Oral History of Hampton and Hampton Beach

We want to offer on our website collections of oral histories about Hampton and Hampton Beach. But we need your help! If you have stories or recollections of the town or beach from many years ago, please write or send an email to webmaster(at)hampton.lib.nh.us and let us know. There are a lot of people in town with great stories about Hampton of the past. If these stories aren't saved somehow, they will eventually be lost.


We'll post these stories up on our website soon after we receive them. Give us a little biographical information about yourself in the process, or, if you'd like to remain anonymous, we can do that too.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Reminiscences by Enoch P. Young
Stories of life in Hampton in the mid-1800s, written around the turn of the century.
Old Hampton Tales of Sea and Shore
Reminiscences by Thomas Leavitt of life in Hampton in the mid-1800s.
Little Stories of Old New England
Stories of the olden days by William Dow Cram and William Everett Cram.
Reminiscences by Horace E. Hobbs and his cousin Stillman M. Hobbs
Dorothy D. Holman's Oral Histories
Elmer King recalls "awful arguments" at old-time Hampton Town Meetings
A 1975 Hampton Union article recalling Hampton government and police at the beginning of the 20th century.
The Night Hampton Depot Was Bombarded
Humorous tale of youthful hijinx by Dave Colt.
Early life experiences of Ernest L. White of Hampton
The Bridal Elm
An Accurate Tradition on the Site of the Bridal Elm
Two stories written by the Rev. Roland D. Sawyer in 1948 and 1949 on the origin of the place name "Bride Hill" and the true location of the old "Bridal elm"