Kensington, New Hampshire Facts for Kids

Kensington is a charming town located in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, in the United States. In 2020, about 2,095 people called Kensington home.

A Glimpse into Kensington's Past
Exploring Kensington's Geography
- Hills and Waterways
- Neighboring Towns
Kensington's Population Story
Interesting People from Kensington
Places to Visit in Kensington
See also

A Glimpse into Kensington's Past

Kensington used to be a part of a larger town called Hampton. In 1737, it officially became its own town. This process is called being "incorporated."

The New Hampshire governor at the time, Jonathan Belcher, helped make this happen. He created 27 new towns, but only three were given special names. Kensington was one of them. It was named after Baron Kensington, who owned the famous Kensington Palace in London, England.

Exploring Kensington's Geography

Kensington covers an area of about 31 square kilometers (12 square miles). Only a tiny part of this, about 0.04 square kilometers, is water. This means most of the town is land!

Hills and Waterways

Kensington is known for its 16 named hills. These hills were formed by glaciers long ago and are called drumlins. The tallest hill, Indian Ground Hill, is about 93 meters (305 feet) above sea level. You can find it on the border with South Hampton.

Most of Kensington's water flows into the Piscataqua River. This happens through the Exeter River. A small part of the town's water goes to Hampton Harbor. This water travels through the Taylor and Hampton Falls rivers. The southwest corner of town drains into the Merrimack River.

Neighboring Towns

Kensington shares its borders with several other towns:

Exeter to the north
Hampton Falls to the east
Seabrook to the southeast
South Hampton to the south
East Kingston to the west

Kensington's Population Story

The number of people living in Kensington has changed over many years. Here's a look at how the population has grown and changed:

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1790	800	—
1800	776	−3.0%
1810	781	0.6%
1820	709	−9.2%
1830	717	1.1%
1840	647	−9.8%
1850	700	8.2%
1860	672	−4.0%
1870	642	−4.5%
1880	614	−4.4%
1890	547	−10.9%
1900	524	−4.2%
1910	417	−20.4%
1920	383	−8.2%
1930	438	14.4%
1940	458	4.6%
1950	542	18.3%
1960	708	30.6%
1970	1,044	47.5%
1980	1,322	26.6%
1990	1,631	23.4%
2000	1,893	16.1%
2010	2,124	12.2%
2020	2,095	−1.4%
U.S. Decennial Census

In 2000, there were 1,893 people living in Kensington. There were 657 households, which are groups of people living together. Most of these (72.9%) were married couples. About 40.3% of households had children under 18.

The average age in Kensington in 2000 was 39 years old. About 27.8% of the population was under 18. The town's population was mostly White (98.31%).

Interesting People from Kensington

Some notable people have connections to Kensington:

Dan Dailey (born 1947), a talented artist who works with glass.
Hideaki Miyamura (born 1955), a skilled studio potter.
Roland D. Sawyer (1874–1979), a Christian Socialist minister and state legislator.

Places to Visit in Kensington

Kensington Town House

Kensington has four important buildings on Amesbury Road (New Hampshire Route 150). These buildings are so special that they are listed on the National Register of Historic Places:

Kensington Social Library
Kensington Town House
North School, also known as the Brick School
Union Meetinghouse-Universalist Church

Kensington, New Hampshire facts for kids

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