Hampton is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 14,937 at the 2000 census. Located beside the Atlantic Ocean, Hampton is home to Hampton Beach State Park at Hampton Beach, a summer tourist destination. The densely-populated central settlement of the town, where over 61% of the population resides, is defined as the Hampton census-designated place (CDP) and is centered on the intersection of U.S. 1 and NH 27.
History
First called the Plantation of Winnacunnet, Hampton was one of four original New Hampshire townships chartered by the General Court of Massachusetts, which then held authority over the colony. "Winnacunnet" is an Algonquian Abenaki word meaning "pleasant pines". The town was settled in 1638 by a group of parishioners led by Reverend Stephen Bachiler, who had formerly preached at the settlement's namesake: Hampton, England. Incorporated in 1639, the township once included Seabrook, Kensington, Danville, Kingston, East Kingston, Sandown, North Hampton and Hampton Falls. Among Hampton's earliest settlers was Thomas Leavitt, who previously had been among the first settlers at Exeter. His descendant Thomas Leavitt Esq., lived in Hampton Falls, and was the leading Democratic politician in southern New Hampshire for many years. He made a noted early survey and plan of the town of Hampton in 1806. James Leavitt, of the same family, occupied the home which had previously belonged to Gen. Jonathan Moulton. Later members of the family ran Leavitts' Hampton Beach Hotel, a fixture in the area for generations. Construction of the railroad in the 1850s, as well as the Exeter and Hampton Trolley line, made Hampton's oceanfront a popular resort. Hampton Beach remains a tourist destination, offering shops, restaurants, beaches, and summer seasonal housing.
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