History is a vast tapestry upon which the hopes and aspirations of past generations is spread for their inheritors to view and consider while planning for their own dreams of a better tomorrow. This is in no way a complete time line of all the major events that have affected the world or the Seacoast over the past thousand years, but rather it is a brief look at a handful of the high points which directly or indirectly have impacted all of those who call the coast of New Hampshire our home.

• 1000-1010- Period associated with Leif Ericson's voyages to the new world. While evidence about these voyages is scanty, there are some who believe he landed in the Hampton area, where stones with Norse runes have been found.
• 1000-1600- Nomadic Native Americans called the New England region their home. Shell piles and human remains found at the Seabrook Nuclear Plant prior to its construction indicate that even back then Hampton Beach was a major attraction. Towards the end of this period, European Fishermen may have been fishing these waters using the Isles of Shoales as a temporary basecamp.
• 1450- Johannes Guttenberg devises a printing press with movable type.
• 1492- Columbus "Discovers" the "New World".
• 1519-1522- The globe is circumnavigated for the first time by Ferdinand Magellan's crew.

• 1607- Jamestown Virginia founded.
• 1614- Captain John Smith explores the Seacoast, sights a group of islands and named them "Smith's Isles". The name does not stick, and the islands come to be called the Isles of Shoales , in reference to the huge schools or 'shoales' of fish caught there. By the 1800's, the islands become a major center for fishing and fish processing, literally setting the prices of fish in Europe.
• 1620- Pilgrims land at Plymouth.
• 1623- The first settlement in New Hampshire, Pannaway Plantation is established by Captain John Mason (an absentee landlord) at Odiorne Point in Rye. It is later abandoned for the better site of Strawberry Bank (Portsmouth). Dover is established this same year as well.
• 1635- Captain John Mason dies, and the fledgling colony falls into disarray. Many records from this period are lost in a scramble by the tenants to seize his property.
• 1638- Hampton is founded by Puritans from Mass
• 1638- The First Congregational Church is founded by Hampton's original settlers. The congregation eventually becomes the oldest continuous fellowship in North America They build their sixth (and present) church building in 1844.
• 1640- the four towns comprising New Hampshire- Exeter, Hampton, Northam (Dover) and Strawberry Banke (Portsmouth) agree to come under the control of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
• 1649- The first public school in New Hampshire was opened in Hampton at the site of today's Centre School A historic marker commemorates this event.
• 1652- Strawberry Banke renamed Portsmouth.
• 1656- Goody Cole of Hampton is the only person convicted of witchcraft in New Hampshire. She spends much of her life in prison in Boston before returning to Hampton where she dies in 1680.
• 1657- Bound Rock , in the middle of Hampton River is used to mark the boundary between Hampton and Salisbury The rock was eventually lost due to the shifting of the river until 1937.
• 1675-1676- King Philip's War.
• 1679- King Charles II separates New Hampshire from Massachusetts, partly due to their support for Cromwell, and partly at the request of Robert Tufton Mason, a relative of Captain John Mason who was determined to win back his relative's property- namely, the Colony of New Hampshire. John Cutts was named President of a Council (Which included Robert Tufton Mason) to oversee the Colony. Unfortunately, Mr. Cutts fell ill during a stormy session, leading to New Hampshire's first Fast Day , where people were asked to pray for the ailing official. Unfortunately, he dies anyway, but the holiday is celebrated on into the late 1990s.
• 1681- Robert Tufton Mason returns with Lt. Governor Edward Cranfield. With the aid of Walter Barefoot and James Sherlock, they start a reign of evictions, unjust imprisonment and seizure of property as they try to reclaim Mason's lands.
• 1682- Edward Gove , a delegate of Hampton to the Colony's Assembly attempted to raise a rebellion against Robert Tufton Mason and his associates. Ninety years too early, he was arrested, convicted in a mock trial, and sent to the Tower of London until his release in 1686, by which time his property (located in Seabrook) had been confiscated. Robert Tufton Mason eventually quits the colony and returns to England. He dies in 1688.
• 1689-1698- King William's War . This was the first in a series of wars which culminated in the French and Indian War in 1754 where the French were ejected from North America, and England gained domination of the seas for over a hundred years.
• 1690s- The first Naval vessels are built in Portsmouth for the British Navy at Badger's Island.- the Falkland and Bedford Galley .
• 1693- Newcastle is the first town to split away from its parent township- in this case, Portsmouth. Other towns would follow as the far-flung communities grew large enough to support a church, and then town government.
• 1694- Kingston (including modern East Kingston, Danville, and Sandown) breaks away from Hampton to form a town.

• 1702-1713- Queen Anne's War
• 1710- The Nottingham Galley is wrecked on Boone Island, Maine, stranding survivors for 24 days without food or shelter.
• 1713 -A public house (hotel/tavern) named Leavitt's Tavern opens in Hampton It operates under a variety of names, becoming Hampton's top hotel and restaurant until fire claimed it in 1916 when it was known as the Hotel Whittier.
• 1718- Hampton Falls (including parts of Kensington and Seabrook) breaks away from Hampton and becomes a town.
• 1719- North Hill begins a petition to form its own parish and town.
• 1719- The first potatoes are planted in the United States in Derry, NH.
• 1720-1725- The period in which the James House in Hampton was built.
• 1722-1725 - Lovewell's War
• 1729- (October 29) A severe earthquake hits the region, causing sailors in Portsmouth to believe their ships have gone adrift, and scaring the population in general.
• 1730- A tract of land is given over to Rye by Hampton.
• 1749- The America is launched- the third vessel built for the Royal Navy. A model of it may be seen at the Portsmouth Atheneum.
• 1740- Mitchell's Line defines the boundary between New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
• 1741- Benning Wentworth named Royal Governor of New Hampshire. During his yet unequaled 25 year reign, he secures New Hampshire's borders, divides the colony into five counties (named after friends in England) and establishes over fifty percent of New Hampshire's 240 towns which exist today, among other things.
• 1742- North Hampton (previously known as North Hill) breaks away from Hampton and becomes a town. Hampton's borders take on their present form.
• 1744-1749 - King George's War
• 1746- The Mason claims are sold for 1,500 pounds to twelve New Hampshire men, bringing an end to the issue of who owned the lands of New Hampshire.
• 1754-1763 - The French and Indian War
• 1755- A large earthquake strikes the region.
• 1761- The first Boston to Portsmouth stage begins.
• 1766- John Wentworth , Benning's Nephew takes over as the last Royal Governor of New Hampshire.
• 1767- Royal Governor John Wentworth builds the first summer resort in America at Wolfeboro, NH.
• 1768- Seabrook becomes a town.
• 1769- Dartmouth College is founded
• 1774- In the first overt act of the Revolutionary war, Portsmouth patriots warned by Paul Revere seize Fort William and Mary (later Fort Constitution) and take gunpowder and arms from the British.
• 1774- New Hampshire is the first state to declare itself independent of England's rule.
• 1774-1783- The American Revolution. Gunpowder seized at Fort William and Mary in Newcastle sees use at the Battle of Bunker Hill. While New Hampshire was blockaded by the British, no battles take place on the state's soil. The state's capital moves from Portsmouth to the relative safety of Exeter. Portsmouth provides Privateers and the John Paul Jones' Ranger to harass the British on the high seas.
• 1776- New Hampshire is the first state to adopt a Revolutionary Constitution.
• 1780- (May 19) A period of near-total darkness descended upon much of New England for one day. The cause has never been discovered.
• 1783- In France, the Montgolfier brothers are the first men to fly in a hot air balloon.
• 1787-88 The United States Constitution is written; New Hampshire is the ninth state to ratify it, establishing the two-thirds majority of states required to make it the law of the land. George Washington becomes the country's first President.
• 1789- President George Washington visits New Hampshire.
• 1791- Vermont becomes the 14th state.
• 1797- The Congregational Society in Hampton builds their fifth church, which would become Hampton's town offices in 1844.

• 1810- The original Hampton Academy opens.
• 1810- Hampton's "Turnpike" road is built across the marsh, leading to the construction of the "Shunpike" a bridge built over the Taylor river where people could cross without paying the "Turnpike" toll.
• 1812-1814- The War of 1812 Aside from a small skirmish in Rye as a blockade runner slipped by the British, New Hampshire avoids the war, supplying ships for the Navy and Privateers to harass the British.
• 1815- The present 'Old Grist Mill' is built on the site of the original (constructed originally in 1686)
• 1819- New Hampshire passes the Toleration Act, which allows people to decline paying a tax to support a town minister.
• 1820 - First beach hotel opened at base of Great Boar's Head.
• 1826 - "Boar's Head Hotel" on Great Boar's Head, opened to public.
• 1826- Hampton's "Turnpike" stops charging tolls.
• 1832- The Republic of Indian Stream, a portion of Northern New Hampshire claimed by the United States and Canada, is formed.
• 1835- Morse introduces his code for the telegraph (named of course, Morse Code)
• 1836- First railway in New Hampshire runs from Manchester to Lowell, MA.
• 1936 - The Republic of Indian Stream joins New Hampshire and becomes part of Pittsburg NH.
• 1840- The Railroad pushes into the Seacoast starting in Seabrook. The long-term result of this results in the demise of coastal trade and the gundalow, a vessel unique to the region.
• 1842- The line marking the United States-Canadian border is officially defined by treaty. Aside from the ongoing dispute over who owns the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, New Hampshire's borders are as they appear today.
• 1844 - Original " Ocean House " of 250 rooms built on front, just north of Church Street.
• 1844- The present Congregational Churc h is erected in Hampton. Hampton takes over the old church as the town offices until 1949 when the structure is destroyed by fire.
• 1832-1851: The Seacoast attempts to join the whaling industry. Needless to say, high hopes are dashed due to the specialized nature of the industry, and a growing scarcity of whales.
• 1848 Rockingham Lodge No. 22 IOOF instituted at Hampton Falls, NH.
• 1848- The Appledore House Resort Hotel opens at the Isles of Shoales.
• 1851- The original Hampton Academy is destroyed by fire . A new building is erected the following year.
• 1852- Franklin Pierce is the first (and so far only) New Hampshire native elected to the office of President of the United States of America.
• 1853- Amos Tuck holds the first meeting of political factions which would unify into the Republican Party in Exeter, NH.
• 1858- The High Street Cemetery in Hampton is established.
• 1859- The first trans-Atlantic cable is laid, coming ashore in Rye. President Buchanan and Queen Victoria exchange greetings over it. However, the line goes dead within a short time.
• 1860-1865- The Civil War Period. New Hampshire's merchant fleet is either destroyed by Confederate Raiders or sold off to foreign interests to avoid destruction or high insurance rates; The USS Kearsarge , a Portsmouth-built warship defeats the infamous CSS Alabama off of the French Coast; Fortifications at Fort Constitution and Fort McClary are reinforced, but work stops as it becomes apparent that the Confederacy cannot mount a naval attack on Northern cities. Granite blocks can still still scattered about the incomplete fortifications.
• 1861- Celia Thaxter's first published poem "Landlocked" appears in Atlantic Monthly.
• 1863 - Frank Jones starts to brew his own ale in Portsmouth. Within forty years, he becomes the area's greatest industrialist, and the most noted of the eastern brewers.
• 1868- A shortage of ivory for use in billiard balls brings the introduction of celluloid, the world's first plastic. In addition to billiard balls, it would be used for photographic film in cameras, motion pictures, and a wide variety of toys, trinkets and other products.
• 1871- Hampton Beach emerges as a tourist destination.
• 1872- "East End School" and "Grammar School" built in village with appropriate ceremonies.
• 1873- Anethe and Karen Christensen are murdered on Smuttynose at the Isles of Shoales . The capture and trial of their murderer is a media sensation.
• 1873- The Hampton Grammar School opens. It is replaced in 1922 by the Centre School
• 1873- The Oceanic Hotel is opened at Star Island at the Isles of Shoales.
• 1874- The town of Gosport on Star Island at the Isles of Shoals holds its last town meeting.
• 1876- America celebrates its Centennial.
• 1876- Bell invents the telephone.
• 1879- Edison perfects the incandescent light bulb.
• 1880- The largest ale and porter cellars in the world are built for the Frank Jones Brewery. By this time, Frank Jones is one of the wealthiest (if not the wealthiest) man on the Seacoast.
• 1883 - Old wooden building moved from "Academy Green" on Park Avenue to Academy Avenue in just 17 minutes!
• 1884 - Perkins Post No. 78, G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) organized on May 12th.
• 1884 - Frank Jones forces the passage of "the valued policy" in New Hampshire whereby insurance companies have to pay the 'face' of the policy in case of total loss due to fire. Insurance companies depart the state. Frank Jones forms the Granite State Fire Insurance Co. to fill the vacancy.
• 1885 - Original "Hotel Whittier" built, junction of Winnacunnet Road and Lafayette Road.
• 1885 - "Ocean House" destroyed by fire on May 7th.
• 1888 - Winnacunnet Council No. 23, Jr. O.U.A.M. organized on May 16th.
• 1893- The Brown Memorial Library opens in Seabrook.
• 1895- The Boston & Maine Railway becomes a monopoly in New Hampshire.
• 1895- Marconi invents the wireless telegraph (radio)
• 1896 - Odd Fellows building dedicated on December 10th. (The building was gutted by fire on Jan. 27, 1990 and razed.)
• 1897 - Construction of Exeter & Hampton Street Railway begun with appropriate ceremonies on May 17th.
• 1897 - First trolley car ran in Hampton on July 1st.
• 1897 - Exeter & Hampton Street Railway completed to Highland Avenue at Hampton Beach on July 9th.
• 1897 - Ocean Side Grange #260 organized with 15 members present on October 2nd.
• 1897- The first religious conference is held at the Isles of Shoales. Out of this grew the Star Island Corporation (organized in 1915), which purchased the islands as a retreat for religious conferences, a practice which continues to this day.
• 1898-1899- The Spanish-American War. This brief conflict brings about some modernization of the forts surrounding Portsmouth .
• 1898 - Construction of Hampton Beach Life Saving (Coast Guard) Station began in July at North Beach. (First occupied on March 1, 1899.)
• 1898 - Town leases main beach to "Hampton Beach Improvement Company" for 99 years on April 7th.
• 1898 - Great Cyclone causes loss of life and property at beach on July 4.
• 1898 - "Hampton Beach Casino" built
• 1898 - An 8 inch battery is added at Fort Constitution ; the now abandoned bunkers are now fenced off and overgrown with weeds. A mine building, for mining the harbor in wartime is also installed.
• 1899 - Building began in early spring on the north half of " Hampton Beach Casino ".
• 1899 - Beach terminal of Exeter & Hampton Street Railway extended from Highland Avenue to Hampton Beach Casino.
• 1899 - Hampton & Amesbury Street Railway completed on May 12th.
• 1899- Hampton Union newspaper begins publishing on June 14
• 1899 - First electric car runs to Hampton Beach from Amesbury, Mass. via Hampton Village on July 4th.
• 1899 - North half of the Hampton Beach Casino completed on July 14th.
• 1899 - "Farmers' Day", heretofore held on "Boar's Head", moved to new Hampton Beach Casino on August 9th.
• 1899- The original Hampton Beach bandstand was constructed on the site of today's Seashell Stage.

• 1900- The first United States Navy Submarine enters service.
• 1901 - Construction of "Mile-Long Wooden Bridge" over Hampton River is started.
• 1901 - South half of "Hampton Beach Casino" and new "Ocean House" completed and opened to the public on July 1st.
• 1902 - Formal opening of the " Mile-Long Wooden Bridge " on May 14th (Reputed to be the longest wooden bridge in the world at the time, although it was 659 feet short of a measured mile!)
• 1902- Regular band concerts start taking place at Hampton Beach.
• 1903- The Wright Brothers are the first men to fly in a powered machine.
• 1904-1905- The Russo-Japanese War. This conflict comes to a close when President Theodore Roosevelt invited Russian and Japanese delegates to come to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to negotiate a peace settlement.
• 1906 - Portsmouth has three forts guarding the harbor- Fort Stark and Fort Constitution in Newcastle and the newer Fort Foster in Kittery.
• 1907 - Original carbarn on Exeter Road burned on March 1st. (All open cars lost to the flames.)
• 1907 - Hampton Beach Precinct is organized on June 26th.
• 1907- The Hampton Fire Department is organized.
• 1908 - "Exeter & Hampton Electric Company" is organized on April 1st.
• 1910- Lifesaving station (later US Coast Guard) is opened on Appledore. It closes in 1945.
• 1912- The Titanic sinks
• 1914: World War One breaks out in Europe. The resulting blockade on German ports cuts off the supply of German-printed penny post cards, and brings about the creation of the American card industry.
• 1914: The Appledore Hotel burns down. It is not rebuilt, as tourism has shifted away from the Isles of Shoales to other areas including Hampton Beach, which is easily accessible by trolley.
• 1915 - Start of first "Hampton Beach Carnival" on Labor Day. (First Aeroplane flight on the sands at Hampton Beach.)
• 1915- The Hampton and Hampton Beach Board of Trade (the forerunner of today's Hampton Beach Area Chamber of Commerce ) is established.
• 1915 - First great Conflagration (fire) at Hampton Beach on Sept. 23rd.
• 1916- Depot Square (renamed Marelli Square) is established in Downtown Hampton by the B&M Railroad
• 1917- New Hampshire goes 'dry' as Prohibition starts early in the state.
• 1917- Portsmouth Naval Shipyard sees the commissioning of it's first submarine, the L-8 .
• 1917- A fire alarm box system is installed at Hampton Beach to warn firefighters of any fires.
• 1917- The United States enters World War One on the side of the Allies.
• 1918- The Spanish Flu, spread by wartime mobilization, strikes one in every four Americans. Without antibiotics to counter it, the flu claims far more American lives than World War One fighting.
• 1918- The Frank Jones Brewery closes.
• 1918- World War One ends.
• 1920- Women granted the right to Vote
• 1920- Prohibition begins
• 1921 - Town of Hampton purchased the Exeter, Hampton & Amesbury Street Railway for $80,000. on February 1st.
• 1921 -" Hampton Centre School " on Winnacunnet Road built to replace "Grammar School", which was moved next to the Town Office Building to be used as Fire Station No. 2 and American Legion Post #35 Hall, and later as the Hampton District Court House, when the new up-town Fire Station was built in 1977.
• 1921 - Second great conflagration (fire) at Hampton Beach, NH on June 28th.
• 1922 - The first Hampton Beach Firehouse is erected. It burns down in 1923 and is quickly rebuilt.
• 1923 - "News Guide" first published.
• 1923 - "Dance Carnival" opened on site of old "Leavitt Hotel" at base of "Great Boar's Head".
• 1924- Hampton installs its first stoplights (Traffic beacons)
• 1925- The Hampton Historical Society and Tuck Memorial Museum are founded
• 1925- Founders Park in Hampton is founded, honoring the original settlers of the town.
• 1926- The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen is founded.
• 1926 - Graves & Ramsdell sold Casino holdings to Messrs. Cuddy, Demara, John & James Dineen, The Casino Associates.
• 1926 - Last regular trolley trip to Hampton Beach, NH on May 29th.
• 1926-27 The present "Casino Ballroom" is built during the winter.
• 1927- The John C. White Memorial Playground is dedicated at Hampton Beach.
• 1929 - The "Dance Carnival" destroyed by fire on Nov. 25th.
• 1929-1932 - Commander Charles B. Momsen works on ways to rescue men from sunken submarines.
• 1929 - Grange Hall (now American Legion Post #35 Hall) dedicated Sept. 23rd. (Building was original saw mill of S. W. Dearborn Lumber Company.)
• 1929: The Great Depression begins.
• 1933- Prohibition ends
• 1931- Lamie's Inn and Tavern opens for business in Hampton.
• 1934 - Sea Wall built at North Beach.
• 1934 - The comic strip "Lil Abner" debuts; it's creator Al Capp draws on the town of Seabrook for inspiration for the town of "Dogpatch" featured in the strip.
• 1936 - The United States Gold Reserve is moved to Fort Knox, Kentucky.
• 1936 - Floods devastate portions of New Hampshire
• 1937 - Hampton Beach State Park Bath House built at south end of beach.
• 1937 - Clock installed in Hampton Beach Casino.
• 1937- Bound Rock is rediscovered. It now serves as a boundary marker between Hampton and Seabrook.
• 1938 - Hampton celebrates its tercentenary.
• 1939- World War Two breaks out in Europe.
• 1939- The USS Squalus , a Portsmouth-built submarine sinks off the Isles of Shoales. 33 men are rescued thanks to a diving bell. The sub is later raised and brought back to Portsmouth for repairs. Memorial services for the 26 who were lost on the sub are held at Hampton Beach.
• 1939-40 - New brick Hampton Academy & High School built on Academy Avenue, graduating first class in June 1940, replacing old wooden Hampton Academy building.
• 1940 - New Hampton Academy and High School dedicated on June 8th.
• 1940 - Old Hampton Academy building auctioned off for $200. and razed for salvage in August.
• 1940 - The East End School House was auctioned off for $120 and razed several years later.
• 1940- Work begins at Fort Dearborn at Odiorne Point as World War Two approaches- the large 16 inch guns would be put into place and test fired just in time for the end of the war.
• 1941- The O-9, a World War One period submarine reactivated for training duty sinks off Portsmouth with the loss of all 33 crewmen. She is never raised, and is the only submarine lost off Portsmouth during World War Two.
• 1941- The United States enters World War Two. Portsmouth-built submarines cripple the Japanese war effort, sending thousands of tons of shipping to the bottom, much as the U-Boat did to the British in the Atlantic. The seaboard is blacked out to prevent U-Boats from attacking freighters or shore targets.
• 1945- World War Two ends with the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan.
• 1945- The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard receives surrendered U-Boats for inspection. These German submarines contribute greatly to future American submarines. All but the U-505 , which was seized during the war are either scrapped or sunk off the New Hampshire Seacoast.
• 1946- The Bikini Atom tests show how destructive an atomic bomb is- and provides the name for a revealing new swimsuit that begins to appear at beaches across the globe.
• 1947 - Sea Wall built at south end of Hampton Beach.
• 1949 - The Hampton Town Hall was destroyed in a predawn fire on March 19th. A temporary building was constructed around the Town vault and the "$80,000 trolley clock" was rescued and is still ticking in the Selectmen's Meeting Room. The 'temporary' offices are occupied until 1999.
• 1949 - The present steel bridge, named the "NEIL R. UNDERWOOD MEMORIAL BRIDGE" opened to the public on December 15th. He was the first beach resident killed in action in World War II. This bridge replaced the famous "Mile-Long Wooden Bridge" which was actually 659 feet short of a measured mile. It was reputed to be the longest wooden bridge in the world at the time.
• 1949 - Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church is founded in Hampton.
• 1950-1953: The Korean War
• 1951- Pease Air Force Base is established. One of the installation's chief features over the years is a runway long enough for the U.S. Space Shuttle to land on.
• 1952- The first time New Hampshire holds its First in the Nation Presidential Primary.
• 1953- The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard passes up the opportunity to build the world's first nuclear powered submarine in favor of focusing on the USS Albacore , an experimental submarine whose hull design would be the prototype for all future submarines built.
• 1955 - Sea Wall built south from Boar's Head.
• 1955- The Seabrook Elementary School is built to consolidate students attending smaller schools scattered about town.
• 1955- Hampton acquires Depot Square
• 1956- The Hampton Playhouse is acquired by Alfred Christie and John Vari, starting a real Hampton Beach tradition which continues to grow. The playhouse stage sees the debut of many future stars of television, stage and the movies.
• 1957- The Soviet Union launches the world's first satellite.
• 1957- The New Hampshire Marine Memorial is dedicated at Hampton Beach.
• 1957- The Adeline C. Marston Elementary School in Hampton opens.
• 1958 - New Winnacunnet High School dedicated on October 26th, graduating first class in June 1959. (Hampton Academy & High School then became Hampton Academy Junior High School .)
• 1960- Depot Square renamed Luigi Marelli Square, after a noted Downtown businessman.
• 1961- Fort Dearborn is sold to New Hampshire for use as a state park. Other forts along the Seacoast eventually follow, save for Fort Constitution, which, while open to the public, is retained as a Coast Guard Station.
• 1961- Commander Alan B. Shepard Jr. of East Derry is the first New Hampshire native to travel into space.
• 1962- Hampton Beach's old bandstand is razed to make way for the present Seashell Stage
• 1962- The Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink of nuclear war. The Russians back down, and more safeguards (such as a 'hotline' between Washington DC and Moscow) are put in place.
• 1963- The USS Thresher , a submarine built at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in 1961 is lost with all hands during tests off Cape Cod.
• 1963- President Kennedy is assassinated.
• 1963 - A "Time Capsule" from the Class of 1962 was placed behind a wall on the ground floor of the 1963 addition to the HAJH in February 1963 to be opened in 2062 AD.
• 1963- New Hampshire adopts the first legal lottery in the twentieth century in the United States.
• 1965- The United States enters the Vietnam War as a combatant. The conflict deeply divides the nation, leaving wounds which have yet to completely heal.
• 1966: The first Isles of Shoales Marine Lab class is held on Star Island.
• 1966- Noted cartoonist Al Capp attributes Seabrook as the model for his comic strip 'Lil Abner'.
• 1969: The first man walks on the moon.
• 1970- The first 'Earth Day' is held.
• 1970- Flagpoles are added to the New Hampshire Marine Memorial at Hampton Beach.
• 1971- The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard launches its last submarine, the USS Sand Lance .
• 1972- Plans to build the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant are announced on the eve of the Energy Crisis.
• 1973 - Atlantic News , the Independent Voice of the Seacoast hits the newsstands for the first time.
• 1973-1974- OPEC starts oil embargo, creating the worst Energy Crisis in the United States since World War Two. The crisis adds to the drive to build the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant, as well as investigating alternative forms of energy, and more efficient uses of energy.
• 1973- The United States pulls out of the Vietnam War.
• 1973- The Isles of Shoales Marine Lab moves to Appledore, where it is still held today.
• 1973- The first Hampton Playhouse Theatre Arts Workshop is held. The workshop is a program for young people ranging in age from 13 to 17 who want to find out more about every aspect of the theatre.
• 1972- Meldrim Thomson is elected Governor of New Hampshire. In addition to pushing for an oil refinery at the Isles of Shoales and becoming a major driving force for the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant, he institutes "The Pledge" - a promise to veto any proposed sales or income tax in the state. For a quarter of a century, any person running for governor has to take 'The Pledge" in order to win the race.
• 1974- Richard Nixon resigns as President as a result of Watergate.
• 1974- Aristotle Onassis' plans to build a huge oil refinery at the Isles of Shoales and in Newmarket is defeated by local citizens. As an indirect result, the governor is able to devote more energy towards the construction of the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant.
• 1975 - Another "Time Capsule" from the class of 1975 was placed behind a blackboard in Room #30 of the second addition of 1974-75. No further details available as of July 1, 1998.
• 1975 - The Vietnam era draws to a close as Saigon falls to North Vietnam.
• 1975 - VCRs are introduced in the United States.
• 1976 - America celebrates its Bicentennial
• 1976 - Construction of the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant begins. One of the largest of its kind planned in the United States, it becomes a target for antinuclear activists. It is also the last civilian nuclear power plant to be built in the 20th century. With the promise of 'cheap electricity' in the future, hundreds of homes on the Seacoast are built with electric heating. The promise though, does not come true.
• 1977- The United States agrees to turn control of the Panama Canal over to the country of Panama in 1999.
• 1977- Two thousand protesters sponsored by the Clamshell Alliance occupied the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant site, demanding that the project be abandoned. Some 1,400 of the protesters are arrested.
• 1977- Celia Thaxter's garden on Appledore at the Isles of Shoales is reconstructed.
• 1978- The Blizzard of 78 strikes, causing damage to the Seacoast.
• 1979- The Three Mile Island Nuclear Disaster heats up protests in Seabrook.
• 1981- Space Shuttle Columbia is launched.
• 1981- The first Personal Computers start to appear.
• 1982- The Vietnam Veterans War Memorial is dedicated in Washington DC
• 1982- The USS Portsmouth , a Los Angeles class submarine named after the city of Portsmouth NH is launched.
• 1982- The Bell Telephone company is declared a monopoly and is broken up.
• 1984- The USS Albacore returns to Portsmouth, where it is made into a museum.
• 1984 - The Macintosh Computer with its graphic interface is introduced.
• 1986 - The Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant starts operating at low power with only one reactor, not two as originally planned. The second reactor dome is left incomplete.
• 1986 - The United States Space Shuttle Challenger , carrying New Hampshire educator Christa McAuliffe and six astronauts explodes shortly after lift-off. The shuttles are grounded until 1988.
• 1987 - The Titanic is rediscovered by an underwater expedition charged with conducting a check up survey of the sunken submarine Thresher .
• 1988 - Pease Air Force Base closes down, and becomes the Pease Tradeport.
• 1990- The Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant starts operating at full power. Its operating license is set to expire in 2026.
• 1990-91- The Pamela Smart Case - A Winnacunnet Aide has two students kill her husband. The crime sends shockwaves across the Seacoast and brings a media circus to town.
• 1990-91- The Persian Gulf War
• 1991- Hurricane Bob visits New England. The Seacoast avoids the brunt of the storm.
• 1991- Hampton Beach holds its first Seafood Festival.
• 1992- The USS Hampton , a Los Angeles class submarine named after the city of Hampton NH is launched.
• 1995- The James House Association purchases the James House in Hampton and starts work restoring it.
• 1995-1996 - Hampton is rocked by scandal as the town manager, Hunter Reiseberg , is forced out of office.
• 1995-1996- North Hampton builds a bandstand on its town common; the resulting structure and summertime community programs inspire Hampton Falls and Hampton to consider building bandstands of their own.
• 1996- The Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant takes the lead among nuclear power plants in preparing for "Year 2000" bugs in its operating systems.
• 1996: The new Children's Playground at Hampton Beach is constructed; due to an unusually severe winter, work is held up, leading to criticism about the stone wall, whose flaws are eventually fixed.
• 1996- Seabrook Elementary School's latest addition is completed.
• 1996- A nor'easter strikes the Seacoast in October with record rains, causing extensive flooding.
• 1996-1997- The Winnacunnet Community Auditorium is completed.
• 1997- Marston School's addition is completed.
• 1998- Hampton's Centre School addition is approved
• 1998- The Hampton Playhouse is sold to the Irondale Trust
• 1998- Hampton Beach holds its first senior appreciation days.
• 1999- Hampton Beach is plagued by a series of unrelated fires which claim two beach landmarks.
• 1999- The USS Hampton pays a call to her namesake town.
  
• 1999- Hampton purchases and moves into the former Citizen's Bank Building, vacating the 'temporary' town offices in use since the 1949 fire.