Exeter, New Hampshire was founded in 1638 by the Reverend John Wheelwright. Exeter is located in the seacoast area of New Hampshire, approximately 50 miles north of Boston, MA and 50 miles south of Portland, ME.
Population: 14,306 per 2010 Census.
County: Rockingham
Form of Government: Exeter functions under a Town Meeting form of government, RSA 40:13, known as "SB2." The Board of Selectmen serve as the Town's governing body. The Board appoints a Town Manager who oversees the day to day administration of town functions.
Municipal Departments:
Police, Fire, EMS, Public Works, Public Library, Parks/Recreation, Planning, Code Enforcement, Town Clerk, Finance, Assessing, Tax Collection, Town Clerk.
Municipal Personnel:
Full-time: 131 (21 general government, 30 Fire/EMS, 33 Police, 39 DPW, 8 Library/Other)
Part-Time: 24 (10 general government, 1 Fire/EMS, 3 Police, 6 DPW, 4 Library/Other)
Elected Officials: Board of Selectmen (5 members), Town Clerk, Town Treasurer, Trustees of Trust Funds, Trustees of Robinson Fund, Trustees of Swasey Parkway, Town Moderator.
Call Firefighters: 17
The elevation of Exeter is 125 feet.
The average temperature: 46.3 degrees farenheit.
Land (Square Miles): 19.8
Inland Water (Square Miles): .3
FY11 Town Budget: $19,960,113
Tax Rate: $24.61/1,000 of assessed value
Water Rates: $5.45/1,000 gallons of usage (1st tier)
Sewer Rates: $4.44/1,000 gallons of water use (1st tier)
Solid Waste/Recycling Contractor: Northside Carting, Inc.
Recycling: Yes, curbside, weekly
Collection: Yes, curbside, weekly
Pay as you Throw Program: Yes, "blue bags" 2 sizes, $2.00/$1.00 per bag
Address: 10 Front Street, Exeter, NH 03833
Road Statistics: (2006):
Miles maintained in 2006: 65
Pieces of major equipment & vehicles maintained: 97
Total inches of snow plowed 1/06-12/06: 54 inches
Ice storms: 2
Snow storms: 9
10 contractor plow routes 8 plow routes handled by Town of Exeter
1,250 tons of salt used 500 tons of sand used
Water & Sewer System (2006):
Length of water line maintained: 43 miles
Length of sewer line maintained: 45 miles
Gallons water treated & pumped: 359,094,227
Gallons sewer treated & pumped: 848,900,000
Maximum gallons of water produced in one day: 1,646,675
Maximum gallons of sewer treated in one day: 4,700,000
See the New Hampshire Office of Energy & Planning Exeter Profile here.
Notables:
Sculptor Daniel Chester French, creator of the Minuteman statue at Lexington, Mass and the statue of Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC, also locally designed the War Memorial at Gale Park, which represents "Mother Town" and "Soldier Son").
Henry A. Shute, Exeter's beloved humorist, wrote "The Real Diary of a Real Boy" and spent his entire life in Exeter. And, according to Mr. Shute, "Every man who hasn't a village or country boyhood to look back on has been cheated out of the best part of his life.")
Points of Interest:
The Downeaster train station, located on Lincoln Street; provides train service between Portland, Maine and Boston, Mass., after many years of laying dormant to passenger service. The first train station on Lincoln Street was built in 1860.
The Folsom Tavern, built around 1775 at the corner of Front and Water Streets, was recently moved to the front of the property, across from the entrance to the Parkway, providing additional parking. George Washington "was there" on November 4, 1789.
Founders Park, surrounding the Exeter Public Library at the falls of the Exeter River, was created to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the founding of Exeter.
Across the river from Swasey Parkway the Powder House (built in 1771) may be viewed. The first dramatic use of the Powder House was the result of a ride by Paul Revere (December, 1774) when he warned residents of Portsmouth that a British ship was leaving Boston to remove military stores & soldiers from Fort William & Mary (Portsmouth Harbor). A number of the 72 barrels of gunpowder liberated from the Fort by local residents were stored in the Powder House and may have been used at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Partial information from "Images of America-Exeter" by Carol Walker-Aten; also from "Exeter, New Hampshire 1888-1988" by Nancy Carnegie Merrill; Powder House Committee minutes.
