[3] In 1870, Dr. Horace Greeley Smith and his wife filed a homestead claim at the site of present-day Exeter.

In an earlier scouting trip, Smith had determined that the site would lie near the line of the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad as it extended itself westward.

[7] In eastern Fillmore County, a town was established on land donated by Smith and by James Dolan.

It was adopted, as being in keeping with the alphabetical sequence: Crete, Dorchester, Exeter, Fairmont, Grafton, Harvard, Inland, Juniata, Kenesaw, and Lowell.

[8][9] The railroad advertised the availability of free government land in Nebraska, bringing settlers from the eastern United States, and Czech, German, English, Irish, and Scandinavian immigrants.

In 1878, two large grain elevators were built and a number of businesses opened; the town's first newspaper, the Enterprise, was established in that year.

[10][12] According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.63 square miles (1.63 km2), all land.

The park has playground equipment, a ball field, volleyball court, horseshoe pits, and picnic facilities.

Annual events include the Easter Egg hunt in the spring, the Firemen's BBQ and Street Dance in the summer and holiday activities in November and December.

Youth can also participate in 4-H, Boy and Girl Scouts, church schools, day camps, and summer reading programs.