Expect to find a sandy white beach, swimming pools, music venues, parks, bars, a  plethora of restaurants, a thriving nightlife scene and a seafood festival that  draws over 150,000 in the village district of Hampton Beach, New Hampshire.  

 The resort town of Hampton Beach is located on the Atlantic shoreline  approximately fifteen miles south of Portsmouth and less than two hours from  Boston. Hampton is on the Eastern spur of the Boston & Maine Railroad and was named one of the four “Superstar” beaches in the U.S. in 2011 after receiving perfect water quality testing  results in the past three years. This popular beach resort has drawn billions  of visitors over the last century and continues to be a popular destination for  New Englanders and Canadians alike.  

 Witches Here, Too

 In the early 1600s, Native Americans, primarily the Pennacooks, spent their  summers camping in the area now known as Hampton Beach. The tribe spent the  bulk of their time fishing and planting beans and corn in the rich, upland  meadows. After the harvest, as the winter set in, they moved inland and spent  their winters hunting. Numerous Pennacook relics and artifacts were later found  in the nearby Taylor River.  

 English Puritans began migrating in the area around 1638 led by Rev. Stephen  Bachiler, who named the area Hampton. The new settlers were drawn to the area  by the lush, salt meadows which were ideal conditions to raise cattle.  

 By 1647, more than 90% of the Pennacooks succumbed to Typhus and other unknown  diseases as their contact with the European colonists grew. Meanwhile Bachiler  was forced to leave Hampton due to unfounded charges of scandalous behavior but  he was later reinstated. To this day, descendants of the Rev. Bachiler remain  residents of Hampton Beach.