The McPherson Group

 

Exeter was incorporated in 1743 and named for the Earl of Exeter. This rural area was once the homeland of the Narragansett Indians. Today, large amount of the land is part of the Arcadia Management Area, which includes the small Tomaquag Indian Memorial Museum. The Arcadia Management Area is protected by the state and features the Stepping Stone Falls, Breakheart Trail, Browning Mill Pond recreation area, and the Wood River.

Exeter is also the home of Yawgoo Valley, the only ski resort in Rhode Island. In addition to skiing and snowboarding, this sports park has snow tubing. In the summer months the locals enjoy their pitch and putt golf course, the rock climbing wall and the water park.

Interestingly enough, Exeter is noted by folklorists as the sight of one of the best documented examples of vampire exhumation: the Mercy Brown Vampire Incident. In Exeter, the Brown family suffered a sequence of tuberculosis infections in the final two decades of the 19th century. The mother, Mary, was the first to die of the disease, followed by her daughters, Mary Olive and Mercy. Two years later, Mary's son Edwin also became sick.

Friends and neighbors of the family believed that one of the dead family members was a vampire and causing Edwin's illness. George Brown was persuaded to exhume the bodies, which he did with the help of several villagers on March 17, 1892. The more recently buried body of Mercy was still relatively unchanged and had blood in the heart. This was taken as a sign that the teenager was undead, and the agent of young Edwin's condition. Mercy's heart was removed from her body, burnt, and the remnants mixed with water and given to the sick Edwin to drink. Unfortunately, despite all his efforts, George was unsuccessful in protecting his son, who died two months later.

Because of the rural nature of Exeter, most residential properties sit on an acre or more of land. This is rare in Rhode Island and the extensive forestry is wonderful for nature lovers or those who want their privacy.

 

Total Population: 6,045
Square Miles (land): 57.7

Age Distribution
<15 years: 22%     16-24 years: 11%     25-44 years: 32%     45-64 years: 26%     >65: 9%

Education
Some college/ Associate’s Degree: 30%
Bachelor’s Degree: 20%
Master’s, Professional or Doctorate Degrees: 10%

Housing
Percent of owner-occupied units: 81%
Average Number of household members: 2.9
Average number of rooms: 6.6
Median year homes were built: 1981
Median home value(2006): 370,700

Income
Median household income: $64,452