Hampton (New Brunswick)

Hampton is a Canadian town in Kings County, New Brunswick.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 and 1965 and is today a service centre for the central Kennebecasis River valley, as well as being a suburb of Saint John.HistoryThe town was first settled by United Empire Loyalists in 1783. 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.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.Notable peopleThe town of Hampton is the birthplace of John Peters Humphrey, (one of the drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights), home of the late artist and sculptor John Hooper, MLA Bev Harrison, NHL referee Tim Peel, East Coast Music Association 2007, 2008 & 2009 nominee - singer/songwriter Jessica Rhaye, journalist/New Brunswick author Dorothy Dearborn, and journalist/New Brunswick author Stuart D. Trueman.