Kingston, New Hampshire
Encyclopedia
Kingston is a town in Rockingham County
Rockingham County, New Hampshire
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 277,359 people, 104,529 households, and 74,320 families residing in the county. The population density was 399 people per square mile . There were 113,023 housing units at an average density of 163 per square mile...

, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population at the 2010 census was 6,025.

History

Kingston was the fifth town to be established in New Hampshire. Originally, it was a part of Hampton, New Hampshire
Hampton, New Hampshire
Hampton is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 14,976 at the 2010 census. Located beside the Atlantic Ocean, Hampton is home to Hampton Beach, a summer tourist destination....

. After the King's War, the establishment of new settlements was made possible by peace treaties with the local Indian tribes and, in 1692, by geographical and jurisdictional agreements between the provinces of Massachusetts
Province of Massachusetts Bay
The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a crown colony in North America. It was chartered on October 7, 1691 by William and Mary, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of England and Scotland...

 and New Hampshire
Province of New Hampshire
The Province of New Hampshire is a name first given in 1629 to the territory between the Merrimack and Piscataqua rivers on the eastern coast of North America. It was formally organized as an English royal colony on October 7, 1691, during the period of English colonization...

. Consequently, certain residents of Hampton, New Hampshire petitioned for a grant of a separate township to be created from the western part of Hampton. And so, in 1694, King William of England
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...

 granted a royal charter establishing the town of "Kingstown", so named in honor of the King. Use of the title rather than the King's name was common at the time. The original charter still exists to this day.

Historic district

The Kingston historic district encompasses the town center of Kingston. Historic buildings and sites within the district include the Kingston town hall; the Josiah Bartlett House
Josiah Bartlett House
Josiah Bartlett House is a house in Kingston, New Hampshire.The house was built for Josiah Bartlett around 1774 and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971.The house is located on Main Street, opposite Town Hall, in Kingston....

, home of a signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence; the First Universalist Church
First Universalist Church (Kingston, New Hampshire)
First Universalist Church is a historic church on Main Street in Kingston, New Hampshire.It was built in 1879 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979....

; the Sanborn Seminary
Sanborn Seminary
Sanborn Seminary was built in Kingston, New Hampshire, in 1883 by Major Edward S. Sanborn as the main building of a secular secondary boarding school. The school ran continuously until 1966 when it was sold to the Town of Kingston. The campus became known as Sanborn Regional High School and served...

; The 1686 House
The 1686 House
The 1686 House is a fine dining restaurant in Kingston, New Hampshire that is best known for its extensive wine list and colonial decor. In 1992 it won one of the six 1992 Grand Awards for Outstanding Restaurant Wine Lists given by Wine Spectator....

 restaurant; the Masonic building; the Cemetery at the Plains (where Josiah Bartlett is buried); and the Church on the Plains.

West Kingston

West Kingston is located along the road to Danville
Danville, New Hampshire
Danville is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,387 at the 2010 census. Danville is part of the Timberlane Regional School District, with students attending Danville Elementary School, Timberlane Regional Middle School, and Timberlane Regional High...

, in the western section of town, southwest of Great Pond
Great Pond (New Hampshire)
Great Pond is a water body located in Rockingham County in southeastern New Hampshire in the United States. The lake lies near the center of the town of Kingston. Kingston State Park, a small preserve with a swimming beach, occupies the northeastern end of the lake, near the town center. The...

. Evidence of the early inhabitants was manifested by the construction of a log garrison house on the present Great Pond Road, directly north of the residence of Leslie Cummings. This well-built house consisted of two large rooms downstairs and a huge open chamber on the second floor. In later years a small ell was attached to the north side. The historic house was demolished at the beginning of the 20th century. The stone step at the main entrance and what must have been the "cellar hole" of this dwelling are still visible.

In the midst of an agrarian society, the charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...

 manufacturing industry took root and became a major business in West Kingston. Charcoal was carried by horse-drawn wagons to the Massachusetts cities of Haverhill
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 60,879 at the 2010 census.Located on the Merrimack River, it began as a farming community that would evolve into an important industrial center, beginning with sawmills and gristmills run by water power. In the...

, Lawrence
Lawrence, Massachusetts
Lawrence is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States on the Merrimack River. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a total population of 76,377. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the southeast. It and Salem are...

, North Andover
North Andover, Massachusetts
North Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. North Andover is the home of Merrimack College, a private, Catholic four-year institution ....

, Newburyport
Newburyport, Massachusetts
Newburyport is a small coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 35 miles northeast of Boston. The population was 21,189 at the 2000 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island...

, Lowell
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...

, and Amesbury
Amesbury, Massachusetts
Amesbury is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Though it officially became a city in 1996, its formal name remains "The Town of Amesbury." In 1890, 9798 people lived in Amesbury; in 1900, 9473; in 1910, 9894; in 1920, 10,036; and in 1940, 10,862. The population was 16,283 at...

, as well as to Exeter, New Hampshire
Exeter, New Hampshire
Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The town's population was 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood...

. Some was sold by street peddlers to be used in homes for the purpose of kindling fires. A great deal was
also used by the large machine shops and by the silversmith
Silversmith
A silversmith is a craftsperson who makes objects from silver or gold. The terms 'silversmith' and 'goldsmith' are not synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product varies greatly as does the scale of objects created.Silversmithing is the...

s.

Many individuals manufactured shoes in their small, one-room shoe shops. Such a shop stood until recently near the Thomas Page residence. Some people sewed shoes in their own homes. Unlike the large-scale factories of today, concerned with mass production, these enterprises constructed the whole shoe, hand-sewing it with an artisan's touch.

A cooper shop on the Wadleigh Farm produced barrel
Barrel
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container, traditionally made of vertical wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. Traditionally, the barrel was a standard size of measure referring to a set capacity or weight of a given commodity. A small barrel is called a keg.For example, a...

s made entirely of wood: the staves were made of pine and hardwoods, and were bound with hoops of birch. Skilled workers made hooks to hold hoops together. When a sufficient number of barrels was collected, the men hauled them to Newburyport to be sold - probably to be used by fishermen in packing fish.

Notable inhabitants

  • Dr. Josiah Bartlett
    Josiah Bartlett
    Josiah Bartlett was an American physician and statesman, delegate to the Continental Congress for New Hampshire and signatory of the Declaration of Independence...

    , physician, delegate to the Continental Congress
    Continental Congress
    The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....

    , second signer (after John Hancock
    John Hancock
    John Hancock was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...

    ) of the Declaration of Independence
    Declaration of independence
    A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...

    , first president of the State of New Hampshire, founder of the New Hampshire Medical Society.
  • Betty Hill, alleged UFO abductee

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the town has a total area of 20.9 square miles (54.1 km²), of which 19.6 sq mi (50.8 km²) is land and 1.3 sq mi (3.4 km²) is water, comprising 6.03% of the town. The highest point in Kingston is the summit of Rock Rimmon Hill, at 350 feet (106.7 m) above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

, on the town's border with Danville
Danville, New Hampshire
Danville is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,387 at the 2010 census. Danville is part of the Timberlane Regional School District, with students attending Danville Elementary School, Timberlane Regional Middle School, and Timberlane Regional High...

 to the west. The majority of the town is drained by the Powwow River
Powwow River
The Powwow River is a river located in New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the United States. It is a tributary of the Merrimack River, part of the Gulf of Maine watershed.-River course:...

, a tributary of the Merrimack
Merrimack River
The Merrimack River is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Massachusetts, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport...

. The northern portion of town is drained by the Little River
Little River (Brentwood, New Hampshire)
The Little River is a 7.3 mile long river in the towns of Kingston and Brentwood in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, in the United States. It is a tributary of the Exeter River, part of the Great Bay/Piscataqua River watershed in the New Hampshire Seacoast region...

, part of the Exeter River
Exeter River
The Exeter River is a -long river located in Rockingham County in southeastern New Hampshire, the United States.It rises in the town of Chester, southeast of Manchester. It follows a winding course east and northeast to Exeter, where it becomes the Squamscott River, a tidal river leading north to...

/Piscataqua River
Piscataqua River
The Piscataqua River, in the northeastern United States, is a long tidal estuary formed by the confluence of the Salmon Falls and Cocheco rivers...

 watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

.

Points of interest

Recreational points:
  • Rockrimmon Hill
  • Kingston State Park
  • Cemetery on the Plains (where Josiah Bartlett is buried along with some Civil War
    American Civil War
    The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

     heroes)
  • A wide variety of antique stores


Historical points:
  • Josiah Bartlett House
  • Nichols Memorial Library
  • First Universalist Church
  • Sanborn Seminary
  • Kingston Historical Museum (Only open to the public during special events)

Kingston Days celebration

The Kingston Days celebration occurs on the first Friday, Saturday and Sunday of August. It is to celebrate the town's incorporation date of August 6, 1694. The celebration offers live music and activities, family fun and a large flea market
Flea market
A flea market or swap meet is a type of bazaar where inexpensive or secondhand goods are sold or bartered. It may be indoors, such as in a warehouse or school gymnasium; or it may be outdoors, such as in a field or under a tent...

, car show, and motorcycle show. It also includes various events such as a karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...

 show and a police dog
Police dog
A police dog, often referred to as a "K-9 dog" in some areas , is a dog that is trained specifically to assist police and other law-enforcement personnel in their work...

 demonstration. During this event the Kingston historical museum is open to the public.

Education

Kingston is part of the Sanborn Regional School District (SAU 17), providing public education to students who live in Kingston, Fremont
Fremont, New Hampshire
Fremont is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,283 at the 2010 census. Fremont is crossed by the Rockingham Recreation Trail and NH Route 107.-History:...

, and Newton
Newton, New Hampshire
Newton is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,603 at the 2010 census.- History :The sixth town to be granted from the Masonian land purchase of 1746, Newton was originally part of Salisbury, Massachusetts; later, part of Amesbury, Massachusetts; then...

.

Schools in Kingston are:
  • Sanborn Regional High School
    Sanborn Regional High School
    Sanborn Regional High School is located in Kingston, New Hampshire and serves the towns of Kingston, Newton, and Fremont. SRHS is a part of the Sanborn Regional School District...

     (grades 9-12)
  • Middle school students (grades 6-8) attend Sanborn Regional Middle School in Newton.
  • D.J. Bakie Elementary School (grades P, K, 1-5)
  • Seacoast Charter School (grades 1-8)


Pre-schools include:
  • Kingston Children's Center (grades P, K)
  • Story Book Station (grades P, K, 1)

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 5862 people, 2,122 households, and 1,633 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 298.7 people per square mile (115.4/km²). There were 2,265 housing units at an average density of 115.4 per square mile (44.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.97% White
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...

, 0.22% African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

, 0.12% Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

, 0.41% Asian
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...

, 0.05% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander , is a geographic term to describe the indigenous inhabitants of any of the three major sub-regions of Oceania: Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, these three regions, together with their islands consist of:Polynesia:...

, 0.44% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino
Hispanic and Latino Americans
Hispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...

 of any race were 0.82% of the population.

There were 2,122 households out of which 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.2% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.0% were non-families. 17.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $61,522, and the median income for a family was $66,509. Males had a median income of $42,256 versus $31,210 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the town was $28,795. About 1.8% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.7% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over.

External links

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