With its peaceful cove and captivating mountain views, Kingston has long been a charming community on Puget Sound west of Seattle. Dubbed "Little City by the Sea," "Gateway to the Olympic Mountains," and "Ferry Town," Kingston has an extensive history beyond its boating appeal. It was once a seasonal fishing and food gathering spot for indigenous people, a logging camp, and a planned location for a major resort. In the 1900s, it became a productive farming community, a smugglers' hideout, a strategic military site, an artists' haven, and a summer retreat for Seattle city dwellers. Today, as a major ferry port, Kingston is still a quaint village of about 2,500 people--with an hourly traffic jam. Approximately four million people pass through Kingston annually on the Washington State Ferries or stop in Kingston's delightful marina and nearby shops.
Located midway up the legendary Hudson River, Kingston has its own storied past. In the Stockade National Historic District in uptown Kingston where the city was founded in 1658, many of the sturdy limestone houses built by the early European settlers still stand. Downtown Kingston offers a view of the thriving maritime village that mushroomed on the waterfront in the 19th century when the Delaware and Hudson Canal opened there in 1828. The storefronts, homes, and churches of the Rondout National Historic District are the legacy of the immigrants and entrepreneurs who poured in hoping to ride the tide of prosperity promised by the canal. Midtown reflects the pride of the new city of Kingston after the two villages united in 1872 and a civic center and robust industrial district grew on former grazing fields.
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