Editing Exeter, Rhode Island

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name      = Exeter, Rhode Island
| settlement_type    = [[New England town|Town]]
| nickname           = 
| motto              = 
| image_shield         = Coat of arms of Exeter, Rhode Island.png
| image_skyline      = Chestnut Hill Baptist Church, Exeter RI.JPG
| image_caption      = Chestnut Hill Baptist Church
<!-- Maps -->
| image_map          = Exeter RI lg.PNG
| mapsize            = 250px
| map_caption        = Location of Exeter in Washington County, Rhode Island
| image_map1         = 
| mapsize1           = 
| map_caption1       = 
<!-- Location -->
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = United States
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Rhode Island]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in Rhode Island|County]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Washington County, Rhode Island|Washington]]
<!-- Government -->
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = 
| leader_title       = Town Moderator
| leader_name        = Peter V. Lacouture
| leader_title1      = Town Council
| leader_name1       = Daniel Patterson, Michael Lefebvre, Calvin Ellis, Olivia DeFrancesco, Francis Maher
| leader_title2      = Town Clerk
| leader_name2       = Lynn M. Hawkins
| established_title  = 
| established_date   = 
<!-- Area -->
| unit_pref          = Imperial
| area_footnotes     = 
| area_magnitude     = 
| area_total_km2     = 151.2
| area_land_km2      = 149.5
| area_water_km2     = 1.7
| area_total_sq_mi   = 58.4
| area_land_sq_mi    = 57.7
| area_water_sq_mi   = 0.7
<!-- Population -->
| population_as_of   = [[United States Census, 2020|2020]]
| population_footnotes = 
| population_total   = 6460
| population_density_km2 = 43.2
| population_density_sq_mi = 
<!-- General information -->
| timezone           = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
| utc_offset         = &minus;5
| timezone_DST       = EDT
| utc_offset_DST     = &minus;4
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 58
| elevation_ft       = 190
| coordinates        = {{coord|41|34|N|71|36|W|region:US-RI_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code        = 02822 (Exeter), 02874 ([[Saunderstown, Rhode Island|Saunderstown]]), 02892 ([[West Kingston, Rhode Island|West Kingston]])
| area_code          = [[Area code 401|401]]
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 44-25300<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = 1220087<ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|date=October 25, 2007}}</ref>
| website            = {{URL|https://www.exeterri.gov/}}
}}

'''Exeter''' is a [[New England town|town]] in [[Washington County, Rhode Island|Washington County]], [[Rhode Island]], United States. Exeter extends east from the [[Connecticut]] border to the town of [[North Kingstown, Rhode Island|North Kingstown]]. It is bordered to the north by [[West Greenwich, Rhode Island|West Greenwich]] and [[East Greenwich, Rhode Island|East Greenwich]], and to the south by [[Hopkinton, Rhode Island|Hopkinton]], [[Richmond, Rhode Island|Richmond]], and [[South Kingstown, Rhode Island|South Kingstown]]. Exeter's [[postal code]] is 02822, although small parts of the town have the mailing address [[West Kingston, Rhode Island|West Kingston]] (02892) or [[Saunderstown, Rhode Island|Saunderstown]] (02874). The population was 6,460 at the [[United States Census, 2020|2020 census]].

== History ==
Native Americans lived in the town prior to [[King Philip's War]], and [[Wawaloam]], a female Narragansett/Nipmuc leader lived in the town in the 1660s. The town of Exeter was formed in 1742 from the western part of [[North Kingstown]]. The name Exeter derives from the county town and cathedral city of [[Exeter]] in [[Devon]], England.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9V1IAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA122 | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=122}}</ref>  Numerous [[Exeter (disambiguation)|other places]] have also been given the name. Exeter is noted by folklorists as the site of one of the best documented examples of [[vampire]] [[exhume|exhumation]]: the [[Mercy Brown Vampire Incident]] of 1892.

==Geography==

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|58.4|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|57.7|sqmi|km2}}  is land and {{convert|0.7|sqmi|km2}}  (1.15%) is water.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1790= 2495
|1800= 2476
|1810= 2256
|1820= 2581
|1830= 2883
|1840= 1776
|1850= 1634
|1860= 1741
|1870= 1462
|1880= 1310
|1890= 964
|1900= 841
|1910= 778
|1920= 1033
|1930= 1314
|1940= 1790
|1950= 1870
|1960= 2298
|1970= 3245
|1980= 4453
|1990= 5461
|2000= 6045
|2010= 6425
|2020= 6460
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html |title=Census of Population and Housing |publisher=Census.gov |access-date=June 4, 2016 }}</ref><ref name="Cen1865">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NxsxC5mK7NAC | title=Report upon the Census of Rhode Island 1865 | publisher=Providence Press Company | author=Snow, Edwin M. | year=1867 | location=Providence, RI}}</ref>
}}
As of the [[census]] of 2020, there were 6,460 people and 2,339 households in the town. The population density was {{convert|112.4|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 2,647 housing units in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 92.03% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.40% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.36% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 1.08% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.02% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 1.28% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 4.83% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 2.91% of the population.

There were 2,339 households, out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.6% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 19.0% had a female householder with no spouse present, and 19.0% had a male householder with no spouse present. 18.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.38.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 18.3% under the age of 18, 16.3% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. 

The median income for a household in the town was $99,236, and the median income for a family was $126,554. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $44,096. About 10.4% of the population was below the [[poverty line]], including 8.0% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.

==Government==
The town government is directed by a 5-member town council that is headed by a council president.<ref>{{cite web|title=Town of Exeter profile|url=http://www.riedc.com/data-and-publications/state-and-community-profiles/richmond|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111210060919/http://www.riedc.com/data-and-publications/state-and-community-profiles/exeter|archive-date=December 10, 2011|access-date=December 6, 2011|publisher=Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation}}</ref> For the purpose of school administration, Exeter is a member town of the [[Exeter-West Greenwich Regional School District]] along with the neighboring town of West Greenwich.

==Attractions and National Historic Places in Exeter==
*[[Yawgoo Valley]] is the only ski resort in Rhode Island.
* [[Austin Farm Road Agricultural Area]]
* [[Baptist Church in Exeter]]
* [[Fisherville Historic and Archeological District]]
* [[Hallville Historic and Archeological District]]
* [[Lawton's Mill]]
* [[Simon Lillibridge Farm]]
* [[Parris Brook Historic and Archeological District]]
* [[Queen's Fort]]
* [[Sodom Mill Historic and Archeological District]]
* Tomaquag Museum, only solely Native American museum in Rhode Island

==Notable people==

* [[George Wait Babcock]], privateer
* [[Job Kenyon]], politician
{{Geographic location
| Centre = Exeter
 | North = [[West Greenwich, Rhode Island|West Greenwich]]
 | East = [[North Kingstown, Rhode Island|North Kingstown]]
 | South = [[Hopkinton, Rhode Island|Hopkinton]], [[Richmond, Rhode Island|Richmond]], [[South Kingstown, Rhode Island|South Kingstown]]
 | West = [[Voluntown, Connecticut]]
 | Northeast = [[East Greenwich, Rhode Island|East Greenwich]]
}}

== References ==
<references/>

==External links==

{{commons category|Exeter, Rhode Island}}
{{wikivoyage|Exeter (Rhode Island)|Exeter, Rhode Island}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061214012155/http://www.riedc.com/riedc/ri_databank/31/282/ EDC Profile of Exeter]
* [http://www.ri.gov/towns/view/exeter/ RI.GOV – Town of Exeter]
* [https://www.exeterri.gov/ Town of Exeter, Rhode Island website]
* [http://www.exeterpubliclibrary.org Exeter Town Library]
*[https://catalog.sos.ri.gov/repositories/2/digital_object_components/736 United States Constitution Referendum Ratification: Exeter]{{Dead link|date=March 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} from the Rhode Island State Archives

{{Washington County, Rhode Island}}
{{Rhode Island}}
{{Portal bar|Rhode Island}}

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[[Category:Exeter, Rhode Island| ]]
[[Category:Towns in Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Towns in Washington County, Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Providence metropolitan area]]