Exeter Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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Village · Fillmore County · Population 516 (2020 census) · ZIP 68351 · Founded 1871 · Peak population 941 (1930)

About Exeter

Exeter is a village of 516 people (2020) in northeastern Fillmore County, at 1,608 feet on US 6 and the BNSF, about 7 miles east of Fairmont. It is home to Exeter-Milligan-Friend Public Schools’ elementary school and Gilbert’s Park, 110 E. Maplewood St., with an aquatic center built in 2009. Exeter is on Central Time.

History

Dr. H. G. Smith homesteaded the site (1870 or January 1871; sources differ) and opened a store on his farm in May 1871, and the town was platted in November 1871 on land given by Smith and J. W. Dolan. The post office was first called Woodard. The name came from a family from Exeter, New Hampshire, and fit the Burlington’s alphabetical order of stations. The depot and first hotel went up in 1872, the Exeter Enterprise began in October 1878, and Exeter incorporated on April 1, 1879. The Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley (Chicago & North Western) arrived in 1887, making Exeter a junction. The population peaked at 941 in 1930. CNN correspondent Jeff Zeleny (1973) and federal judge Richard A. Dier (1914) were born in Exeter, and Manhattan Project scientist Donald Trauger, later an associate director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was born near it in 1920.

Highways and trails through Exeter

Route	One way	Other way
US 6East–west through the village	West to Fairmont and Grafton	East to Friend

Nearby towns

Cordova	about 7 mi northeast	County roads
Fairmont	about 7 mi west	US 6
Friend	about 9 mi east	US 6
Milligan	about 10 mi south-southeast	County roads
McCool Junction	about 11 mi northwest	County roads
Geneva	about 11 mi southwest	County roads
Grafton	about 14 mi west	US 6
York	about 17 mi north-northwest	County roads

Things to see

Gilbert’s Park and aquatic center, 110 E. Maplewood St. · the Old Timers’ Museum

Schools and health care

Schools: Exeter-Milligan-Friend Public Schools (formed July 1, 2025, from Exeter-Milligan and Friend): elementary school in Exeter

Health care: Hospital: Fillmore County Hospital, Geneva, about 11 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); History Nebraska Fillmore County historic buildings survey (2020) and markers; National Register; Nebraska Game and Parks; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; UNL climate records; Nebraska Secretary of State; Nebraska Department of Education; Fillmore County; City of Geneva; Nebraska 211; Visit Nebraska. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.