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History · Kingston

23% of Kingston’s homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1990.

3on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Kingston’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Kingston’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18887 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1981. Watch Kingston change.Old housesHalf of Kingston’s homes were built before 1951.
★ What stands out · 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
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewWilliam Howard Gulick (1855-1908) obitu…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Kingston on the map, 1888 to 1981

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 1888 USGS mapKingston on the 1894 USGS mapKingston on the 1906 USGS mapKingston on the 1947 USGS mapKingston on the 1954 USGS mapKingston on the 1970 USGS mapKingston on the 1981 USGS map1888Princeton 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 →

Jediah Higgins purchased 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) from the Native Americans in the early 18th century and the town of Kingston was established. Kingston's location on the Lenape Assunpink Trail where it crossed the Millstone River and later becoming part of the King's Highway was the prime factor in its early prominence. Kingston was by far the most active and important village, being situated on both the heavily traveled King's Road and Millstone River, combining commercial activities of both mills and taverns.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Kingston in 1921

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

It is very probable that the first school house built was near Kingston. It is known that a church existed there in 1723 and that shortly after a school was connected with it. The first school house of which any information has been obtained was built in 1776. In 1831 another was erected in the sou…
History of Middlesex County, New Jersey, 1664-19201921 · page 434Read the page →
Read the text

It is very probable that the first school house built was near Kingston. It is known that a church existed there in 1723 and that shortly after a school was connected with it. The first school house of which any information has been obtained was built in 1776. In 1831 another was erected in the southern portion of the township. There were early schools at Dayton (once called Cross Roads), and Rhode Hall. The present public schools are located at the following points: Sand Hills, Deans, Fresh Ponds, Ridge, Dayton, Rhode Hall, Pleasant Hill, King-

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Along the stage routes, taverns were established at an early date at Rhode Hall, Dayton and Kingston, and about these inns settlements gradually formed until the locality became generally populated. The pioneer landlord at Rhode Hall was David Williamson, from Scotland, who bestowed upon the little…
History of Middlesex County, New Jersey, 1664-19201921 · page 432Read the page →
Read the text

Along the stage routes, taverns were established at an early date at Rhode Hall, Dayton and Kingston, and about these inns settlements gradually formed until the locality became generally populated. The pioneer landlord at Rhode Hall was David Williamson, from Scotland, who bestowed upon the little settlement the name by which it has since been known. He came about 1730, purchased a large tract of land, and gathered about him a number of families, the majority of

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.

Timeline

Kingston, 1888 to 1923

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1908In the archiveWilliam Howard Gulick (1855-1908) obituary in the Trenton Times on August 29, 1908
  5. 1923In the archiveKingston NJ Presby PHS738
By decade

Kingston, decade by decade

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

1900s–1920s2 items
William Howard Gulick (1855-1908) obituary in the Trenton Times on August 29, 19081908William Howard Gulick (1855-1908) obituary in the Tre…Kingston NJ Presby PHS7381923Kingston NJ Presby PHS738
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
Today20 recent
NJ Route 27 sb past Academy Street, Kingston, May 20262026NJ Route 27 sb past Academy Street, Kingston, May 2026D & R Canal State Park Princeton Nursery Lands First Day Hike 2022 group on approaching canal turn-around basin2022D & R Canal State Park Princeton Nursery Lands First …View south along the Towpath of the Delaware and Raritan Canal from the Kingston spillway just south of the village of …2015View south along the Towpath of the Delaware and Rari…View West from the towpath at the Kingston spillway along the Deleware and Raritan Canal Kingston, NJ USA 0-17-20152015View West from the towpath at the Kingston spillway a…View East across the Delaware and Raritan Canal as it approaches the Village of Kingston, NJ, USA 09-17-20152015View East across the Delaware and Raritan Canal as it…Located just south of Kingston one of many Spillways along the Deleware and Raritan Canal Kingston, NJ USA 0-17-20152015Located just south of Kingston one of many Spillways …Kingston, NJ2015Kingston, NJMillstone River, Princeton, NJ Nov 20092009Millstone River, Princeton, NJ Nov 2009Historic Kingston, New Jersey - November 20092009Historic Kingston, New Jersey - November 2009Established in 1675, The Village of Kingston straddles Franklin Township and South Brunswick Township and lies partiall…2009Established in 1675, The Village of Kingston straddle…Delaware and Raritan Canal, Thanksgiving Day 20092009Delaware and Raritan Canal, Thanksgiving Day 2009Delaware and Raritan Canal, Thanksgiving Day 2009 - panoramio (8)2009Delaware and Raritan Canal, Thanksgiving Day 2009 - p…Delaware and Raritan Canal, Thanksgiving Day 2009 - panoramio (7)2009Delaware and Raritan Canal, Thanksgiving Day 2009 - p…Delaware and Raritan Canal, Thanksgiving Day 2009 - panoramio (3)2009Delaware and Raritan Canal, Thanksgiving Day 2009 - p…Delaware and Raritan Canal, Thanksgiving Day 2009 - panoramio (2)2009Delaware and Raritan Canal, Thanksgiving Day 2009 - p…Delaware and Raritan Canal, Thanksgiving Day 2009 - panoramio (1)2009Delaware and Raritan Canal, Thanksgiving Day 2009 - p…Withington Estate, Middlesex County2008Withington Estate, Middlesex CountyCook Preserve, Kingston, NJ - panoramio (2)2008Cook Preserve, Kingston, NJ - panoramio (2)Cook Preserve, Kingston, NJ - panoramio (1)2008Cook Preserve, Kingston, NJ - panoramio (1)The Cottage, Cook Preserve2006The Cottage, Cook Preserve
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.

William Howard Gulick (1855-1908) obituary in the Trenton Times on August 29, 1908
Retake this viewWilliam Howard Gulick (1855-1908) obituary in the Trenton Times on August 29, 1908, 1908

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

3 listings protect 99 historic buildings

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
99
each building in a district counts

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

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,60020002020Peak: 1,581

Between 1,047 and 1,581 people in every census since 1990.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

East Rocky Hill2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFranklin Township10 historic placesBHeathcote1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMontgomery Township9 historic placesB+Princeton20 historic placesA+South Brunswick Township4 historic placesBRocky Hill1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Kingston’s history

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (22), Wikidata (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.