KINGSTON

capital and chief port of Jamaica, sprawling along the southeastern coast of the island, backed by the Blue Mountains. It is famous for its fine natural harbour, which is protected by the Palisadoes, a narrow peninsula that has been developed as a recreational and tourist resort. Kingston was founded in 1692 after Port Royal at the mouth of the harbour was destroyed by an earthquake. The core of the old city is a consciously planned rectangle with streets in a grid pattern. In 1703 the city became the commercial and, in 1872, the political capital of Jamaica. On several occasions it was almost destroyed by fire, and in January 1907 it suffered a violent earthquake. In the main streets of the city, modern buildings contrast sharply with the decaying architectural relics of former centuries. The Church of St. Thomas, on King Street, the chief thoroughfare, was first built before 1699 but was rebuilt after the earthquake in 1907. At the eastern limits of the town stands Rockfort, a moated fortress dating from the late 17th century and last manned in 1865. On Duke Street stands Headquarters House (formerly the seat of government), built by Thomas Hibbert, an 18th-century merchant; it is one of the few remaining architectural showpieces of a city once renowned for its fine houses. The Institute of Jamaica on East Street maintains a public library, museum, and art gallery especially devoted to local interests. The University of the West Indies (founded 1948) is at Mona, 5 miles (8 km) from Kingston. The Royal Botanical Gardens are at nearby Hope. By the 1980s most of the old wharves had been demolished and the entire waterfront redeveloped with hotels, shops, offices, a cultural centre, and cruise and cargo ship facilities. The airport at Palisadoes has domestic and international service. A government-owned railway runs from Kingston to most of Jamaica's 14 parishes over 210 miles (340 km) of track. Since 1923 the small parish of the original Kingston has merged physically and administratively with St. Andrew parish. More than one-quarter of the population of the whole country lives within the boundaries of this Kingston and St. Andrew corporation. Pop. (1991 prelim.) Kingston, 103,771. city, seat (1792) of Frontenac County, southeastern Ontario, Canada, on the north shore of Lake Ontario, at the point where it joins the St. Lawrence River, 135 mi (220 km) northeast of Toronto. Founded in 1673 by Louis de Buade, the comte de Frontenac and governor of New France in the late 17th century, on the site of the Indian settlement of Cataraqui, it served as a fur-trading post and military fort until destroyed by the British in 1758. The site was resettled in 1783 by United Empire Loyalists, who probably named it for King George III. The city soon became the chief naval base of Lake Ontario, and from 1841 until 1844, it was the seat of government for the united provinces of Upper and Lower Canada. Now a busy port at the head of the St. Lawrence River and the Rideau Canal (from Ottawa, 90 miles northeast), Kingston is also heavily industrialized; its manufactures include aluminum products, diesel locomotives and engines, ships, mining equipment, and ceramics. The city is the site of Queen's University (founded in 1841), the cathedrals of St. George and St. Mary, the International Hockey Hall of Fame, and the Royal Military College of Canada (1876), National Defence College, and Canadian Army Staff College. The massive Fort Henry, built during the War of 1812 and rebuilt in the 1830s, is a military museum. Inc. town, 1838; city, 1846. Pop. (1991) 56,597. town, southeastern Tasmania, Australia, lying on the Browns River, which flows into the estuary of the Derwent River. First settled in 1804, the area was known as Brown's River. By the time the town was proclaimed in 1866, the name Kingston was in general use, the change to Kingston being formalized in 1882. The service centre for an area producing apples and berries, Kingston is also a major tourist resort, offering swimming, angling, and golf. It serves as a dormitory town for the state capital, Hobart, 8 mi (13 km) to the north. Pop. (1981) 8,556. village in South Kingstown town (township), Washington county, southern Rhode Island, U.S. It developed after 1700 at the crossroads of the Pequot Indian Trail and the road to Tower Hill settlement and served as the county seat from 1752 to 1900. Until 1885 it was known as Little Rest (soldiers were said to have rested there in 1675 on their way to fight Indians). Kingston was untouched by the Industrial Revolution and remains a virtually unspoiled 18th-century village, with many of its buildings predating 1840. In 1892 the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (since 1951 the University of Rhode Island) was founded on the outskirts of the village. Pop. (1990) 6,504. city, seat (1683) of Ulster county, southeastern New York, U.S. It lies on the west bank of the Hudson River (there bridged), at the mouth of Rondout Creek, 54 miles (87 km) south of Albany. A fur-trading post was established on the site about 1615. The first permanent settlement, called Esopus, was made by the Dutch in 1652. Governor Peter Stuyvesant fortified it (1658) and issued a charter in 1661 renaming it Wiltwyck. With British control its name was changed to Kingston (1669) for the English family estate of Governor Francis Lovelace. The year 1777 was one of historic firsts for Kingston. In that year it was chosen as New York's first state capital; the state's first legislature, senate, and supreme court (under John Jay) convened there; the first state constitution was adopted there; and George Clinton was inaugurated there as New York's first governor. Burned by the British on October 16, 1777, during the American Revolution, the community survived and was incorporated as a village in 1805. In 1872 Kingston absorbed the adjacent villages of Rondout, Wiltwyck, and Wilbur and became a city. Kingston's growth during the 19th century was stimulated by the completion (1828) of the Delaware and Hudson Canal (providing a link with the Pennsylvania coalfields) and the arrival of the railroads in the 1860s. Boatbuilding, limestone quarrying, and the manufacture of cement products were early enterprises. The city's industries were later diversified; the manufacture of machine tools and blasting components is important. The city is surrounded by fruit lands and is a tourist base for the nearby Catskill resort areas. The old Senate House (1676) is preserved as a museum and state historic site. The city's Old Dutch Church (1852) originated with a congregation established in 1659. Other local attractions include the Hudson River Maritime Museum, the Trolley Museum of New York, and the Volunteer Firemen's Hall and Museum of Kingston. Ulster County Community College, part of the State University of New York system, is at nearby Stone Ridge. Ashokan Reservoir, an important part of the New York City water supply system, lies 5 miles (8 km) northwest. Pop. (1990) 23,095; (1998 est.) 21,860.