Kingston, Rhode Island

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Kingston, Rhode Island
settlement_type = Unincorporated community
nickname =
motto =

imagesize =
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pushpin_label_position =left
pushpin_map_caption =Location within the state of Rhode Island
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Rhode Island
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Washington

government_footnotes =
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established_date =

unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =

area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 4.1
area_land_km2 = 4.1
area_water_km2 = 0.0
area_total_sq_mi = 1.6
area_land_sq_mi = 1.6
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 5446
population_density_km2 = 1341.6
population_density_sq_mi = 3474.6

timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 75
elevation_ft = 246
latd = 41 |latm = 28 |lats = 46 |latNS = N
longd = 71 |longm = 31 |longs = 31 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 02881
area_code = 401
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 44-38980GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 1217812GR|3
website =
footnotes = Infobox_nrhp | name =Kingston Village Historic District
nrhp_type = hd


caption =
location= Kingston, Rhode Island
locmapin = Rhode Island
area =
architect= Unknown
architecture= Greek Revival, Late Victorian, Federal
added = May 01, 1974
governing_body = Local
refnum=74000011cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

Kingston is an unincorporated village and national historic district in the town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island in the United States. The area known as Kingston is about 1.6 square miles in size, with a population of slightly over 5,000 (as of 2002). Kingston sits at 252 feet above sea level at Latitude: 41.48 N, Longitude: 71.53 W.

Kingston is the home of the University of Rhode Island and the Kingston Azalea Gardens. West Kingston is located on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor with the historic 120 year old Kingston Station.

The village was originally called Little Rest, but was renamed Kingston in 1826. It was the county seat for Washington County (formerly Kings County) from 1752 until 1894.

Kingston has the distinction of having youngest average age (19 years old) of any census designated place over 5000 residents that is not a Jewish Hasidim settlement. Kiryas Joel, a village in Orange County, New York and Monsey, a hamlet in Rockland County, New York have lower average ages. However, unlike Kingston these places have a low average due to the fact that they are largely communities of devout Hasidim, believing in large families and more traditional roles of women in society. The extremely low average age in Kingston is not readily explained and is not typical of other similar college towns.

Kingston's architecture (Federal, Greek Revival, Late Victorian) recalls its heyday as the county seat. Several of Kingston's historic buildings have been converted to new uses. The Kingston Free Library was once the county court house; the Rhode Island General Assembly met there in (alternating with the county seats in Newport and Providence) from 1754 until 1852. At the Little Rest court house in March 1790, Rhode Islanders (led by the Country Party) rejected voting on the U.S. Constitution, only to ratify it by a narrowest margin of any of the original 13 states (34-32) at a convention in Newport three months later. The Pettaquamscutt Historical Society, founded in 1958, is in the former county jail. Other historic buildings in the village are open to the public. South Kingstown established the Kingston Historic District in 1959, and much of Kingston village became a National Register Historic District in 1974.

The University of Rhode Island was established at Kingston in 1889 as the Rhode Island Agricultural College, by funding from The Hatch Act of 1887. The Agricultural School became Rhode Island College in 1909 and the University of Rhode Island in 1953.

Nearest other populated areas

* Wakefield, Rhode Island (3 miles)
* Peace Dale, Rhode Island (3 miles)
* Narragansett, Rhode Island (5 miles)
* Hope Valley, Rhode Island (13 miles)
* Newport, Rhode Island (14 miles)

Large businesses in Kingston

* American Power Conversion

chools and universities in Kingston

* The University of Rhode Island
* West Kingston Elementary

Points of interest

* Dr. Everett Christopher Memorial Arboretum
* URI Botanical Gardens
* Pettaquamscutt Historical Society
* Tavern Hall Preservation Society/Elisha Reynolds House(1738)
* Kingston (Amtrak station)

External links

* [http://envstudies.brown.edu/thesis/2001/james/sources.html Cultural Resource Inventory for South Kingstown, RI]
* [http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/RI/Washington/districts.html National Register of Historical Places - Historic Districts for Washington County Rhode Island]
* [http://www.freewebs.com/pettaquamscutt/ Pettaquamscutt Historical Society] (Historical society for the town of South Kingstown)
* [http://www.pettaquamscutt.org/index.htm]

References

*"Lost South Kingstown : with a history of ten of its early villages" by Kathleen Bossy and Mary Keane. Kingston, R.I. : Pettaquamscutt Historical Society, c. 2004
*"A History of Kingston, R.I. 1700 – 1900: Heart of Rural South County" by Christian M. McBurney. Kingston, R.I. : The Pettaquamscutt Historical Society, c. 2004