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.

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.