Exeter was organized in 1836 and named for the New York birthplace of the first postmaster, Henry Palmer. In 1890 local officials set aside five hundred dollars to build this hall. The Canadian Southern Railway, which ran through the township, spurred Exeter's logging, charcoal, and limestone industries. Bricks, barrels and broomsticks were produced in Maybee and Scofield. The area outside the villages was farmland.