Everything about Kingston New York totally explained
Kingston is a
city in
Ulster County,
New York,
United States. It is north of
New York City and south of
Albany along the
Hudson River. The population was 23,456 at the 2000 census. Kingston is the core city of the
Kingston, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area, which lies in the northernmost part of the
New York-Newark-Bridgeport NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area.
The
City of Kingston is on the eastern border of
Ulster County, and is the
county seat.
History
The City of Kingston was first called
Esopus after a local Indian tribe. It was one of the three large settlements in
New Netherland, the other two being
Beverwyck and Manhattan Island.
In 1777 Kingston became the first capital of
New York. Shortly after the
Battle of Saratoga, the city was burned by British troops moving up the Hudson River from
New York City, disembarking at the mouth of the Rondout Creek on the formation the Dutch had named
Ponck Hockie. The area was a major granary for the colonies at the time, so the British burned large amounts of wheat and all but one or two of the buildings. There is some debate over exactly how much of a fight was put up against the British; one third of the local militia regiment was still to the north at Saratoga, and one third was to the south manning several forts (which were captured days before by the British). This would have left approximately 150 militiamen to defend the city against approximately 2,000 British regulars. In 1797, the capital was reestablished at
Albany.
The town of
Rondout, New York, now a part of Kingston, became an important freight hub for the transportation of coal from
Pennsylvania to
New York City through the
D & H canal. This hub was later used to transport other goods.
(External Link
) Long before human occupation Deposits of river sand were created in the area during the erosion of ancient mountains to the east. This river sand now petrified became
bluestone the same stone used in
Stonehenge.
(External Link) .
Bluestone, a popular choice for sidewalks in New York City is more pourus and weaker than
Granite and
slate.
Bluestone has a naturally rough texture when split along conveniently parallel faults. It was created when sand was deposited in a giant
delta which once covered the area. Unlike granite and slate, untreated bluestone doesn't become slippery when wet. Kingston shaped and shipped most of the bluestone made to create the sidewalks of New York City. Cement deposits were found throughout the valley, and in
1844 quarrying began in the "Ponchockie" section of
Rondout. The Newark Lime and Cement Company shipped cement throughout the United States, a thriving business until the invention of the cheaper, quicker drying
Portland Cement. Large warehouses of ice sat beside the Hudson river from which the ice was cut during the winter and preserved all year to be used in early refrigeration
(External Link). Large brick making factories were also located close to this shipping hub
(External Link) (External Link). Rondout’s central location as a shipping hub ended with the advent of railroads which ran through Rondout and Kingston but could transport their loads through the town without stopping. Today the
CSX freight rail company runs through Kingston with little impact, economical or otherwise. Today, Ponchockie is a quiet neighborhood in Kingston of 100 year old affordable houses and the brick yard is scheduled for development into luxury riverside houses
(External Link).
Geography
Kingston is located at (41.928877, -74.004088).
Kingston has at least three distinct neighborhoods. Informally known as uptown, midtown, and downtown. The uptown area is a historic district which once served as the capital of New York State. The downtown area, once the town of Rondout is also a historic district and borders the Rondout creek. The creek empties into the Hudson through a large, protected tidal area which was the terminus of the
Delaware & Hudson canal built to haul coal from Pennsylvania to New York City.
Downtown or “the Rondout” formerly
Rondout, New York is an artist community mentioned as such by publications including business week online "America's best places for artists."
The Rondout is home to a large number of art galleries including the
kingston museum of contemporary arts (External Link),
Donskoj & Company (External Link),
Watermark Cargo Gallery (External Link), the
Arts Society of Kingston (External Link) and
Deep Listening Space (External Link).
The City of Kingston holds many festivals in the Rondout neighborhood, including the Kingston Jazz Festival
(External Link) and the Artists Soapbox Derby
(External Link). Meanwhile the uptown historic district celebrates and re-creates the Burning of the town by the British every other year, without actually damaging any of its historic buildings.
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.6 square miles (22.4 km²), of which 7.3 square miles (19.0 km²) is land and 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²), or 15.03%, is water.
The city is on the west bank of the
Hudson River. Neighboring towns include
Hurley,
Saugerties,
Rhinebeck, and
Red Hook.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 23,456 people, 9,871 households, and 5,498 families residing in the city. The
population density was 3,189.5 persons per square mile (1,232.2/km²). There were 10,637 housing units at an average density of 1,446.4 houses per square mile (558.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 80.38%
White, 12.77%
Black or
African American, 0.30%
Native American, 1.53%
Asian, 1.90% from
other races, and 3.12% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 6.46% of the population.
There were 9,871 households out of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.2% were
married couples living together, 15.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.3% were non-families. 36.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,594, and the median income for a family was $41,806. Males had a median income of $31,634 versus $25,364 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $18,662, with 12.4% of families and 15.8% of the population below the
poverty line, including 23.5% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.
Transportation
There is bus service to
New York City. Passenger
railroad service to Kingston itself has been discontinued for several decades. However, about away is the
Rhinecliff-Kingston Amtrak station.
CSX Transportation operates freight rail service through Kingston on the River Line Subdivision. There is also a small rail yard of about 7 tracks in Kingston.
New York State Route 199 has the nearest bridge traversing the
Hudson River, to the north.
U.S. Highway 9W runs north-south through the city. The
New York State Thruway, also known at this section as
Interstate 87, runs through the western part of the city.
The area is served by Kingston-Ulster airport (2ON), located at the western base of the Kingston-Rhinecliff bridge. The closest commercial airports are
Stewart International Airport in Newburgh and
Albany International Airport in Albany.
City bus service is provided by the city-owned CitiBus system, while service to points elsewhere in Ulster County is provided by
Ulster County Area Transit (UCAT).
On the first Saturday of every month an “art bus” is available for a fare of $1. The bus, usually a CitiBus
tourist trolley, takes passengers on a guided tour of the art galleries of Kingston. Kingston's art galleries all have openings on the first Saturday of the month.
Kingston historically was an important transportation center for the region. The Hudson River, Rondout Creek and
Delaware and Hudson Canal were important commercial waterways. At one time, Kingston was served by four railroad companies and two trolley lines. Therefore, Kingston was designated as a New York State Heritage Area with a transportation theme.
Media
- Newspapers
- Radio
- Kingston-based: WGHQ (920 AM), WKNY (1490 AM), WKXP (94.3 FM)
- Outside Kingston: WFGB (89.7 FM), WBPM (92.9 FM, Saugerties), WKZE-FM (98.1, Salisbury CT/Rhinebeck), WDST (100.1 FM, Woodstock).
- Magazines: The Kingston-based Chronogram publishes a thick glossy, colorful magazine dedicated to the art, culture and spirit of the Hudson Valley.
- Television
Notable people, past and present
Actors, musicians and others in the entertainment industry
Peter Bogdanovich (b. 1939) a film director, writer and actor, was born in town.
Robert Craft (b. 1923), an award-winning conductor who has led many of the major orchestras in the United States, and a collaborator with Igor Stravinsky, was born in the city.
Adam Snyder (b. 1966), musician, resident, former member of Mercury Rev released 2007 album "This Town Will Get Its Due" (External Link)
Joseph Kesselring (1902-1967), a writer and playwright best known for his play Arsenic and Old Lace, died in the city.
Elissa Landi (1904–1948), an Italian born actress was popular in Hollywood films of the 1920s and 1930s, died of cancer in the city.
Tudi Wiggins (1935–2006), an actress best known for roles in television daytime drama, later produced and appeared in her own talk show on WTZA-TV in the city.
Politics, political activism, government service
George Clinton (1739–1812), fourth vice president of the United States and governor of New York, is buried in the city.
Charles DeWitt (1727-1787), a miller and statesman from Kingston, served as a delegate to the Continental Congress.
Abraham Bruyn Hasbrouck (1791–1879), a U.S. Congressman and the sixth President of Rutgers College (now Rutgers University), was born and died in the city.
Alton B. Parker (1852–1926), Democratic presidential nominee in 1904, practiced law in the city and was the first president of the Ulster County Bar Association. He not only lost the election, he didn't even carry Ulster County.
Sojourner Truth (c. 1797–1883), former slave and early abolitionist, tried to gain her freedom in Ulster County Court in the city.
John Van Buren (1799-1855), US Congressman
Others
Heywood Hale Broun (1918–2001) a sportswriter and commentator, died in the city.
Robert H. Dietz (1921-1945), United States Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient in World War II
Ezra Fitch (1866–1930), the "Fitch" in "Abercrombie & Fitch, practiced law in Kingston before leaving to join Abercrombie in his wilderness outfitting store in New York City in 1900. He bought out Abercrombie in 1907.
Brian Kenny (b. 1963), a journalist who anchors Friday Night Fights and ESPNEWS' The Hot List, previously worked for WTZA in the city.
Evaline Ness (1911-1986) an illustrator and author who won a Caldecott Medal in 1967 for Sam, Bangs, and Moonshine, and who was married to Untouchable Eliot Ness from 1938-1946, died in the city.
Maud Petersham (1890-1971), who won the Caldecott Medal with her husband and coauthor, Miska Petrezselyem Mikaly, in 1946 for "The Rooster Crows", was born in Kingston.
Andrée Ruellan (1905-2006), a painter whose works are in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum, died in the city.
Anne Sweeney (b. 1957), Co-Chair of Disney Media Networks and President of the Disney-ABC Television Group, who has been named the "Most Powerful Woman in Entertainment" by The Hollywood Reporter, and one of the "50 Most Powerful Women in Business" by Fortune magazine and one of "The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women" by Forbes, spent her childhoood in Kingston and is a graduate of Kingston's Coleman High School.
Mike Ferraro (b. 1944), a third baseman for the New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers, and later coach for the Kansas City Royals, was born in the city.
Jervis McEntee (1828-1891), a painter of the Hudson River School, is buried in Wiltwyck Cemetery in the city.
John Vanderlyn (1776-1852), a neoclassicist painter, was born in the city.
Calvert Vaux (1824-1895), a noted architect and landscape designer; codesigner of Grand Central Park, NYC; buried in Kingston's Montrepose Cemetery.
Dave Ferraro (1959-2008), resident of the city, was a professional bowler and was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1997.Further Information
Get more info on 'Kingston New York'.
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