Kingston is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Ulster County, New York Ulster County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston, ...

, United States. The population was 24,069 at the 2020 census, while the Kingston metropolitan statistical area had 177,749 residents. It is at the confluence of

Rondout Creek Rondout Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 tributary of the Hudson River in Ulster and Sullivan counties, New York, United States. It rises on Roc ...

and the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

, north of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and south of Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grouped with the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...

around Manhattan by the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

. Kingston became New York's first capital in 1777. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, the city was burned by the British on October 13, 1777, after the

Battles of Saratoga The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) were two battles between the American Continental Army and the British Army fought near Saratoga, New York, concluding the Saratoga campaign in the American Revolutionary War. The seco ...

. In the 19th century, it became an important

transport hub A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between mode of transport, transport modes. Public transport hubs include train station, railway stations, metro station, rapid transit stations, bus ...

after the discovery of natural cement in the region. It had connections to other markets through both the railroad and canal connections. Many of the older buildings are considered contributing as part of three historic districts, including the Stockade District uptown, the Midtown Neighborhood Broadway Corridor, and the Rondout-West Strand Historic District downtown. Each district is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

History

Colonial history

Kingston is the traditional home of the

Esopus people The Esopus () were a tribe of Lenape (Delaware) Native Americans who were native to the Catskill Mountains of what is now the Hudson Valley. Their lands included modern-day Ulster and Sullivan counties. The Lenape originally resided in the Delaw ...

. As early as 1614, the Dutch had set up a ''

factorij Factory was the common name during the medieval and early modern eras for an entrepôt – which was essentially an early form of free-trade zone or transshipment point. At a factory, local inhabitants could interact with foreign merchants, of ...

'' (trading post) at Ponckhockie, at the junction of the

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 Kingsto

The first recorded permanent settler in what would become the city of Kingston was Thomas Chambers. He came from the area of Manor of Rensselaerswyck, Rensselaerswyck in 1653. The new settlement was called ''Esopus'' after the local Lenape people. In 1654, European settlers began buying more land from the Esopus Indians further west. However, historians believe the two cultures had drastically different conceptions of property and land use, causing tension between the two groups. Common sources of friction between Dutch settlers and the Esopus included settlers' livestock trampling Indian cornfields, disputes over trade, and the adverse effects of Dutch brandy on the Native Americans. Prior to the Europeans' arrival, natives had no experience with liquor. In the spring of 1658,

Peter Stuyvesant Peter Stuyvesant ( – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial administrator who served as the Directors of New Netherland, director-general of New Netherland from 1647 to 1664, when the colony was pro ...

, Director-General of New Amsterdam, ordered the consolidation and fortification of the settlement on high ground in what today is Uptown Kingston. The building of the defensive stockade increased the conflicts. Tensions broke out in the

Esopus Wars The Esopus Wars were two conflicts between the Esopus tribe of Lenape Natives (Delaware) and New Netherlander colonists during the latter half of the 17th century in Ulster County, New York. The first battle was instigated by settlers; the second ...

. In 1661, the Dutch granted a charter for the settlement as a separate municipality; Stuyvesant named it ''Wiltwijck'' (Wiltwyck). In 1663, the Esopus were defeated in the Second Esopus War by a coalition of Dutch settlers, and

Wappinger The Wappinger ( ) were an Eastern Algonquian Munsee-speaking Native American people from what is now southern New York and western Connecticut. At the time of first contact in the 17th century they were primarily based in what is now Dutc ...

and

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people (Kanien’kehá:ka), an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language (Kanien’kéha), the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a ...

peoples. When the Dutch ceded their New Netherland to the British in September 1664, the British people worked to settle boundaries and conflict between the Europeans and the Esopus. Ultimately, the Richard Nicolls/Esopus Indian Treaty (1665) resulted in lasting peace between the natives and settlers. According to the treaty, the Esopus "in the names of themselves and theire heirs forever, give, Grant, Alienate, and Confirme all their Right and Interest, Claime or demand, to a certaine Parcell of Land" including the city of Kingston and extending to modern

Kerhonkson Kerhonkson is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 1,722 at the 2020 census. The Kerhonkson CDP is an urban concentration that straddles the border of the town of Rochester a ...

. In exchange, the natives received "forty Blanketts, Twenty Pounds of Powder, Twenty Knives, Six Kettles, ndTwelve Barrs of Lead" and "three laced redd coates" as a gift to the tribal leader

Further, the British and Esopus designed a system of trade which included a protected trade path for the Esopus to travel unharmed, and a safe house where Esopus could stay when visiting the villag

The treaty was respected for generations, as evidenced by records of annual gatherings between the Esopus and local Kingstonians where each exchanged gifts of mutual respect. The treaty is still recognized and celebrated by the City of Kingston and descendants of the Esopus. Many descendants of the Esopus people who inhabited the area became remnant members of several other related, displaced tribes. Some in the diaspora are among the federally recognized

Stockbridge–Munsee Community The Stockbridge–Munsee Community, also known as the Mohican Nation Stockbridge–Munsee Band, is a federally recognized Native American tribe formed in the late eighteenth century from communities of so-called "praying Indians" (or Moravian I ...

, who moved from New York to Shawano County, Wisconsin; the Munsee-Delaware of the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, Canada, established after the Revolution by the Crown for its Iroquois and other Indian allies; and the Ramapough Lenape Indian Nation (located primarily in the highland of the New York-New Jersey border area). Wiltwyck was one of three large

settlements in

New Netherland New Netherland () was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states ...

, the other two being

Beverwyck Beverwijck ( ; ), often written using the pre-reform orthography Beverwyck, was a fur-trading community north of Fort Orange on the Hudson River within Rensselaerwyck in New Netherland that was renamed and developed as Albany, New York, afte ...

, now Albany; and

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...

, now New York City. With the English seizure of New Netherland in 1664, relations between the Dutch settlers and the English soldiers garrisoned there were often strained. In 1669, the English renamed Wiltwyck as Kingston, in honor of the family seat of Governor Lovelace's mother. In 1683, citizens of Kingston petitioned the Kingston court to buy more land from the Esopus people. Officials from Ulster County maintained contact with the Esopus until 1727. In 1777, Kingston was designated as the first capital of the

state of New York New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

. During the spring of 1777, when the New York State constitution was being written in White Plains, New York City was occupied by British troops. The work was moved to Kingston, which was deemed safer, and the document completed that April 20. It was never submitted to the people for ratification, but the first governor of the state, George Clinton, was sworn in as the first

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...

on July 30, 1777. The British never reached Albany, having been stopped at Saratoga, but they did reach Kingston. On October 13, 1777, the city was burned by British troops moving up river from

, and disembarking at the mouth of the Rondout Creek at "Ponckhockie". The residents of Kingston knew about the oncoming fleet. By the time the British arrived, the residents and government officials had removed to

Hurley, New York Hurley is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Ulster County, New York, Ulster County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 6,178 at the 2020 census.US Census Bureau, Hurley town, Ulster County, New York ...

. The Kingston area was largely agricultural and a major granary for the colonies at the time, so the British burned large amounts of wheat and all but one or two of the buildings. Kingston celebrates and re-enacts the 1777 burning of the city by the British every other year in a citywide theatrical staging of the event that begins at the Rondout. Kingston was incorporated as a village on April 6, 1805. In the early 1800s, four sloops plied the river, carrying passengers and freight from Kingston to New York. By 1829, river steamers made the trip to Manhattan in a little over twelve hours, usually travelling by night. Columbus Point (now known as Kingston Point) was the river landing for Kingston, and stage lines ran from the village to the Point. The Dutch cultural influence in Kingston remained strong through the nineteenth century.

Rondout

Rondout was a small farming village until 1825, when construction of the

Delaware and Hudson Canal The Delaware and Hudson Canal was the first venture of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, which would later build the Delaware and Hudson Railway. Between 1828 and 1899, the canal's barges carried anthracite coal from the mines of northeast ...

from Rondout to

Honesdale, Pennsylvania Honesdale is a Local government in Pennsylvania#Borough, borough in, and the county seat of, Wayne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough's population was 4,458 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Honesdale is lo ...

, attracted an influx of laborers. When they completed the canal in 1828, Rondout became an important tidewater coal terminal. Natural cement deposits were found throughout the valley, and in 1844 quarrying began in the "Ponchockie" section of Rondout. The Newark Lime and Cement Company shipped cement throughout the United States, a thriving business until the invention of cheaper, quicker drying

Portland Cement Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar (masonry), mortar, stucco, and non-specialty grout. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in th ...

. Workers cut and stored ice from the Hudson River each winter, keeping it in large warehouses of ice near the river. The ice would be cut in chunks and delivered to customers around the city. It was preserved in straw all year and ice chunks served as an early method of refrigeration. Large brick making factories also were built near this shipping hub. Rondout's primacy as a shipping hub ended with the advent of railroads. These lines were built through Rondout and Kingston, with stations in each place. They could also transport their loads through the city without stopping.

Wilbur

Wilbur (aka ''Twaalfskill'') was a hamlet upstream from Rondout, where the Twaalfskill Creek met the Rondout Creek. There was a sloop landing there. The hamlet became the center for the shipment of

bluestone Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of natural dimension stone, dimension or building stone varieties, including: * basalt in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, and in New Zealand * diabase, dolerites in Tasmania, ...

to lay the sidewalks of New York City. Kingston officially became a city on May 29, 1872, with the merger of the villages of Rondout and Kingston, and the hamlet of Wilbur.

Geography

Kingston has three recognized area neighborhoods. The Uptown Stockade Area, The Midtown Area, and The Downtown Waterfront Area. The Uptown Stockade District was the first capital of New York State. Meanwhile, the Midtown area is known for its early 20th century industries and is home to the Ulster Performing Arts Center and the historic City Hall building. The downtown area, once the village of Rondout and now the Rondout-West Strand Historic District, borders the

and includes a recently redeveloped waterfront. The creek empties into the Hudson River through a large, protected tidal area which was the terminus of the

, built to haul coal from Pennsylvania to New York City. The Rondout neighborhood is known for its artists' community and its many art galleries. It is also the site of a number of festivals, including the Kingston Jazz Festival and the Artists Soapbox Derby. Midtown is the largest of Kingston's neighborhoods, home to Kingston High School, an original Carnegie Library that is currently part of the high school, and both campuses of HealthAlliance Hospital, part of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network; HealthAlliance Broadway Campus (formerly The Kingston Hospital) and HealthAlliance Mary's Avenue Campus (formerly Benedictine Hospital). While the Uptown area is noted for its "antique" feeling, the overhangs attached to buildings along Wall and North Front streets were added to historic buildings in the late 1970s and are not authentically part of the 19th century Victorian architecture. The historic covered storefront walks, known as the Pike Plan, were recently reinforced and modernized with skylights. In the Stockade district of Uptown, many 17th century stone buildings remain. Among these is the Senate House, which was built in the 1670s and was used as the state capitol during the revolution. Many of these old buildings were burned by the British Oct. 17, 1777, and restored later. A controversial restoration of 1970s-era canopies was marred by the sudden appearance of painted red goats on planters just prior to the neighborhood's rededication. This part of the city is also the location of the Ulster County Office Building. According to the

, the city has an area of , of which is land and , or 15.03%, is water. The city is on the west bank of the

. Neighboring towns include

Hurley Hurley may refer to: Places England * Hurley, Berkshire, a village and civil parish * Hurley, Warwickshire, a village * Hurley Common, Warwickshire * Hurley Lock, a weir and lock on the River Thames United States * Hurley, Alabama, an uninc ...

, Saugerties, Rhinebeck, and Red Hook.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, the city had 23,887 people, 9,844 households, and 5,498 families. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 10,637 housing units at an average density of . The city's racial makeup was 73.2%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 14.6%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.50%

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

, 1.80% Asian, 1.90% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), ...

, and 5.00% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 13.4% of the population. As of the 2000 census there were 9,871 households, out of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.2% were married couples living together, 15.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.3% were non-families. 36.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 3.02. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.9% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.1 males. The city's median household income was $31,594, and the median family income was $41,806. Males had a median income of $31,634 versus $25,364 for females. The city's

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

was $18,662, with 12.4% of families and 15.8% of the population below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 23.5% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

O+ Festival O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), p ...

is a music and arts festival in Kingston.

Sports

Kingston Stockade FC Kingston Stockade Football Club is an American soccer team based in Kingston, New York. The team was founded in November 2015, and began its first season in May 2016.Vrusho, Spike.Stockade Supermen: Kingston, NY welcomes its own semi-pro soccer t ...

is a men's semi-professional soccer club that competes in the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The league is officially affiliated to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and has automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup. ...

in the fourth division of the US soccer pyramid. Kingston Stockade FC play their home games at

Dietz Stadium Robert Dietz Memorial Stadium is a football stadium in Kingston, New York. Dietz Stadium is the home field of the Kingston High School Tigers football team. Originally the Kingston Municipal Stadium, in 1954 it was dedicated to Robert H. Dietz ...

. In 1921, one time major league player

Dutch Schirick Harry Ernest "Dutch" Schirick (June 15, 1890 – November 12, 1968) was a pinch hitter in Major League Baseball for one game in 1914, who also later had a career as a New York Supreme Court judge for the Third District from 1935 to 1961. Life Sc ...

organized a semi-professional team, the Colonels, in Kingston, New York. Major league teams would, on occasion, play exhibition games against the Kingston Colonels, and would sometimes recruit local talent.

Bud Culloton Bernard Aloysius "Bud" Culloton (May 19, 1896 – November 9, 1976) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

became a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Parks and recreation

The city's

Hasbrouck Park Hasbrouck Park is a park in Kingston, New York or in Kingston (town), New York Kingston is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The Town of Kingston is in the northeastern part of Ulster County, north of the City of Kingston. Kings ...

was created in 1920; it is in area and includes a nature trail.

Government

The government of Kingston consists of a mayor and city council known as the Common Council. The Common Council consists of 10 members, nine of which are elected from wards while one is elected at large. The mayor is elected in a citywide vote every four years. Steve Noble was elected to the mayoral post in 2015. List of notable mayors:

Education

* The

Kingston City School District Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

, which covers the entire city, contains seven elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. * Kingston High School is the district's public high school The

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island in New York City and the count ...

operates Catholic schools in Ulster County. John A. Coleman Catholic High School closed in 2019. Kingston Catholic School is also in the community. St. Joseph School in Kingston had 267 students in 2007. It was originally scheduled to close in 2013. However the archdiocese reversed course and allowed it to stay open. However, in 2017 the school ultimately did close. By spring 2017 the school had 146 students. The would-be enrollment had dropped to 90 for the 2017–2018 school year. Kingston Catholic School acquired the newer St. Joseph building and turned it into its middle school facility. The older building was put up for sale in 2019. The Kingston Center of SUNY Ulster (KCSU) is a branch of the county's community college that offers programs, courses and certifications at a convenient Midtown location. KCSU is the new home for Police Basic Training and also offers human services, criminal justice and the general education courses required by the State of New York to satisfy the liberal arts core of an A.A. or A.S. degree.

Media

Newspapers

* ''

Daily Freeman The Daily Freeman, published in Kingston, New York, serves as the primary morning newspaper for Ulster County, as well as Greene County, Columbia County and Dutchess County. Established in 1871 under the moniker "Rondout Daily Freeman," the ...

'', ''

Kingston Times The ''Kingston Times'' is a weekly newspaper published in Kingston, New York Kingston is the only Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in, and the county seat of, Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York Ci ...

Television

Public-access television Public-access television (sometimes called community-access television) is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is Narrowcasting, narrowcast through cable tele ...

channel 23

Radio

* Kingston-based: WAMK (90.9 FM),

WGHQ WGHQ (920 kHz) is a commercial AM broadcasting, AM radio station City of license, licensed to Kingston, New York, and serving the Hudson Valley. WGHQ is owned by Pamal Broadcasting and it simulcasts a conservative talk radio format known as "The B ...

(920 AM),

WKNY WKNY (1490 kHz; "Radio Kingston") is an AM radio station in Kingston, New York, serving Ulster County. It broadcasts at a power of 1,000 watts from a single tower located off Albany Avenue. The studios and offices are on Broadway in Kingston. ...

(1490 AM/107.9 FM),

WKXP WKXP (94.3 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Kingston, New York, and serving the Hudson Valley of New York state. The station is owned by Townsquare Media and it broadcasts a soft adult contemporary radio format from its radio stud ...

(94.3 FM)

Print

*''Chronogram'', ''

Trends Journal Gerald Celente (born November 29, 1946) is an American trend forecaster,Alderman, Leslie, , money.cnn.com, 15 December 1997, retrieved 3 August 2009Hopkins, Steve,Doctor doom – For 2008, Gerald Celente predicts the total collapse of an already ...

Infrastructure

Transportation

Commuter service is available by bus to

daily via

Trailways of New York Trailways of New York is one of the largest privately held transportation companies based in New York State. It employs over 450 people and carries passengers more than 80 million miles annually. TrailwaysNY, as it is known, operates over 150 tr ...

. The 90-mile trip takes roughly two hours by motor coach. Passenger

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

service to Kingston Union Station was discontinued in 1958 when the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...

ended passenger service on the

West Shore Railroad The West Shore Railroad was a U.S. railway company active in the states of New York and New Jersey between 1885 and 1952. It was incorporated in 1885 to reorganize the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway, which had originally been inten ...

, which ran on an Albany—Kingston—Newburgh—

Weehawken, New Jersey Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on the Hudson Waterfront and Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's po ...

itinerary.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

maintains service on the east side of the Hudson. The Rhinecliff–Kingston Amtrak station is about away, and there is also access to Amtrak at the

Poughkeepsie station Poughkeepsie station is a Metro-North Railroad and Amtrak stop serving the city of Poughkeepsie, New York. The station is the northern terminus of Metro-North's Hudson Line, and an intermediate stop for Amtrak's several Empire Corridor trains. ...

, on the east bank of the Hudson and about south. That station also serves as the northernmost terminus for

Metro-North The Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company , also branded as MTA Metro-North Railroad and commonly called simply Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of ...

commuter trains.

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

operates freight rail service through Kingston on the River Line Subdivision. A small rail yard containing seven tracks is operated in Kingston. The Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge, to the north, carries

New York State Route 199 New York State Route199 (NY199) is a state highway located in the Hudson Valley of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Its western end is in Ulster County, New York, Ulster County, where it begins as the continuation of the short U.S. ...

and is the nearest bridge traversing the

U.S. Highway 9W U.S. Route 9W (US 9W) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway in the states of New Jersey and New York. It begins in Fort Lee, New Jersey, as Fletcher Avenue crosses the US 1/9, US 46, and Interstate 95 (I- ...

runs north–south through the city. The

New York State Thruway The New York State Thruway (officially the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway and colloquially "the Thruway") is a system of controlled-access toll roads spanning within the U.S. state of New York. It is operated by the New York State Thruway ...

, carrying the Interstate 87 designation through this section, runs through the western part of the city. The area is served by

Kingston–Ulster Airport Kingston–Ulster Airport is a privately owned, public use airport located four nautical miles (5 mi, 7 km) north of the central business district of Kingston, a city in Ulster County, New York, United States. The airport is sit ...

, located at the western base of the Kingston–Rhinecliff bridge. The nearest major airports to Kingston are

Stewart International Airport New York Stewart International Airport – colloquially known as Stewart International Airport, is a public/military airport in Orange County, New York, United States. It is in the southern Hudson Valley, west of Newburgh, south of Kingston ...

south in Newburgh, and

Albany International Airport Albany International Airport is northwest of Albany, in Albany County, New York, United States. It is owned by the Albany County Airport Authority. ALB covers of land. It is an airport of entry in the town of Colonie. It was built on the ...

, approximately north. The three major metropolitan airports for New York City are located on western Long Island (

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport ( ) – colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA – is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the North Shore (Long Island), northwestern shore of Long Island, bord ...

, approximately south and

John F. Kennedy International John F. Kennedy International Airport is a major international airport serving New York City and its metropolitan area. JFK Airport is located on the southwestern shore of Long Island, in Queens, New York City, bordering Jamaica Bay. It is t ...

, approximately south) and in New Jersey (

Newark Liberty International Newark Liberty International Airport is a major international airport serving the New York metropolitan area. The airport straddles the boundary between the cities of Newark, New Jersey, Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and E ...

,approximately south). Local travel was supported by the city-owned CitiBus system (headquarters at 420 Broadway) provides city bus service, and Ulster County Area Transit (UCAT) provides service to points elsewhere in Ulster County. Route A travels between Kingston Plaza and Riverfront, B between Albany Avenue and Fairview Avenue, and C between Golden Hill and Port Ewen. The service was taken over by UCAT in 2019. Weekend water taxi service between Kingston and

Rhinecliff, New York Rhinecliff is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located along the Hudson River in the town of Rhinebeck in northern Dutchess County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Rhinecliff was 425. History Today� ...

is available May through October. Some trips stop at the

Rondout Light Rondout Light is a lighthouse on the west side of the Hudson River at Kingston, New York. Nomenclature *The official name in the Coast Guard Light List is Rondout Creek Leading Light. *The National Register name, Kingston/Rondout 2 Lighthouse com ...

. Kingston historically was an important transportation center for the region. The Hudson River, Rondout Creek and

were important commercial waterways. At one time, Kingston was served by four railroad companies and two trolley lines. Kingston has been designated as a

New York State Heritage Area New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

, with a transportation theme. The

Hudson River Maritime Museum The Hudson River Maritime Museum is a maritime museum dedicated to the Hudson River. It is located at 50 Rondout Landing at the foot of Broadway in Kingston, New York, United States, along Rondout Creek in the city's old waterfront, just eas ...

and

Trolley Museum of New York The Trolley Museum of New York is a non-profit organization located at 89 East Strand Street in Kingston, New York. The museum is open to the public on a seasonal schedule, but volunteer activities relating to the preservation of historic tra ...

are located along the waterfront and help interpret this historic role. The

Catskill Mountain Railroad The Catskill Mountain Railroad is a heritage tourist railroad based in Kingston, New York, that began operations in 1982. The railroad leases a 4.7-mile portion (MP 3.6 to MP 8.3) of the former New York Central Railroad Catskill Mountain bran ...

, a scenic railroad company, runs trains from Kingston to West Hurley on the former Ulster and Delaware right of way. , more than 12 projects were being coordinated among the Kingston Land Trust, Kingston City Government, and Ulster County Government, which will connect all three of Kingston's historic neighborhoods with a combination of rail trails, bike lanes and

Complete Streets Complete streets is a transportation policy and design approach that requires streets to be planned, designed, operated and maintained to enable safe, convenient and comfortable travel and access for users of all ages and abilities regardless of ...

connections.

Healthcare

Residents of the city and surrounding areas are served by the two hospital campuses of HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley, a 315-bed healthcare system: * HealthAlliance Hospital: Broadway Campus (formerly Kingston Hospital) * HealthAlliance Hospital: Mary's Avenue Campus (formerly Benedictine Hospital) HealthAlliance is part of the

Westchester Medical Center Westchester Medical Center University Hospital (WMC), formerly Grasslands Hospital, is an 895-bed Regional Trauma Center providing health services to residents of the Hudson Valley, northern New Jersey, and southern Connecticut. It is known for h ...

Health Network, a 10-hospital, 1,700-bed

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...

-wide healthcare system.

Notable people

References

External links

City of Kingston, New York

History of St. Joseph's Parish
{{authority control Cities in New York (state) County seats in New York (state)

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

New York State Heritage Areas Cities in Ulster County, New York New York (state) populated places on the Hudson River Cities in the New York metropolitan area 1653 establishments in the Dutch Empire