It was incorporated on February 24, 1794, and named after the English patriot John Hampden.

[6] During the War of 1812, on September 3, 1814, about 400 local militia under the command of Brigadier General John Blake of nearby Brewer attempted to hold off a superior force of British regulars at Hampden.

The Americans suffered one fatality with eleven wounded, and the British lost two (one an officer) but unfortunately a civilian spectator was also killed.

The British fleet, which under command of Sir John Coape Sherbrooke (then lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia) had recently captured Castine, looted Hampden and nearby Bangor.

They were trying to capture the USS Adams, a frigate with 750 men which had fled up the Penobscot River and anchored at Hampden.

The crew of the Adams, under Captain Charles Morris, burned the ship to prevent her capture and subsequently escaped overland.

[7] General Blake and two other officers, Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Grant of Hampden and Major Joshua Chamberlain of Brewer (grandfather of Civil War general Joshua L. Chamberlain), were court-martialed in Bangor in 1816 for their part in the defeat.

21.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

In 2019, Hampden was ranked the second safest city in Maine based on 2017 data.