Kingston is the traditional home of the Esopus people. As early as 1614, the Dutch had set up a factorij (trading post) at Ponckhockie, at the junction of the Rondout Creek and the Hudson River. They traded European goods with the Lenape and Mohican for the furs their trappers collected. In 1652, the Indians of Ulster County ceded some land to the Dutch in what is now known as Kingston. The first recorded permanent settler in what would become the city of Kingston was Thomas Chambers. He came from the area of Rensselaerswyck in 1653. The new settlement was called Esopus after the local Lenape people.
Passages that mention Kingston, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Kingston, New York1888 · page 82Read the page →
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He, by the said patent, then " declares, determines and grants that the said Inhabitants and Freeholders, the freemen of Kingston aforesaid, commonly called by the name of the Freeholders and Inhabitants of the town of Kingston, or by whatever name or names they are called or named, and their successors forever hence forward are, and shall be one body Corporate and Politick in deed and name, and by name of the Trustees of the Freeholders and Commonality of the town of Kingston.'''' He ordained and created
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The history of Kingston, New York1888 · page 380Read the page →
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It appearing that in the distribution of lots in the commons the inhabitants of the village of Kingston had not fared as well in the quality and character of the lots set apart for them as the residents of other parts of the town, the trustees on the 10th day of January, 1804, " Resolved that the lands reserved by the resolution of the 1st of april then last, between the Kuyck Uyt and the Rondout Kill and bounds of Hurley, be laid out in ten acre lots as a compensation to the inhabitants of the village of Kingston, whose lots
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The history of Kingston, New York1888 · page 380Read the page →
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It appearing that in the distribution of lots in the commons the inhabitants of the village of Kingston had not fared as well in the quality and character of the lots set apart for them as the residents of other parts of the to war, the trustees on the lOtli day of January, 1804, " Resolved that the lands reserved by the resolution of the 1st of april then last, between the Kuyck Uyt and the Rondout Kill and bounds of Hurley, be laid out in ten acre lots as a compensation to the inhabitants of the village of Kingston, whose lots
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The two hundredth anniversary of the erection of the building occupied as the Senate house of the state of New York in 17771883 · page 40Read the page →
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Education of L 8 64, made by Hon. Marios Sehoonmaker, for many years Pr sident of the Board, relating to the origin, etc., of the Kingston Academy, as follows : Kingston Academy was originally founded by " the Trustees, Freeholders and commonalty of the town of Kingston," in the year 1774, for the instruction of youth in the learned languages and other brandies of knowledge.
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Kingston, 1840 to 1970
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 year, then a sheet.
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 (8), Wikidata (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.
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