North Hampton is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Rockingham County,

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, United States. The population was 4,538 at the 2020 census. While the majority of the town is inland, North Hampton includes a part of New Hampshire's limited

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

seacoast.

History

First settled in 1639, the town was a part of Hampton known as "North Hill" or "North Parish". Residents began petitioning for separation from Hampton as early as 1719, but township was not granted until 1742 by colonial governor

Benning Wentworth Benning Wentworth (July 24, 1696 – October 14, 1770) was an American merchant, landowner and colonial administrator who served as the List of colonial governors of New Hampshire, governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766. He is best known ...

, following separation of

from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Little Boar's Head, a seaside promontory, became a fashionable summer resort area in the 19th century, and contains elegant examples of late Victorian and Edwardian architecture.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which are land and are water, comprising 3.46% of the town. The highest point in North Hampton is the summit of Pine Hill, at above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

, on the town's western border. The town is drained to the east by the Little River, which flows directly to the Atlantic Ocean, and to the northwest by the Winnicut River, which flows to Great Bay, which in turn reaches the Atlantic by way of the

Piscataqua River The Piscataqua River (Abenaki language, Abenaki: ''Pskehtekwis'') is a tidal river forming the boundary of the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Maine from its origin at the confluence of the Salmon Falls River and Cochecho River to the Atlant ...

. U.S. Route 1 and state routes 1A and 151 run north–south through North Hampton, while 111 runs east–west.

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

runs through North Hampton without access to the town; Route 101 provides easier freeway access to North Hampton despite never entering the town. The nearest commercial airport is Portsmouth International Airport; the two closest major airports are Logan Airport in Boston and

Portland International Jetport Portland International Jetport , locally known as the Jetport, is a public airport two miles (3 km) west of downtown Portland, Maine, Portland, Maine, United States. It is owned and operated by the City of Portland. A portion of the Jetpo ...

in Maine.

Adjacent municipalities

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

(north) *

Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...

(northeast) * Hampton (south) *

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

(west at a single point) * Stratham (northwest)

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 4,259 people, 1,671 households, and 1,234 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,782 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.40%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.31%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.05% Native American, 0.63% Asian, 0.21% from other races, and 0.40% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.77% of the population. There were 1,671 households, out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.1% were non-families. 20.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 2.96. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.3% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 30.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $66,696, and the median income for a family was $72,500. Males had a median income of $51,451 versus $31,512 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $34,187. About 1.6% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 0.7% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Henry Dearborn (1751–1829), general, US congressman from

; 5th

US Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the President of the United States, U.S. president's United States Cabinet, Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's Presidency of George Washington, administration. A similar position, called either "Sec ...

* Abraham Drake (1715–1781), commanded 2nd N.H. Militia during Saratoga campaign * Alvan T. Fuller (1878–1958), 50th

governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The governor is the chief executive, head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonw ...

(summer residence) * Yvonne Furneaux (1926–2024), actress *

Ogden Nash Frederic Ogden Nash (August 19, 1902 – May 19, 1971) was an American poet well known for his Light poetry, light verse, of which he wrote more than 500 pieces. With his unconventional rhyme, rhyming schemes, he was declared by ''The New York T ...

(1902–1971), poet; buried in North Hampton * Bonnie Newman (born 1945), politician * Herbert Philbrick (1915–1993), Boston ad executive; noted Cold War citizen spy for the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

Thoroughbreds

* Mom's Command and Dancer's Image were notable

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

s owned by Peter D. Fuller at Runnymede Farm in North Hampton; the former horse is buried there. Both horses are featured on a

billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

along NH Route 111.

Sites of interest

* Centennial Hall * Drake Farm * Fuller Gardens * Little Boar's Head Historic District * North Hampton State Beach * North Hampton Town Hall * Old North Hampton Library

References

External links

*
North Hampton Public Library

{{authority control Towns in Rockingham County, New Hampshire Populated places established in 1639 Towns in New Hampshire 1639 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies Populated coastal places in New Hampshire