Maliseets are the first recorded people who lived, hunted and fished in this area. Their language gives us the words Ossekeag, meaning ‘marshy brook’, and Kennebecasis, meaning ‘little snake’.
Acadians arrived in the early 1600s. They lived in peace with the aboriginal people, trading European goods for furs and sharing their knowledge of food and medicine.
When the Loyalists arrived in 1783, they took up land cultivated by the Acadians along the Kennebecasis. Spooner Island was part of a Loyalist land grant in 1784.

In winter, Ossekeag Creek came alive with horse racing, curling competitions, and skating to live music. During WW2, Hampton residents had a community garden on Spooner Island.

The last family on the island was the Spooner family. Clarence Spooner published the King’s County Record. The last residents left in 1987.

The island was purchased by the Rotary Club of Hampton and turned into a nature park. The Town of Hampton purchased the park from the Rotary Club. Today, the trails through the park are part of Hampton’s portion of the Great Trail. The island also features a gazebo which is a great spot for capture wildlife photography from the adjacent marsh.

The marsh at Spooner Island is called Ossekeag Creek. It is part of an extensive wetland complex stretching from Perry Point and the Hammond River to Bloomfield, an area of approximately 2000 hectares located within the tributaries and backwaters of the Kennebecasis River. Ossekeag water levels are influenced by tides from the Bay of Fundy, flowing up the Kennebecasis and Hammond Rivers.