pm. This event is hosted and generously sponsored by Sea Dog Brewing Company. Seating is limited and, if not sold out in advance, all tickets sold at the door will be $25 each..

Click here to purchase tickets or for more information.

In this illustrated program, Northeastern University Professor Kabria Baumgartner will discuss her book, In Pursuit of Knowledge, in which she explores the history of school desegregation in the nineteenth century Northeast by focusing on the educational experiences of African American girls and women. Her book is the winner of the 2020 Mary Kelley Book Prize from the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic and the 2020 Outstanding Book Award from the History of Education Society. This program is co-sponsored by the Exeter Public Library and co-hosted by the library and Exeter TV.

Please note that the in-person presentation will be held in Town Hall, 9 Front Street, Exeter, New Hampshire. If you would like to watch the program virtually, you may tune into Channel 98 on your TV, watch it through our Facebook page, or join on Zoom. If you’d like to attend the Zoom webinar, registration is required.

Join the student trustees of the Exeter Historical Society as we celebrate the study of history in our schools! Our annual Youth Night recognizes students in the SAU who have excelled at history and social studies over the course of the past year, and honors the contributions of our graduating senior trustees. We welcome parents, students, and community members to join us in person at the Exeter Historical Society for student speakers and awards. Mask wearing is strongly encouraged.