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Metro Detroit Washtenaw County City
Cider since 1886, the Huron River and a 1966 "swamp gas" UFO mystery
01 / Why it matters
Dexter is a small river town about nine miles northwest of Ann Arbor, right where Mill Creek meets the Huron River. A sawmill went up on the creek in 1827 and a cider mill in 1886, and that one is still pressing. Main Street is lined with 1870s brick buildings, built after fires wiped out the original wooden ones.
It was a village until 2014, officially becoming a city on November 20 that year. Once, the whole country was talking about it: on March 20, 1966, residents and police officers reported strange lights over the marshes near Dexter, astronomer J. Allen Hynek blamed "swamp gas," and Congressman Gerald R. Ford called for an investigation.
It's in Washtenaw County, so statistically it belongs to the Ann Arbor metro area and counts as Metro Detroit only within the wider Detroit–Warren–Ann Arbor combined statistical area. Detroit is about 40 miles east.
02 / Known for
The Dexter Cider Mill, pressing cider on the Huron River since 1886 and billing itself as Michigan's oldest continuously operating cider mill.
Gordon Hall, Samuel W. Dexter's Greek Revival mansion built between 1841 and 1843, on the National Register since 1972 and said to have possibly sheltered freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad.
The 1966 "swamp gas" UFO sighting that made national headlines.
The Encore Musical Theatre Company, a professional musical theater since 2008 mixing Broadway performers and local talent.
The Border-to-Border Trail and two Metroparks, Hudson Mills and Dexter–Huron, with small pieces inside city limits.
03 / What’s on
Oct 3, 2026, 10:00 AMDexter Cider Mill · Dexter Cider Mill's Apple Daze comes to downtown Dexter on Saturday, October 3, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., with free hayrides running out to the mill, which has been pressing cider since 1886 and is in its 140th season.
Oct 8, 2026, 7:00 PMThe Encore Musical Theatre Company · A nightclub singer hides out in a convent and turns the choir into a powerhouse of soul. The University of Michigan's Department of Musical Theatre brings the feel-good musical comedy Sister Act to The Encore Musical Theatre Company, 7714 Ann Arbor Street in Dexter, on Thursday, October 8, 2026, at 7 p.m.. The run has 10 performances.
Oct 9, 2026, 7:00 PMThe Encore Musical Theatre Company · A nightclub singer hides out in a convent and turns the choir into a powerhouse of soul. The University of Michigan's Department of Musical Theatre brings the feel-good musical comedy Sister Act to The Encore Musical Theatre Company, 7714 Ann Arbor Street in Dexter, on Friday, October 9, 2026, at 7 p.m.. The run has 10 performances.
Oct 10, 2026, 2:00 PMThe Encore Musical Theatre Company · A nightclub singer hides out in a convent and turns the choir into a powerhouse of soul. The University of Michigan's Department of Musical Theatre brings the feel-good musical comedy Sister Act to The Encore Musical Theatre Company, 7714 Ann Arbor Street in Dexter, on Saturday, October 10, 2026, at 2 p.m.. The run has 10 performances.
Oct 10, 2026, 7:00 PMThe Encore Musical Theatre Company · A nightclub singer hides out in a convent and turns the choir into a powerhouse of soul. The University of Michigan's Department of Musical Theatre brings the feel-good musical comedy Sister Act to The Encore Musical Theatre Company, 7714 Ann Arbor Street in Dexter, on Saturday, October 10, 2026, at 7 p.m.. The run has 10 performances.
Oct 11, 2026, 2:00 PMThe Encore Musical Theatre Company · A nightclub singer hides out in a convent and turns the choir into a powerhouse of soul. The University of Michigan's Department of Musical Theatre brings the feel-good musical comedy Sister Act to The Encore Musical Theatre Company, 7714 Ann Arbor Street in Dexter, on Sunday, October 11, 2026, at 2 p.m.. The run has 10 performances.
Oct 15, 2026, 7:00 PMThe Encore Musical Theatre Company · A nightclub singer hides out in a convent and turns the choir into a powerhouse of soul. The University of Michigan's Department of Musical Theatre brings the feel-good musical comedy Sister Act to The Encore Musical Theatre Company, 7714 Ann Arbor Street in Dexter, on Thursday, October 15, 2026, at 7 p.m.. The run has 10 performances.
Oct 16, 2026, 7:00 PMThe Encore Musical Theatre Company · A nightclub singer hides out in a convent and turns the choir into a powerhouse of soul. The University of Michigan's Department of Musical Theatre brings the feel-good musical comedy Sister Act to The Encore Musical Theatre Company, 7714 Ann Arbor Street in Dexter, on Friday, October 16, 2026, at 7 p.m.. The run has 10 performances.
Oct 17, 2026, 2:00 PMThe Encore Musical Theatre Company · A nightclub singer hides out in a convent and turns the choir into a powerhouse of soul. The University of Michigan's Department of Musical Theatre brings the feel-good musical comedy Sister Act to The Encore Musical Theatre Company, 7714 Ann Arbor Street in Dexter, on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 2 p.m.. The run has 10 performances.
Oct 17, 2026, 7:00 PMThe Encore Musical Theatre Company · A nightclub singer hides out in a convent and turns the choir into a powerhouse of soul. The University of Michigan's Department of Musical Theatre brings the feel-good musical comedy Sister Act to The Encore Musical Theatre Company, 7714 Ann Arbor Street in Dexter, on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 7 p.m.. The run has 10 performances.
Oct 18, 2026, 2:00 PMThe Encore Musical Theatre Company · A nightclub singer hides out in a convent and turns the choir into a powerhouse of soul. The University of Michigan's Department of Musical Theatre brings the feel-good musical comedy Sister Act to The Encore Musical Theatre Company, 7714 Ann Arbor Street in Dexter, on Sunday, October 18, 2026, at 2 p.m.. The run has 10 performances.
Oct 23, 2026, 7:00 PMThe Encore Musical Theatre Company · The Encore Musical Theatre Company, 7714 Ann Arbor Street in Dexter, salutes the music of Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young on Friday, October 23, 2026, at 7 p.m.. Tribute: Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young has four performances on the calendar, sponsored by Dexter's Pub.
04 / Places
05 / What to do
A fall must: fresh cider that's still pressed on wood, right on the Huron River.
Official site ↗A professional musical theater downtown, recognized by Actors' Equity.
Official site ↗A riverside Metropark at the edge of town for walks and day trips along the Huron.
Official site ↗The historical society's museum on Inverness Street, with an early 1900s dentist's chair, an old phone switchboard and a printing exhibit.
Official site ↗06 / History
Samuel W. Dexter buys a large tract of land and starts the Mill Creek Settlement.
The village is platted and officially renamed Dexter.
The cider mill, today's Dexter Cider Mill, opens.
On March 20, lights over the marshes near Dexter set off a national UFO frenzy.
An EF3 tornado hits Dexter on March 15, causing heavy damage but no deaths or injuries.
On November 20, with a voter-approved charter filed with the state, the village of Dexter officially becomes a city.
07 / People
Population and area are Census Bureau figures (Dexter city).
Change since 2020, per the Census Bureau estimate: −0.9 percent.
