Exeter

In March 1841, as townspeople flocked to the Exeter Courthouse to view a state-of-the-art diorama of the Conflagration of Moscow, the courthouse itself went up in flames. What was dubbed the Conflagration of the Courthouse is just one of the intriguing events revisited by historian Barbara Rimkunas in this collection. Exeter was also home to a score of eccentric personalities including Dick the fire horse, whose obituary in the town paper ran longer than that of the fire chief, and the mysterious Dr. Windship, a surgeon in the American Revolution who later earned the epithet of thief, fraudster and attempted bigamist. From scandals and Scotsmen to revolutionaries and river rats, Exeter: Historically Speaking reveals the many different threads with which Exeter's vibrant historical tapestry is woven.