Located on the Kennebecasis River 30 kilometres northeast of Saint John, Hampton is the shire town of Kings County. It functioned as the seat of county government between 1870[2] and 1966 (when county governments were abolished) and is today a service centre for the central Kennebecasis River valley, as well as being a suburb of Saint John. Hampton also has its own RCMP detachment that was built in 1999.
On 1 January 2023, Hampton was greatly enlarged by annexing all or part of four local service districts;[3][4] revised census figures have not been released.
The area in which the town of Hampton is located had been inhabited by French settlers in the 1600s while First Nations had called it home since time immemorial. The United Empire Loyalists were the first to establish permanent settlements in the area shortly after arriving in 1783. It was in 1785 that Kings County was established in NB and in 1795 the Parish of Hampton was created out of parts of Sussex and Kingston parishes.[2] One area of the town, known now as the Lower Norton Shore, was originally known as the Yankee Shore because of all the Loyalist immigrants in the 1780s.
By 1871 Hampton had a population of 250. By 1904 it grew to 800. These people had a post office, three stores, three hotels, a match factory, a grist mill, a saw mill and three churches. At this time was included the community of Hampton Ferry (population 150) and the village of Ossekeag (Hampton Station) which had a population of 500 and was home to a post office, seven stores, a hotel, a machine shop and four churches. It was also the site of a station on the Intercontinental Railway and a junction on the Hampton-St. Martin's railway. The name Ossekeag is Mi'kmaq for "marshy brook"[5]
Hampton was incorporated as a village in 1966.[5] It became a town in 1991.
Hampton is located in the Kennebecasis River valley, where the river flows into a wide flood plain. The Hampton Marshes contain a diverse assortment of wildlife and are one of the town's major tourist attractions. Although Hampton is located far upstream from the Bay of Fundy, its high tides have some effect there nonetheless. The marshes flood every spring during the run-off, and then the water levels vary during the course of the year, offering a constantly changing landscape for different animals, birds and fish. In late years, the marshes have suffered from an invasion of Purple Loosestrife.
The town of Hampton is the birthplace of: John Peters Humphrey, (one of the drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights); artist and sculptor John Hooper; MLA Bev Harrison; Colin Jardine, bassist for folk punk band, Sleepy PUNK; NHL referee Tim Peel; singer/songwriter Jessica Rhaye; journalist/New Brunswick author Dorothy Dearborn; and journalist/New Brunswick author Stuart D. Trueman.
Steve Fossett once made a crash landing outside Hampton, in an aborted attempt to be the first balloonist to fly solo non-stop around the world. The Solo Challenger departed Stratobowl, South Dakota, on January 8, 1996. Fossett called it "the most embarrassing day of my life," but a woman from the town thought otherwise. Forcing her way through the crowd that gathered, she offered him a miniature Canadian flag. "Welcome to Canada," she said. Fossett sighed wearily and thanked her.
Hampton is administered by an elected mayor and town council. For the term May 2008 to May 2012, the council consists of:[8]
Mayor: Robert "Dewey" Doucet;
Deputy Mayor: Jeremy Salgado;
Councillors: Ken Chorley, Todd Beach and Kim Tompkins
Gary Crossman (PC) represents Hampton in the provincial legislature.
Hampton New Brunswick has four different schools: Dr. A.T. Leatherbarrow Primary School, Hampton Elementary School, Hampton Middle School, and Hampton High School. Their High School is represented by a variety of athletic teams including basketball, soccer, golf, football, hockey, and track and field. Their athletic mascot is Frostbite.
The community obtained rail service in 1859 with the opening of the European and North American Railway to Saint John, connecting to Moncton in 1860. Passenger service continued until 1994. The tracks are still in use for freight, as Canadian National Railways operate them as a secondary mainline. There was also rail service to St. Martins in the late nineteenth century on the Hampton and St. Martins Railway.[9]
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Hampton had a population of 4,395 living in 1,740 of its 1,804 total private dwellings, a change of 2.5% from its 2016 population of 4,289. With a land area of 20.97 km2 (8.10 sq mi), it had a population density of 209.6/km2 (542.8/sq mi) in 2021.[1]
Athletics
Like a lot of other towns and cities in New Brunswick, Hampton has a lot of youth athletic and other athletic organizations and teams to offer. Three of the four schools in Hampton also offers organized school teams in a bunch of different sports. Hampton Elementary School, Hampton Middle School, and Hampton High School are the three schools in Hampton to have such teams.
The only sport that Hampton Elementary School[10] has to offer in terms of organized sports is track and field. The school gets students from their fifth grade classes who are interested in participating to go to Sussex Elementary School to compete against other elementary schools in the area. This event typically takes place in the month of June. The school's team name is the Hampton Hawks.
Hampton Middle School[11] has a lot of teams to participate in Anglophone School District South competitions against other middle schools. The sports that they have to offer are basketball, badminton, volleyball, soccer, cross country, and track and field. Their school's team name is the Hampton Wildcats.
Hampton is home of the Hampton Bulldogs, which is the town's most popular sports team. The team plays hockey, and their home arena is the Hampton Community Centre.[14] They play in the New Brunswick Central Midget Hockey League.[15]
2.5%
