Kingston

Kingston, a borough of Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., on the North Branch of the Susquehanna river, opposite Wilkes-Barré. Pop. (1900), 3846 (1039 foreign-born); (1910) 6449. Kingston is served by the Delaware, Lackawanna &. Western and the Lehigh Valley railways. It is the seat of Wyoming Seminary (1844; co-educational), a well-known secondary school. Anthracite coal is mined here; there are railway repair and machine-shops; and among the borough’s manufactures are hosiery, silk goods, underwear and adding machines. Kingston (at first called “Kingstown,” from Kings Towne, Rhode Island) was commonly known in its early days as the “Forty Township,” because the first permanent settlement was made by forty pioneers from Connecticut, who were sent out by the Susquehanna Company and took possession of the district in its name in 1769. In 1772 the famous “Forty Fort,” a stockade fortification, was built here, and in 1777 it was rebuilt, strengthened and enlarged. Here on the 3rd of July 1778 about 400 men and boys met, and under the command of Colonel Zebulon Butler (1731-95) went out to meet a force of about 1100 British troops and Indians, commanded by Major John Butler and Old King (Sayenqueraghte). The Americans were defeated in the engagement that followed, and many of the prisoners taken were massacred or tortured by the Indians. A monument near the site of the fort commemorates the battle and massacre. Kingston was incorporated as a borough in 1857. (See Wyoming Valley.)

KINGSTON, the capital and chief port of Jamaica, West Indies. Pop. (1901), 46,542, mostly negroes. It is situated in the county of Surrey, in the south-east of the island, standing on the north shore of a land-locked harbour—for its size one of the finest in the world—and with its suburbs occupying an area of 1080 acres. The town contains the principal government offices. It has a good water supply, a telephone service and a supply of both gas and electric light, while electric trams ply between the town and its suburbs. The Institute of Jamaica maintains a public library, museum and art gallery especially devoted to local interests. The old parish church in King Street, dating probably from 1692 was the burial-place of William Hall (1699) and Admiral Benbow (1702). The suburbs are remarkable for their beauty. The climate is dry and healthy, and the temperature ranges from 93° to 66° F. Kingston was founded in 1693, after the neighbouring town of Port Royal had been ruined by an earthquake in 1692. In 1703, Port Royal having been again laid waste by fire, Kingston became the commercial, and in 1872 the political, capital of the island. On several occasions Kingston was almost entirely consumed by fire, the conflagrations of 1780, 1843, 1862 and 1882 being particularly severe. On the 14th of January 1907 it was devastated by a terrible earthquake. A long immunity had led to the erection of many buildings not specially designed to withstand such shocks, and these and the fire which followed were so destructive that practically the whole town had to be rebuilt. (See Jamaica.)