Editing Hampton Falls, New Hampshire (section)

==History==

Archaeological excavations have confirmed that what is now Hampton Falls has been occupied by humans for roughly 10,000 years.  The first settlers were [[indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands]].<ref name="Indigenous Cultural Heritage in New Hampshire">{{cite web |title=Indigenous Cultural Heritage in New Hampshire |url=https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/dff92ba07bac49af84f455f3ddac3ce6 |publisher=Indigenous New Hampshire Collaborative Collective via ArcGIS |access-date=February 16, 2023}}</ref>

[[Image:Hampton Falls old map.gif|thumb|left|A map of the center of what is now Hampton Falls in 1638]]
The land of Hampton Falls was first settled by [[European ethnic groups|European]]s in 1638, the same time as [[Hampton, New Hampshire|Hampton]], of which it was then a part. The settlement of Hampton joined [[Norfolk County, Massachusetts Colony]], in 1643, along with [[Exeter, New Hampshire|Exeter]], [[Dover, New Hampshire|Dover]], [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire|Portsmouth]], [[Salisbury, Massachusetts|Salisbury]] and [[Haverhill, Massachusetts|Haverhill]]. The county existed until 1679, when the modern-day [[New Hampshire]] towns separated from the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]].<ref name=Coolidge>{{Cite book| last = Coolidge| first = Austin J.| author2=John B. Mansfield| title = A History and Description of New England| publisher = A.J. Coolidge| year = 1859| location = Boston, Massachusetts| page = [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ/page/n555 515]| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.}}</ref>

Records indicate a building that became a church may have existed near where the Weare Monument now is in 1665, but when it was first built is unknown. It was not until 1709 that the town was officially established as the Third Parish of [[Hampton, New Hampshire|Hampton]]. The Third Parish originally consisted of all land south of the [[Taylor River (New Hampshire)|Taylor River]] and north of the New Hampshire/[[Massachusetts]] border, or the modern-day towns of [[Seabrook, New Hampshire|Seabrook]], [[Kensington, New Hampshire|Kensington]], and Hampton Falls.

A meeting house was built shortly after, and Thomas Crosby became the town's minister for the church. Forty-nine members of the Hampton Church were dismissed late in 1711 (see https://history.lanememoriallibrary.org/hampton/biog/bachilermarston.htm), only to become members of the new church in the Third Parish. Parish officers and a representative were chosen in 1718. The first [[town meeting]] was held and town records began that year also. The {{convert|7400|acre|km2|adj=on}} town received its grant as an independent town with the name "Hampton falls" in 1726, but was still referred to as a parish until the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]]. Those who did use its actual name in writing spelled it with a lowercase f until around the same time.<ref name="Hist. of Hampton Falls I">{{cite book|last=Brown|first=Warren|year=1900|title=History of Hampton Falls Vol. I|publisher=John E. Clarke Co.|location=Manchester, New Hampshire}}</ref>

An attempt was made in 1732 to separate the western portion of Hampton Falls and make it a parish of [[Kingston, New Hampshire|Kingston]]. The proposal failed in a way, yet succeeded in another; the land was separated, but it did not become part of Kingston—in 1737 it became a town of its own, Kensington.<ref name="Hist. of Hampton Falls II">{{cite book |last=Brown |first=Warren |year=1918 |title=History of Hampton Falls Vol. II |publisher=Rumford Press |location=Concord, New Hampshire}}</ref>

A disease known as the "Throat Distemper" (now thought to have been a malignant form of [[diphtheria]]) infected the town with its symptoms in 1735 and 1736. 214 people of Hampton Falls perished, 96 of them being under the age of ten. Only two homes in town were throat distemper free. It passed through the town again in 1754, with far fewer casualties, but still many.<ref name="Hist. of Hampton Falls I"/>

[[File:John Hall, Hampton Falls, N.H, by Hobbs, W. N. (William N.), 1830-1881.jpg|thumb|left|Town Hall, completed in 1877, designed by Portsmouth architect Isaiah Wilson]]

Seventy-two people wanted Hampton Falls (which then included Seabrook and Kensington) to become a part of Massachusetts in 1739, including Meshech Weare, but the proposal failed in the end. In 1765, the [[Presbyterian]]s of the town wanted to form a new parish in the southern portion of the town, where a church of their religion existed. A town meeting was held on December 30 when the rest of the villagers learned of the Presbyterians' plans, and it was decided that the town would be separated into two. The new parish was formed in 1768, and became incorporated under the name [[Seabrook, New Hampshire|Seabrook]] shortly after. Hampton Falls was considered one of the leading manufacturing towns in the entire state of New Hampshire around the time of 1770.<ref name="Hist. of Hampton Falls I"/>

A plan to unite Seabrook and portions of Hampton Falls was proposed in 1782. The town would have been called "New Hampton Falls", but Hampton Falls was successful in making the proposal fail. In 1835, the town of Hampton Falls had a new meeting-house erected. Where in town it existed is unknown.<ref name="Hist. of Hampton Falls I"/>

[[File:Fidelity Jumper Classic.jpg|thumb|left|2008 Fidelity Jumper Classic, held at the Silver Oak Equestrian Center]]

On the night between October 29 and 30 in 1827, an [[earthquake]] struck the small town. A flash of light from a fault in the southern region of the town occurred, with violent trembling shortly following. It caused at least three chimneys to collapse partially or completely, with several others cracked. A more severe earthquake had struck Hampton Falls on November 18, 1755.<ref name="Hist. of Hampton Falls I"/>

On May 21, 2006, an F2<ref name="wunderground">{{Cite web|url=https://www.wunderground.com/?cm_ven=cgi|title=Local Weather Forecast, News and Conditions &#124; Weather Underground|website=www.wunderground.com}}</ref> tornado formed in the town at around 6:30&nbsp;p.m. EST.<ref name="spc">{{Cite web |url=https://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/060521_rpts.html |title=Storm Prediction Center Storm Reports Page |first=Storm Prediction |last=Center |website=www.spc.noaa.gov |accessdate=July 18, 2021}}</ref> It was near [[Interstate 95 in New Hampshire|Interstate 95]] where it overturned a truck, leaving two injured men and a kayak in a tree.<ref name="ncdc">{{Cite web |url=http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~ShowEvent~623895 |title=NCDC: Event Details |access-date=September 27, 2006 |archive-date=November 15, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061115053040/http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~ShowEvent~623895 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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