Kingston is a village and a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

within the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

South Kingstown South Kingstown is a town in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,931 at the 2020 census. South Kingstown is the second largest town in Rhode Island by total geographic area, behind New ...

in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States, and the site of the main campus of the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Isla ...

. The population was 6,974 at the 2010 census. Much of the village center is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

as Kingston Village Historic District. It was originally known as Little Rest.

History

Kingston was first settled in the late seventeenth century. Originally known as Little Rest, the name was changed to Kingston in 1826. It was the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

for Washington County (formerly Kings County) from 1752 until 1894, when a new courthouse was built in nearby West Kingston. West Kingston is also the site of the historic Kingston Railroad Station which opened in June, 1875. The station is served by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

on its Northeast Corridor. For a time, starting in the late 1770s, the preacher Jemima Wilkinson, known as the

Public Universal Friend The Public Universal FriendOriginal spelling: ''the Publick Universal Friend''. Shortened forms: ''the Universal Friend'', ''the Friend'', or ''P.U.F.'' (born Jemima Wilkinson; November 29, 1752 – July 1, 1819) was an American preacher born ...

resided and gave sermons in the town. As late as the 1900s inhabitants of Kingston called a species of

solidago ''Solidago'', commonly called goldenrods, is a genus of about 100 to 120''Solidago''.
F ...

"Jemima weed", because its appearance in the town coincided with the preacher's first visit to the area.Christian M McBurney, ''Kingston : a forgotten history'' (1975), p. 32Philip Kittredge Taylor, "Little Rest", in ''The New England Magazine'', vol. 28, no. 2 (April, 1903), p. 139 (a record from when the term "Jemima weed" was still in use). South Kingstown established the Kingston Historic District in 1959, and much of Kingston village became a National Register historic district in 1974 as Kingston Village Historic District. The historic district is located just outside the campus of the

and contains many fine examples of 18th and 19th century

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

. The historic district includes 38 buildings. The

was established at Kingston in 1888 as the Rhode Island Agricultural School and Agricultural Experiment Station, by funding from the Hatch Act of 1887. In 1892 the Agricultural School became the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts with funding from the Second Morrill Land Grant Act of 1890, later becoming Rhode Island State College in 1909 and the

in 1951.

Economy

In addition to the university, major businesses in Kingston include

APC by Schneider Electric APC by Schneider Electric (formerly American Power Conversion Corporation) is a manufacturer of uninterruptible power supplies, electronics peripherals, and data center products. In 2007, Schneider Electric acquired APC and combined it with MG ...

and the Arnold Lumber Company.

Education

Public schools are operated by the South Kingstown School District. Educational institutions in Kingston include: * The Compass School, a public K-8 charter school * Kingston Hill Academy, a public K-5 charter school *

* Gordon Research Conferences center

Houses of worship

Religious denominations represented with churches, mosques, and synagogues in Kingston or on the university campus are Roman Catholicism, the United Church of Christ, Episcopalians, United Methodists, Baptists, Islam, and Judaism.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the CDP has a total area of 1.563 square miles (4.05 km), of which 1.556 square miles (4.03 km) is land and 0.007 square miles (0.02 km) (0.45%) is water.

Climate

Demographics

Nearby populated areas

Wakefield, Rhode Island Wakefield is a village in the town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, United States, and the commercial center of South Kingstown. Together with the village of Peace Dale, it is treated by the U.S. Census as a component of the census-designated ...

(3 miles) *

Peace Dale, Rhode Island Peace Dale (also spelled Peacedale) is a village in the town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island. Together with the village of Wakefield, it is treated by the U.S. Census as a component of the census-designated place identified as Wakefield-Peacedal ...

(3 miles) *

Narragansett, Rhode Island Narragansett is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 14,532 at the 2020 census. However, during the summer months the town's population more than doubles to near 34,000. The town of Narragansett occupie ...

(5 miles)

References

External links

*
Town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island
* {{authority control Villages in Washington County, Rhode Island South Kingstown, Rhode Island Census-designated places in Washington County, Rhode Island Providence metropolitan area Villages in Rhode Island Census-designated places in Rhode Island