Kingston, New York

Kingston is a city in Ulster County, New York, United States. It is about 100 miles north of New York City, along the Hudson River. The population was 23,456 at the 2000 census.

The City of Kingston is on the eastern border of Ulster County, and is the county seat.

History

The City of Kingston was first called Esopus after a local Indian tribe, and later renamed Wiltwyck (Dutch: wild woods). It was one of the three large settlements in New Netherland. After the Dutch colony was taken over by the British in 1664, the settlement was renamed Kingston.

In 1777 Kingston became the first capital of New York. Shortly after the Battle of Saratoga, the city was burned by British troops moving to Canada from New York City. All but one or two buildings in the city were burned, along with massive stores of wheat (at the time, the area was a major granary for the colonies). There is some debate over exactly how much of a fight was put up against the British; one third of the local militia regiment was still to the north at Saratoga, and one third was to the south manning several forts (which were captured days before by the British). This would have left approximately 150 militiamen to defend the city against approximately 2,000 British regulars. In 1797, the capital was reestablished at Albany.

Geography

Kingston is located at (41.928877, -74.004088).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.6 square miles (22.4 km²), of which 7.3 square miles (19.0 km²) is land and 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²), or 15.03%, is water.

The city is on the west bank of the Hudson River. Neighboring cities include Hurley, Saugerties, and Red Hook.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 23,456 people, 9,871 households, and 5,498 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,189.5 persons per square mile (1,232.2/km²). There were 10,637 housing units at an average density of 1,446.4 houses per square mile (558.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 80.38% White, 12.77% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 1.53% Asian, 1.90% from other races, and 3.12% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.46% of the population.

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 median income for a household in the city was $31,594, and the median income for a family was $41,806. Males had a median income of $31,634 versus $25,364 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,662, with 12.4% of families and 15.8% of the population below the poverty line, including 23.5% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

Current Mayor

James Sottile, succeeded Mayor T.R. Gallo, deceased

Media

Newspapers- In Kingston- Daily Freeman, Kingston Times, Ulster County Press Outside Kingston- Poughkeepsie Journal, Times-Herald Record, (Middletown)
Television - Public Access Cable, Channel 23
Radio In Kingston- WKNY, 1490 AM, Outside Kingston WDST - 100.1 FM (Woodstock)

Unofficial Motto

"Kingston- Hey atleast it's not Saugerties."

External links

City of Kingston, New York

Ulster County, New York | Cities in New York | Former U.S. state capitals

Kingston (New York) | Kingston (Nova Iorque) | Kingston, New York