Town file
Hampton, New Hampshire
Hampton, New Hampshire (Rockingham County, New Hampshire) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 203, "Love Thy Neighbor" (24 December 2020). Hampton, New Hampshire, lies in the south-east corner of the state, about fifty minutes from Boston and thirty-five from Manchester, with a population of just over fifteen thousand and a reputation as a quiet beach town.
- Town
- Hampton
- County
- Rockingham County
- State
- New Hampshire
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 203
- Approximate location
- 42.944, -70.825
Episode 203 / 24 December 2020 / 135 min / full
Love Thy Neighbor
""We're going to Hampton, New Hampshire... it's in the southeast corner of the state"; "this is in Rockingham County"" about 0:05:14
The case: Murder of Robert Cushing Sr. (June 1, 1988). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2020
- Population
- 15,322
- Median age
- 50.4
- Median household income
- $78,706
- Median home value
- $373,900
- Two-bedroom rent
- about $1,870 a month
- Cost of living
- 121
- Religious
- 39%
- Property crime
- ▼ about one third
- Violent crime
- ▲ a little bit over half
History, in brief
- First called the plantation of Winnacunnet, a name so awkward the hosts joke about it. about 0:07:24
- Hampton was one of the four original New Hampshire towns chartered by the General Court of Massachusetts. about 0:07:59
- Winnacunnet is an Algonquin Abenaki word meaning pleasant pines, and is the name of the town's high school. about 0:08:32
- Settled in 1638 by a group of parishioners led by Oxford University graduate Reverend Stephen Bachiler, who had preached in Hampton, England. about 0:09:18
- Incorporated in 1639. about 0:09:32
- In 1679 Bachiler's son-in-law Christopher Hussey was appointed by King Charles II to govern the province of New Hampshire. about 0:09:48
- A railroad was built in 1850, followed by trolley lines with Exeter, which helped the ocean front become a popular resort for people from Boston. about 0:10:02
- It remains a tourist destination. about 0:10:16
- The population stayed around 1,200 for about a hundred years, until the mid 1900s. about 0:14:52
- Wrestling referee Bill Alfonso, of ECW, is from Hampton. about 0:10:34
The reviews read out
3 stars
"Nice in winter, especially inland or near North Beach, but tourists from Massachusetts destroy the quality of life all summer; the beach is overrated, trashy, crowded and noisy, with young men cruising and blasting rap music."about 0:11:06
3 stars
"Quiet for the most part, though busy in summer because of the long beach; would like to see more diversity and a more robust nightlife."about 0:12:45
3 stars
"Great local food places, beautiful scenery, lots of recreational places, fields, safe neighbourhoods, good schools and a fun place in summer."about 0:13:17
3 stars
"It does not seem to be very prevalent around here, with no punctuation and no explanation of what is meant."about 0:14:02
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Kittery, Maine11 miles
- Epping, New Hampshire15 miles
- Fremont, New Hampshire15 miles
- Dover, New Hampshire17 miles
- Salem, New Hampshire23 miles
- Wenham, Massachusetts24 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.