Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1828.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Kingston Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kingston Township is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #934 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kingston Township’s overall grade.
Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Kingston Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 points). Two sources give 1857.
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 Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Kingston Township
CarvertonCedar CrestEvergreenMount GreenwoodMount OlivetSaint Nicholas
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Kingston Township on the map, 1893 to 1983
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kingston Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1893Pittston 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 Township.
People over time
Kingston Township, census by census
Peaked at 21,600 in 1930; 13,349 people lived here in 2020.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Kingston Township’s Wikipedia page.
In the early 1660s, King Charles II owed Admiral Sir William Penn a large sum of money. To settle this debt, he granted Penn's son, William, a territory in North America, which later became known as Pennsylvania. However, Connecticut also claimed a portion of this land.
Count Zinzendorf was one of the first people to take an interest in the Wyoming Valley. In 1742, he came to the region to convert the Native Americans to Christianity. At the time, the valley was inhabited by several Native American tribes (including the Susquehannock and the Delaware).
Passages that mention Kingston Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of Wilkes-Barré, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania1909 · page 123Read the page →
Read the text
Kingston Township — One of the most historic townships of Luzerne County is Kingston, which has had name and importance since the beginning of settlement of the Wyoming Valley. It was one of the original divisions of the Connecticut regime, and was confirmed as Kingston Township when Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, was formed. From it have been taken the territory that is now Dallas Township, and parts of Franklin and Lake townships were once parts of Kingston. Again, it has carried several boroughs of interesting history through their first halting days as communities. Kingston, Dor-
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 Township, 1828 to 1960
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1857, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Kingston Township’s post office opened in 1828, and the census of 1860 counted 638 people here.
How does Kingston Township rank for history?
Kingston Township is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #934 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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.
How old are the homes in Kingston Township?
13% of Kingston Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (8), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, 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 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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