Kingston is a coastal town in Plymouth County,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, United States. The population was 13,708 at the 2020 census.

History

Before European settlers arrived, Kingston was within the tribal homeland of the

Wampanoag people The Wampanoag, also rendered Wôpanâak, are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands currently based in southeastern Massachusetts and formerly parts of eastern Rhode Island.Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Isl ...

. Several years before the ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reac ...

'' had landed in Plymouth, during the Native American epidemic of 1616 to 1619, the Wampanoag population was severely damaged from a rapidly spreading

pandemics A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic dis ...

due to earlier contacts with

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common ancestry, language, faith, historical continuity, etc. There are ...

. Several ancient Native American burial sites have been located within the borders of Kingston. Originally part of Plymouth, Kingston was first settled by Europeans shortly after the landing of the Pilgrims at

Plymouth Rock Plymouth Rock is a boulder in Plymouth, Massachusetts, that symbolizes the historical disembarkation site of the '' Mayflower'' Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony in December 1620, and has been claimed to be the Pilgrims' actual landing site. ...

in 1620. It was settled once more in 1635. During 1675, several bloody battles during

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...

are believed to have occurred within Kingston's borders and the residence of Governor Bradford, which is now part of Kingston, was raided by Wampanoag warriors. In 1685, the area was placed within the boundaries of Plymouth County and for a brief time, between 1686 and 1689, the borders of Kingston were within the

Dominion of New England The Dominion of New England in America (1686–1689) was a short-lived administrative union of English colonies covering all of New England and the Mid-Atlantic Colonies, with the exception of the Delaware Colony and the Province of Pennsylvani ...

. Kingston was first established as Plymouth's northern precinct in 1717 upon the creation of First Parish Kingston, now a Unitarian Universalist church in the town's center. Kingston was incorporated as a distinct town on June 16, 1726, following a tax dispute between the residents of north and south Plymouth, when the parish was known as the upper class portion of Plymouth. Kingston's borders were carved out of neighboring towns

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

Duxbury Duxbury (alternative older spelling: "Duxborough") is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb located on the South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore approximately to the southeast of Boston, the population was 16,090 ...

Plympton Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient Stannary, stannary town. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down riv ...

and Pembroke, all of which were incorporated before Kingston. Kingston is home to the longest continuously run boat yard in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, now named the Jones River Landing. 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 ...

era

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

, USS ''Independence'', was built by Kingston shipbuilders on the Jones River and has emerged as a town icon, featured on the Kingston town seal. The tenure of ''Independence'' in the Massachusetts Navy was short, however; the ship was captured in battle off the coast of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

by HMS ''Hope'' and HMS ''Nancy''. In the early-to-middle 19th century, Kingston flourished as a center for shipbuilding, as well as

ice harvesting Ice cutting is a winter task of collecting surface ice from lakes and rivers for storage in ice houses and use or sale as a cooling method. Rare today, it was common (see ice trade) before the era of widespread mechanical refrigeration and air ...

. Jones River Pond, the largest body of freshwater in town, was used during the long

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

winters to harvest ice. The harvested product was then shipped throughout the world. Jones River Pond was even renamed to Silver Lake for marketing purposes during the height of the ice harvesting export industry, and retains the name today. Kingston is also home to the first co-op store in North America, which was closed when the Silver Lake Post Office shuttered operations in 1954. On April 14, 1857, Kingston annexed a small part of Duxbury. It would be the last addition to the town's borders to date. In the 1950s Kingston was transformed from a small rural town into an extension of the

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

metropolitan area when Massachusetts Route 3 was constructed, connecting Boston to

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

, with two exits in Kingston (and a third exit immediately over the town line in

). Kingston saw its largest population growth in the 1990s when the Old Colony Railroad was reopened as a

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

line, connecting once-rural Kingston with

, making Kingston an even more viable place for commuters to live. More recently, Kingston has seen the construction of four industrial-sized

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over ...

s, located along Route 3.

Geography

According to 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 ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 9.02%, is water. Kingston is bordered by the town of Pembroke to the north,

to the northeast,

to the south, Carver to the southwest, and

to the west. Kingston is approximately southeast of Brockton and south-southeast of

. Kingston lies on Kingston Bay, an inlet to the larger Plymouth Bay. The Jones River runs through the town from its source, Silver Lake, to the bay. There are several brooks that branch off the river, as well as several other smaller ponds throughout the town, including Muddy Pond. There is a state forest in the town, located in the southern portion of the town which is commonly used for biking, off-roading, and hunting. Kingston is also the site of Gray's Beach, in a neighborhood called Rocky Nook, just north of the Plymouth town line. Kingston's highest natural point, with an elevation of 313 feet, is Monk's Hill.

Transportation

Massachusetts Route 3, also known as the Pilgrims Highway, runs through the eastern portion of town. There are three exits for Kingston: at the Independence Mall, now called the Kingston Collection, in the southern portion of town, at Route 3A, and on the Kingston/Duxbury town line where Route 3A again crosses the highway. The new highway portion of U.S. Route 44 passes through the southern portion of town, along the edge of the state forest, on its way to its new intersection with Route 3. Additionally, Routes 27, 53, 80, and 106 all end in the town, with all except Route 27 (which ends at Route 106) ending at their intersections with Route 3A. Kingston station is the terminus of the Kingston Line of the

MBTA Commuter Rail The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA's) transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track on 12 lines to 142 stations. It ...

system. Local transit is provided by GATRA, with the SAIL link from the train station through to Duxbury, Marshfield and Pembroke, and the Freedom and Liberty links to Plymouth. Regional air service can be reached at Plymouth Municipal Airport; the nearest national and international air service can be reached at

Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport — also known as Boston Logan International Airport — is an international airport located mostly in East Boston and partially in Winthrop, Massachusetts, United States. Covering , it has ...

in Boston. The Claire Saltonstall Bikeway also known as Bike Route 1 runs through the southern portion of town along Route 80. It runs for 135 miles from Boston to Cape Cod, with approximately three miles passing through Kingston.

Demographics

As of the

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

of 2009, there were 12,484 people, 4,363 households, and 2,940 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 4,707 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.3%

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 ...

, 0.1% Black or

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 ...

, 0.3% Native American, 2.3% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.7% from other races, and 0.8% 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 0.6% of the population. There were 4,363 households, out of which 35.6% had children over the age of 24 living with them, 56.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.9% had a female householder with 5 husbands present, and 32.6% were non-families. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.36. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.3% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 28.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 65 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.08 males. The median income for a household in the town was $79,045, and the median income for a family was $99,438. Males had a median income of $67,712 versus $48,846 for females. The

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 ...

for the town was $36,771. About 3.3% of families and 5.4% of the population were 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 3.7% of those under age 18 and 12.5% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Kingston is represented in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

as a part of the Twelfth Plymouth District, which includes Plympton and Halifax, plus portions of Duxbury, Middleborough and Plymouth. The town is represented in the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

as a part of the Plymouth and Barnstable District, which includes Bourne, Falmouth, Pembroke, Plymouth, and Sandwich. The town is patrolled by the First (Norwell) Barracks of Troop D of the

Massachusetts State Police The Massachusetts State Police (MSP) is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, responsible for law enforcement and vehicle regulation across the state. As of 2024, it has 2,500 sworn troop ...

. On the national level, Kingston is a part of Massachusetts's 9th congressional district, and is currently represented by Bill Keating. The state's senior ( Class II) member of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

, elected in 2012, is

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren (née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A mem ...

. The junior ( Class I) senator, elected in a special election replacing

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

in 2013, is

Ed Markey Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of ...

. Kingston operates under the open town meeting form of government, led by a town administrator and a

board of selectmen The select board or board of selectmen is commonly the Executive (government), executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms. Three ...

. Kingston's town offices moved into a new building in 2003, closer to its animal control and highway department facilities on Evergreen Street, on the opposite side of Evergreen Cemetery from the old building. The town operates its own police and fire departments. The town's EMT service brings its patients to nearby Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital- Plymouth. The town has a single post office, located along Route 3A. The Kingston Public Library is located just across the street from the old town hall, and is a part of the Old Colony Library Network.

Education

Kingston is a member of the Silver Lake Regional School District along with Halifax and Plympton. Although the towns in the Silver Lake School District share a middle school and a high school, each operates their own elementary schools. Kingston operates the Kingston Elementary School and Kingston Intermediate School for students from kindergarten through sixth grade. Once students reach seventh grade they are sent to Silver Lake Regional Middle School and upon reaching ninth attend Silver Lake Regional High School, both located in Kingston. Silver Lake's teams are known as the Lakers, and their colors are red and silver. Their chief rival is Pembroke High School, whom they play in the annual Thanksgiving Day football game. Pembroke was previously part of the Silver Lake Regional School District but withdrew in 2005. A new Silver Lake High School building finished construction in January 2006. Silver Lake operates its own vocational facilities; if a trade is chosen that is not supported by Silver Lake students are sent to South Shore Vocational Technical High School in Hanover. Silver Lake was recognized in 2008 by Boston Magazine as being one of the 30 smartest public high schools in Massachusetts. This is based on criteria including student achievement, college preparation, athletics programs, electives and the overall cost per community. Kingston is home to the private Roman Catholic Sacred Heart School. It is located along Bishops Highway (Route 80) just south of Route 44. It serves students from kindergarten through eighth grade.

Media

Television

Kingston is covered in both the

and

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

media markets, receiving

WCVB WCVB-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on TV Place (off Gould Street near the I-95/ MA 128/Highland Avenue inte ...

(ABC), WBZ (CBS), WBTS (NBC), and

WFXT WFXT (channel 25) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network and owned by Cox Media Group. Its studios are located on Fox Drive (near the Boston-Providence Turnpi ...

(Fox) news from Boston.

Newspapers

Over the years, Kingston has had many different newspapers. In 1912, the ''Kingston News'' had a brief stint. From 1927 to 1930, the ''Kingston Sun'' covered town. For many years, through the 1980s, the Pembroke-based ''Silver Lake News'' covered Kingston news. In the 1970s, the ''Kingston Voice'' was founded and became the ''Independent Voice'' in the 1980s. The ''Kingston Observer'' operated from 1987 to 2009. Since, the ''Kingston Reporter'' had been covering the local news since 1984, until it stopped printing in August 2022. Kingston is still currently covered in print media by the ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'', ''

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American conservative daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarde ...

'', ''

The Patriot Ledger ''The Patriot Ledger'' is a daily newspaper in Quincy, Massachusetts, that serves the South Shore. It publishes Monday through Saturday. History The paper was founded on , as the weekly ''Quincy Patriot'' by John Adams Green and Edmund Butl ...

'', and the '' Brockton Enterprise''.

Notable people

Isaac Allerton Isaac Allerton Sr. (c. 1586 – 1658/9), and his family, were passengers in 1620 on the historic voyage of the ship '' Mayflower''. Allerton was a signatory to the Mayflower Compact. In Plymouth Colony he was active in colony governmental affa ...

(Plymouth Colony assistant governor), original Plymouth Colony agent to the Merchant Adventurers, a first "Yankee Trader", mariner, and unofficial diplomat in pre-colonial Ameri

https://books.google.com/books?id=zsYY4RDnAGcC&pg=PA100&dq=Kingston+garrison+House,+Kingston,+Cushman+farm&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks%20redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjh0e2tspOKAxWcEFkFHXu2Kk8Q6AF6BAgJEAI] * William Bradford (Plymouth governor), William Bradford, 2nd, 5th, 7th, 9th & 11th Governor of Plymouth Colony * William Bradford, son of Governor William Bradford and Deputy Governor of Plymouth County (1682–1686) * John Howland, Mayflower passenger * John Thomas, Major general in the Continental Army who acted as a leader during the siege of Boston * Thomas Calter, former state representative *

Joseph Ripley Chandler Joseph Ripley Chandler (August 22, 1792 – July 10, 1880) was a Whig member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Biography Joseph R. Chandler was born in Kingston, Massachusetts. He was engaged in commercial work in Bost ...

, congressman *

Chris Cooper Christopher Walton Cooper (born July 9, 1951) is an American actor. Having made his debut as a stage actor, he made his Breakthrough role, breakthrough on television as Sheriff July Johnson in the acclaimed Western television miniseries ''Loneso ...

, actor * Marianne Leone Cooper, actress * Thomas Willett, first and third Mayor 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 ...

"The Story of the Jones River in Pilgrim Plymouth later Kingston Massachusetts" (pg 22),https://www.americana-archives.com/post/the-story-of-the-jones-river-in-pilgrim-plymouth-later-kingston-massachusetts *

Neil Cicierega Neil Stephen Cicierega ( ; born August 23, 1986) is an American musician, filmmaker, YouTuber, and animator. He is known as the creator of '' Potter Puppet Pals'', " The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny", and various music albums under the ...

, internet personality and musician * Ezekiel Holmes, American agriculturalist (state congressman and senator of Maine) * Beulah Marie Dix, American screenwriter of the silent and sound film eras * Leo Egan, American sportscaster and news announcer * Rich Cronin, singer, songwriter ( LFO) * Percy Keese Fitzhugh, author * Matt Hawrilenko, professional poker player * John Holmes, congressman and senator * Tim Murphy, the Thomas Stephenson Family Head Coach for Harvard Football * Christopher Prince, merchant, farmer and political figure * Marshall Strickland, basketball player *

Peleg Wadsworth Peleg Wadsworth (May 6, 1748 – November 12, 1829) was an American Patriot officer during the American Revolutionary War and a Congressman from Massachusetts representing the District of Maine. He was also grandfather of noted American ...

, military officer