Founding year: the first Kingston post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1857.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 91% of U.S. towns, #173 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kingston’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’s 4.5 sits above most of its state (66% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1857.
Founding year: the first post office (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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kingston. 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.
Every building
Kingston, building by building, 1884–1925
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.
1884Sheet 2 of 2
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
People over time
Kingston, 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’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, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of the certified township of Kingston, Pennsylvania, 1769 to 19291930 · page 249Read the page →
Read the text
the paths of the savage people have been followed by civilized man with his highways, canals and railroads. It is significant therefore, that the court, even before it formed the township, laid out the roads of Kingston. At the June Sessions of 1788, Benjamin Carpenter, Abel Peirce, Lawrence Myers, Benjamin Smith, and John Dorrance were appointed to lay out the roads in the Town of Kingston. At the following September Sessions, they reported and laid the following roads: Road Number 1
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of the certified township of kingston pennsylvania 1769 to 19291930 · page 249Read the page →
Read the text
the paths of the savage people have been followed by civilized man with his highways, canals and railroads. It is significant therefore, that the court, even before it formed the township, laid out the roads of Kingston. At the June Sessions of 1788, Benjamin Carpenter, Abel Peirce, Lawrence Myers, Benjamin Smith, and John Dorrance were appointed to lay out the roads in the Town of Kingston. At the following September Sessions, they reported and laid the following roads: Road Number 1
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of the certified township of Kingston, Pennsylvania, 1769 to 19291930 · page 412Read the page →
Read the text
4.12 Public and Private Schools Trustees of the Proprietors of the Certified Township of Kingston, providing the manner of their election, declaring all prior grants to the committees invalid, but by this act vesting in the corporation, title to all the public lands in the township, and confirming all leases and grants made by the former committees; and limiting the property to be held by the corporation to $10,000. This was the first of a series of similar acts, subsequently passed and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of the certified township of kingston pennsylvania 1769 to 19291930 · page 277Read the page →
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'The most important event, in the first two decades of this period, was the'loss of a portion of the old certified township, itself, by the erection of Franklin Township, in 1843. While it is true, Dallas had been created from a part of Kingston Township, it was only that part of the municipal township of Kingston, which ran back from the certified line to Lycoming County. Atthe January Sessions of the court in 1843, a petition was presented for the erection of a township, out of parts 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, 1809 to 1990
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.
The Kingston post office opened in 1809, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1857.
How does Kingston rank for history?
Kingston is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #173 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.
What is on the National Register in Kingston?
One place: the Wyoming Seminary (listed 1979).
How old are the homes in Kingston?
35% of Kingston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1952.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
![A0113-A0116--Retail Coal Dealers Association of New England States [1905.06.28]](https://images.townratings.com/story/15372/96e4f3f5cbced40f8113-s.jpg)
1905
