Kingston, Rhode Island

History

Kingston was first settled in the late seventeenth century. Originally known as Little Rest, the name was changed to Kingston in 1826. It was the county seat for Washington County (formerly Kings County) from 1752 until 1894, when a new courthouse was built in nearby West Kingston. West Kingston is also the site of the historic Kingston Railroad Station which opened in June 1875. The station is served by Amtrak on its Northeast Corridor.

For a time, starting in the late 1770s, the preacher Jemima Wilkinson, known as the Public Universal Friend resided and gave sermons in the town. As late as the 1900s inhabitants of Kingston called a species of solidago "Jemima weed", because its appearance in the town coincided with the preacher's first visit to the area.

South Kingstown established the Kingston Historic District in 1959, and much of Kingston village became a National Register historic district in 1974 as Kingston Village Historic District. The historic district is located just outside the campus of the University of Rhode Island and contains many fine examples of 18th and 19th century architecture. The historic district includes 38 buildings, including the Elisha Reynolds House.

The University of Rhode Island was established at Kingston in 1888 as the Rhode Island Agricultural School and Agricultural Experiment Station, by funding from the Hatch Act of 1887. In 1892 the Agricultural School became the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts with funding from the Second Morrill Land Grant Act of 1890, later becoming Rhode Island State College in 1909 and the University of Rhode Island in 1951.

Economy

In addition to the university, major businesses in Kingston include APC by Schneider Electric and the Arnold Lumber Company.

Education

Public schools are operated by the South Kingstown School District. Educational institutions in Kingston include:

• The Compass School, a public K-8 charter school
• Kingston Hill Academy, a public K-5 charter school
• University of Rhode Island
• Gordon Research Conferences center

Houses of worship

Religious denominations represented with churches, mosques, and synagogues in Kingston or on the university campus are Roman Catholicism, the United Church of Christ, Episcopalians, United Methodists, Baptists, Islam, and Judaism.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 1.563 square miles (4.05 km), of which 1.556 square miles (4.03 km) is land and 0.007 square miles (0.02 km) (0.45%) is water.

Climate

| Jan record high F = 69 | Feb record high F = 73 | Mar record high F = 82 | Apr record high F = 92 | May record high F = 97 | Jun record high F = 96 | Jul record high F = 100 | Aug record high F = 100 | Sep record high F = 95 | Oct record high F = 87 | Nov record high F = 80 | Dec record high F = 73 | year record high F = 100 | Jan avg record high F = 57.9 | Feb avg record high F = 57.4 | Mar avg record high F = 65.8 | Apr avg record high F = 75.7 | May avg record high F = 85.9 | Jun avg record high F = 89.6 | Jul avg record high F = 92.5 | Aug avg record high F = 90.6 | Sep avg record high F = 86.1 | Oct avg record high F = 78.3 | Nov avg record high F = 69.1 | Dec avg record high F = 60.9 | year avg record high F= 94.1 | Jan avg record low F = -0.5 | Feb avg record low F = 2.4 | Mar avg record low F = 10.5 | Apr avg record low F = 23.1 | May avg record low F = 31.2 | Jun avg record low F = 41.1 | Jul avg record low F = 48.8 | Aug avg record low F = 46.2 | Sep avg record low F = 35.5 | Oct avg record low F = 24.4 | Nov avg record low F = 15.9 | Dec avg record low F = 7.6 | year avg record low F= -3.7 | Jan record low F = −23 | Feb record low F = −22 | Mar record low F = −10 | Apr record low F = 8 | May record low F = 25 | Jun record low F = 30 | Jul record low F = 38 | Aug record low F = 33 | Sep record low F = 25 | Oct record low F = 13 | Nov record low F = -4 | Dec record low F = −17 | year record low F = −23 |Jan snow depth inch = 5.9 |Feb snow depth inch = 6.2 |Mar snow depth inch = 3.7 |Apr snow depth inch = 0.6 |May snow depth inch = 0.0 |Jun snow depth inch = 0.0 |Jul snow depth inch = 0.0 |Aug snow depth inch = 0.0 |Sep snow depth inch = 0.0 |Oct snow depth inch = 0.0 |Nov snow depth inch = 0.3 |Dec snow depth inch = 4.0 |year snow depth inch= 9.7 | access-date = May 30, 2021 | archive-date = November 13, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201113170419/https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=box | url-status = dead | access-date = May 30, 2021}}

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 United States census counted 7,825 people, 717 households, and 426 families in Kingston. The population density was 5,025.7 per square mile (1,940.4/km). There were 782 housing units at an average density of 502.2 per square mile (193.9/km). Hispanic or Latino of any race was 8.73% (683) of the population.

Of the 717 households, 25.9% had children under the age of 18; 55.0% were married couples living together; 22.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. 25.4% of households consisted of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The percent of those with a bachelor's degree or higher was estimated to be 9.6% of the population.

4.5% of the population was under the age of 18, 80.2% from 18 to 24, 5.3% from 25 to 44, 5.4% from 45 to 64, and 4.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 19.9 years. For every 100 females, the population had 138.3 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 139.4 males.

The 2016-2020 5-year American Community Survey estimates show that the median household income was $112,344 (with a margin of error of +/- $17,256) and the median family income was $111,563 (+/- $17,329). Males had a median income of $4,619 (+/- $1,098) versus $4,193 (+/- $496) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $4,344 (+/- $533). Approximately, 0.0% of families and 3.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.0% of those under the age of 18 and 2.5% of those ages 65 or over.

Nearby populated areas

• Wakefield (3 miles)
• Peace Dale (3 miles)
• Narragansett (5 miles)

References

References

1. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau.
2. "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau.
3. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
4. (October 25, 2007). "US Board on Geographic Names". [[United States Geological Survey]].
5. {{NRISref. 2009a
6. "US Census Bureau, Table DP1: PROFILE OF GENERAL POPULATION AND HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS".
7. Wisbey, Herbert A. Jr. (2009). "Pioneer Prophetess: Jemima Wilkinson, the Publick Universal Friend". Cornell University Press.
8. Christian M McBurney, ''Kingston : a forgotten history'' (1975), p. 32
9. Philip Kittredge Taylor, "Little Rest", in ''The New England Magazine'', vol. 28, no. 2 (April 1903), p. 139 (a record from when the term "Jemima weed" was still in use).
10. "University of Rhode Island History".
11. "Gordon Research Conference Center".
12. "US Gazetteer files: 2019". [[United States Census Bureau]].
13. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
14. "US Census Bureau, Table P1: RACE".
15. "US Census Bureau, Table P2: HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE".
16. "US Census Bureau, Table S1501: EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT".
17. "US Census Bureau, Table S1903: MEDIAN INCOME IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS (IN 2020 INFLATION-ADJUSTED DOLLARS)".
18. "US Census Bureau, Table S2001: EARNINGS IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS (IN 2020 INFLATION-ADJUSTED DOLLARS)".
19. "US Census Bureau, Table S1701: POVERTY STATUS IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS".
20. "US Census Bureau, Table S1702: POVERTY STATUS IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS OF FAMILIES".