THE TOWN OF NORTH HAMPTON
"Voted, That there be a Line settled, viz: Beginning at a large Rock in the Highway that leads from Portsmouth to Hampton over North Hill, Between the dwelling houses of Caleb Marston & Joseph Tole jun, & is the first great Rock in the Highway to the Southward of ye widow Levitt's dwelling house & from sd Great Rock to run on a Strait line to the sea at the mouth of ye little River where it now Empties itself into the Sea & yn to begin at the aforesaid great Rock & from thence to run on a strait Line to the lower Bounds Between Stratham & Exeter as Hampton line, that the Estates in the old Parish that belongs to the Poles in ye North Parrish shall pay Rates to the anew Parrish and the Estates belonging to the Poles of e old P'ish that lies in ye North P'ish shall pay Rates to ye old P'ish, and where ever the owner of the land lives there he & his Estate shall pay notwithstanding ye Line settled, & if any stranger purchase the Land in either of the P'ishes he shall pay where the Land lies. It always intended yt every p'son in each P'ish pay the grant to Mrs. Dorothy [Gookin] as usual by ye whole Town, & yt ye Rates for ye present yeare be pd as they are ready made, & yt ye selectmen in each P'ish join in making Pro: Rates as also ye both P'ishes joyn in choice of the present till further order."
Complications resulting in lawsuits grew out of these conditions in later years.
Hampton had now yielded from her territory three townships and part of a fourth, and had shrunk to essentially her present proportions; -- Kingston, including also East Kingston, Hawke (now Danville) and Sandown, [Only a small part of Sandown, however.] in 1694; Hampton Falls, including Kensington and part of Seabrook, in 1718; a large tract annexed to Rye, in 1730, and North Hampton, in 1742.
What wonder that the old town sometimes parted reluctantly with her people and her lands! There is a pathos in this rending of ties, scarcely understood by us, who have passed beyond the period of royal edict and savage onslaught and the hard toil of pioneer life. But hearts beat warmly between town and town, and many a lover crossed the boundaries for his bride. Solidly those sturdy men and women stood against common dangers and hardships, and worthily they strove to plant the seeds of our prosperity.