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A−History
History · Kingston

Kingston dates to 1620, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns · #207 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 23 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1790.

1620founded
4on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Kingston’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Kingston began

When was Kingston founded?

1620

Kingston dates its founding to 1620 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 1,004 in 17902020 census: 13,708406 years

How historic is Kingston?

A−

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1800.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Kingston’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kingston is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #207 of 283 in Massachusetts. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kingston’s overall grade.
Founding era1620, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194014.3% of homes (±4.3) · typical MA town 21.1% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register4 listings, 28 historic buildings, 20.0 per 10,000 residents · typical MA town 46.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 83%
NewerOlder
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 27%

Massachusetts towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Massachusetts town has 46.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Kingston’s 20.0 sits near the middle of its state (36% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 28 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.3 points). Two sources give 1620.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Kingston’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Older than the countryEstablished in 1620, 156 years before the Declaration of Independence.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18867 editions of the USGS map, 1886 to 1977. Watch Kingston change.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Kingston, and 6 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Timeline

Kingston, 1620 to 2002

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 17th century
  2. 1620
    FoundingKingston is established
  3. 18th century
  4. 1714BuiltBradford House is built
  5. 1755BuiltWilliam Sever House is built
  6. 1773Born hereJohn Holmes is born here
  7. 19th century
  8. 1800Post officeThe Kingston post office opens
  9. 1876Born hereBeulah Marie Dix is born here
  10. 1879Post officeThe Silver Lake post office opens
  11. 1886On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 20th century
  13. 1900In the archiveMajor John Bradford House
  14. 1915In the archiveTrolley in Kingston postcard
  15. 1920In the archiveMrs. Atherton Loring residence
  16. 1926Post officeThe Kingston post office closes
  17. 1958Post officeThe Silver Lake post office closes
  18. 1983Born hereMarshall Strickland is born here
  19. 21st century
  20. 2002Born hereSkylar Irving is born here
Help out

Start Kingston’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Kingston’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMajor John Bradford House: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Kingston on the map, 1886 to 1977

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kingston. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Kingston on the 1886 USGS mapKingston on the 1894 USGS mapKingston on the 1921 USGS mapKingston on the 1934 USGS mapKingston on the 1950 USGS mapKingston on the 1962 USGS mapKingston on the 1977 USGS map1886Plymouth sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Kingston.

The story

How Kingston came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Kingston.

Read it all →

Before European settlers arrived, Kingston was within the tribal homeland of the Wampanoag people. Several years before the Mayflower had landed in Plymouth, during the Native American epidemic of 1616 to 1619, the Wampanoag population was severely damaged from a rapidly spreading pandemics due to earlier contacts with Europeans. Several ancient Native American burial sites have been located within the borders of Kingston.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Kingston, 1840–1897

Passages that mention Kingston, cut from the printed page as they were published.

it was laid out when removed from the place where the great bridge was at Jones' River, (at Kingston.) 17 1 7. — The town gave Mr. Allen (minister) liberty to make use of the pine trees on the stated common on Bayley's Plain for drawing of turpentine.
History of the early settlement of Bridgewater in Plymouth county, Massachusetts, including an extensive Family register1897 · page 67Read the page →
Read the text

it was laid out when removed from the place where the great bridge was at Jones' River, (at Kingston.) 17 1 7. — The town gave Mr. Allen (minister) liberty to make use of the pine trees on the stated common on Bayley's Plain for drawing of turpentine.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
1708. — The town passed a clear vote to petetion the General Court for the continuance of the country road where it was laid out when removed from the place where the great bridge was at Jones' River, (at Kingston.) 1717. — The town gave Mr. Allen (minister) liberty to make use of the pine trees on…
History of the early settlement of Bridgewater, in Plymouth county, Massachusetts, including an extensive Family register1840Read the page →
Read the text

1708. — The town passed a clear vote to petetion the General Court for the continuance of the country road where it was laid out when removed from the place where the great bridge was at Jones' River, (at Kingston.) 1717. — The town gave Mr. Allen (minister) liberty to make use of the pine trees on the stated common on Bayley's Plain for drawing of turpentine.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
There was a John Brett of Boston who m. Ann Barnsdale 1710: he was master of a ship in the London trade, and d. at Kingston, Jamaica, leaving a wid. and had Hannah 1711, John 1713, James and William, and one other D. — John d. at Newburyport Dec. 12, 1797, se. 84 : his son John was living there 182…
History of the early settlement of Bridgewater, in Plymouth county, Massachusetts, including an extensive Family register1840Read the page →
Read the text

There was a John Brett of Boston who m. Ann Barnsdale 1710: he was master of a ship in the London trade, and d. at Kingston, Jamaica, leaving a wid. and had Hannah 1711, John 1713, James and William, and one other D. — John d. at Newburyport Dec. 12, 1797, se. 84 : his son John was living there 1829, vs. 73; and in a letter of that year says, " his grandfather John came from the County of Kent, in England, and he has heard his father (John Jr.) say that the Bretts in Bridge water

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
1845, when he sold out to Tyler Cobb, who conducted the business ten years. In 1855 he sold out to Mr, Bradford, who continued for a long time, and afterward associated with him Mr. Allen Crocker, of East Stoughton. Sumner A. Hayward, of Kingston, commenced on Main street several years since. His s…
History of Brockton, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, 1656-18941895 · page 526Read the page →
Read the text

1845, when he sold out to Tyler Cobb, who conducted the business ten years. In 1855 he sold out to Mr, Bradford, who continued for a long time, and afterward associated with him Mr. Allen Crocker, of East Stoughton. Sumner A. Hayward, of Kingston, commenced on Main street several years since. His shop was nearly opposite the schoolhouse, south of his dwelling, and on the present road-bed leading to

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Kingston, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1920s4 items
Major John Bradford House1900Major John Bradford HouseSummer Street, Post Office1906Summer Street, Post OfficeTrolley in Kingston postcard1915–1930Trolley in Kingston postcardPostcardMrs. Atherton Loring residence1920Mrs. Atherton Loring residence
1930s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Every building

Kingston, building by building, 1912

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Kingston fire insurance map, 1912, sheet 11912Sheet 1 of 6
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Major John Bradford House
Retake this viewMajor John Bradford House, 1900

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Kingston’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

4 listings protect 28 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
28
each building in a district counts
first listed
2001
Adams, Frederic C., Public Library
Adams, Frederic C., Public LibraryKingston Center Historic DistrictBradford House, built 1714William Sever House, built 1755
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival3
Early Republic1
Federal1
Greek Revival1
Late Victorian1
Italianate1
Adams, Frederic C., Public LibraryColonial Revival
Kingston Center Historic DistrictEarly Republic
Bradford HouseColonial Revival · Built 1714
William Sever HouseBuilt 1755

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Kingston, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,0001800185019001950200013,708

Grew from 1,004 people in 1790 to 13,708 in 2020, more than tenfold.

19 censuses, 1790–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Kingston’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

8 famous people were born in Kingston

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Beulah Marie DixAmerican screenwriter, children's book author · b. 1876
John HolmesAmerican politician, U.S. Senator from Maine · b. 1773
M
Marshall StricklandAmerican basketball player · b. 1983
Skylar IrvingAmerican ice hockey player · b. 2002
Joseph Ripley ChandlerAmerican politician · b. 1792
Caleb StetsonAmerican Unitarian minister and Transcendentali… · b. 1793
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Kingston had its own post office from 1800 to 1926. Another post office, Silver Lake, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Kingston
1800–1926
Silver Lake
1879–1958
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Camp MishannockKingston ShoresRocky NookRocky Nook ParkRocky Nook PointSilver Lake
Gone or out of use
Kingston Post Officepost officePlympton StationlocaleSilver Lake Post Officepost officeSilver Lake Stationlocale
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Kingston
EvergreenEvergreenOldSaint Joseph's

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Duxbury15 historic placesAPlymouth23 historic placesANorth PlymouthIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSouth Duxbury2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPlympton1 historic placeAPembroke1 historic placeB

Questions about Kingston’s history

What year was Kingston founded?

In 1620, according to Wikidata. Kingston’s post office opened in 1800, and the first U.S. census counted 1,004 people here in 1790.

How does Kingston rank for history?

Kingston is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #207 of 283 in Massachusetts. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Kingston?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Adams, Frederic C., Public Library (listed 2001, the first), and 1 historic district, the Kingston Center Historic District, with 23 contributing buildings. 28 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Kingston?

14% of Kingston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1982.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.