Kingston, Washington
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Kingston (formerly Appletree Cove) is an
unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
and
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 counte ...
(CDP) in
Kitsap County Kitsap County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 275,611. Its county seat is Port Orchard, Washington, Port Orchard; its ...
, Washington, United States. The population was 2,515 at the 2020 census. Kingston is along the shores of Appletree Cove and
Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...
, and is home to a major Washington State Ferry terminal linking it to Edmonds.


Geography

Kingston is located in northeastern Kitsap County at (47.798764, −122.499071), on the east side of the Kitsap Peninsula. Washington State Route 104 runs through the community from the Washington State Ferry terminal, leading northwest to Port Gamble. Bremerton is to the southwest by highway. 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 Kingston CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 10.31%, are water.


Climate


History

Founded in 1853 by Benjamin Bannister, the community was originally known as " Appletree Cove". By 1880 it was a lumber town until the mill closed down in the early 20th century. Known as the "little city by the sea", Kingston is a northern gateway to the
Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large peninsula in Western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the ...
and is the social and economic center of the north end of the Kitsap Peninsula.


King's Town

In 1869, W.S. Ladd and his wife Caroline built a cabin on Appletree Cove. Michael King then bought the cabin nine years later. He moved in along with ten oxen and ten men. They slowly logged the hills around Appletree Cove. King built many small buildings and shacks along the shore for his men and animals. In 1882, he was done and moved on. The shacks and bunkhouses were left behind and lived in by drifters, squatters and old loggers. People living in the area often referred to this as "King's Town", probably as a joke. The name slowly evolved into ''Kingston'' and stuck.


Resort town

The Kingston townsite was platted on April 24, 1890, by C.C. Calkins and Samuel B. Brierly. Calkins dreamed of Kingston as a
resort town A resort town, resort city or resort destination is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding area. Sometimes ...
for vacationers from Seattle. Calkins called it "the
Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...
of Washington". Calkins had drawings and designs for a giant hotel on the waterfront, with a boat launch, a church on the hill, and a college. After Calkins and Brierly platted the town, a lower than expected number of people showed up to settle there. Calkins then gave up and left. The town slowly grew, but not at the pace that Calkins had dreamed.


Demographics

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 1,611 people, 685 households, and 452 families residing in the CDP. 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 977.2 people per square mile (377.0/km2). There were 773 housing units at an average density of 468.9/sq mi (180.9/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 91.1%
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 ...
, 0.3%
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 ...
, 1.2% Native American, 2.3% Asian, 1.0%
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 ...
, 1.6% from other races, and 2.6% 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 2.7% of the population. There were 685 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% 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, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.86. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 23.8% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $40,347, and the median income for a family was $54,583. Males had a median income of $43,839 versus $25,781 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 CDP was $24,212. About 9.2% of families and 11.2% 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 17.9% of those under age 18 and 13.7% of those age 65 or over.


Transportation

Kingston has a
Washington State Ferries Washington State Ferries (WSF) is a public ferry system in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It is a division of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and operates 10 routes serving 20 terminals within Puget ...
terminal for auto/passenger service to Edmonds. In September 2012, due to financial losses, the Port of Kingston discontinued its SoundRunner Kingston–Seattle passenger-only system. One of the former vessels, the '' Spirit of Kingston'', was transferred to the King County Ferry District on March 18, 2013, for service as part of the King County Water Taxi fleet. In January 2016 Kingston accepted delivery of a new modern
fireboat A fireboat or Fire-float Pyronaut, fire-float is a specialized watercraft with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with ...
. The new vessel is long, can travel at , and can pump 2,700 gallons per minute. The
Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...
has provided small ports with grants to equip themselves with modern fireboats, with sealed cabins, that can also help counter other threats, like oil spills, or attacks by chemical or biological weapons. Two thirds of the cost of this fireboat, $409,813, were paid by a federal grant. The vessel also has modern infrared sensors, which can help in search and rescue missions, and search for the hot spot at the center of a fire. Kingston had a smaller, slower, less capable older fireboat. Both vessels can project fire suppressant foam, less likely to sink flaming vessels, but experience with the older vessel suggests most of the fires the new vessel will fight will be on the shore, near the water. Kitsap Fast Ferries began service from Kingston to Seattle in November 2018.


Education

Public education is provided by the North Kitsap School District. Kingston's schools include Kingston Co-op Preschool, Gordon Elementary, Kingston Middle School, Spectrum Community School, Wolfle Elementary and Kingston High School.


In popular culture

Taree is a popular American Rock song by the band
Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced on drums initially ...
named after the Taree neighborhood in Kingston.. November 4, 2012.Roaring Redemption: Ben Shepherd's Wild Ride Back with Soundgarden
/ref>


References


External links

*
Port of Kingston

Kitsap Peninsula Visitor Information - Kingston

Kingston Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Census-designated places in Kitsap County, Washington Census-designated places in Washington (state) Populated places established in 1853 Populated places on Puget Sound