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| This article is about the City of Kingston, New York. For the adjacent Town of Kingston, see Kingston (town), New York.
Kingston is a city in Ulster County, New York, United States. It is 91 miles (146 km) north of New York City and 59 miles (90 km) south of Albany along the Hudson River. The population was 23,456 at the 2000 census. The City of Kingston is on the eastern border of Ulster County, and is the county seat.
HistoryThe 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[1]. 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. [1] 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.[2] . 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 does not 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 [3]. Large brick making factories were also located close to this shipping hub [4] [5]. 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 [6].
GeographyKingston is located at (41.928877, -74.004088)[2].     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. [3] 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."[4] The Rondout is home to a large number of art galleries including the kingston museum of contemporary arts [7], Donskoj & Company [8], Watermark Cargo Gallery [9], the Arts Society of Kingston [10] and Deep Listening Space [11]. The City of Kingston holds many festivals in the Rondout neighborhood, including the Kingston Jazz Festival [12] and the Artists Soapbox Derby [13]. 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. DemographicsAs of the census[5] 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. TransportationThere is bus service to New York City. Passenger railroad service to Kingston itself has been discontinued for several decades. However, about 10 miles (20 km) 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, 5.48 miles (8.82 km) 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.[6] 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
Notable people, past and presentActors, musicians and others in the entertainment industry
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