Kingston, Rhode Island

Kingston, Rhode Island
—  Unincorporated community  —
Kingston, Rhode Island
Location within the state of Rhode Island
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Rhode Island
County Washington
Area
 • Land 1.57 sq mi (4.1 km2)
Elevation 246 ft (75 m)
Population (2000)
 • Total 5,446
 • Density 3,474.6/sq mi (1,341.6/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 02881
Area code(s) 401
FIPS code 44-38980[1]
GNIS feature ID 1217812[2]
Kingston Village Historic District
Kings County Court House (now a public library) where the Constitution was last voted against by Rhode Island in 1790
Area: 470 acres
Architectural style: Greek Revival, Late Victorian, Federal, Colonial
Governing body: Local
NRHP Reference#: 74000011[3]
Added to NRHP: May 1, 1974

Kingston is a village and a census-designated place in the town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, United States, and the site of the main campus of the University of Rhode Island. Much of the village center is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Kingston Village Historic District.

The village was originally called Little Rest, but was renamed Kingston in 1826. It was the county seat for Washington County (formerly Kings County) from 1752 until 1894, when a new courthouse was built in nearby West Kingston. West Kingston is the also the site of the historic 120-year-old Kingston Railroad Station, which is served by Amtrak on its Northeast Corridor.

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 of the campus of the University of Rhode Island, and contains many fine examples of 18th and 19th century architecture. The historic district includes 38 buildings.

The University of Rhode Island 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 University of Rhode Island in 1951.[4]

Contents

Nearby populated areas

Climate

Climate data for Kingston
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °F (°C) 37.7
(3.2)
38.6
(3.7)
46.4
(8.0)
56.7
(13.7)
67
(19)
75.5
(24.2)
80.6
(27.0)
79.3
(26.3)
73.2
(22.9)
63.6
(17.6)
52.2
(11.2)
41.4
(5.2)
59.35
(15.19)
Average low °F (°C) 18.9
(−7.3)
19.6
(−6.9)
27.2
(−2.7)
35.4
(1.9)
44.7
(7.1)
53.8
(12.1)
59.8
(15.4)
58.5
(14.7)
51.6
(10.9)
41
(5)
32.6
(0.3)
23
(−5)
38.84
(3.80)
Precipitation inches (mm) 4.5
(114)
3.9
(99)
5
(127)
4.4
(112)
3.8
(97)
3.5
(89)
3.1
(79)
4.3
(109)
3.9
(99)
3.9
(99)
4.7
(119)
4.8
(122)
49.8
(1,265)
Source: Weatherbase [5]

Economy

In addition to the university, major businesses in Kingston include American Power Conversion and the Arnold Lumber Company.

Education

Public schools are operated by South Kingstown. Other educational institutions in Kingston include:

Churches and houses of worship

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

See also

References

Further reading

External links