Kingston, New York
city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 24,069 at the 2020 census, while the Kingston metropolitan statistical area had 177,749 residents. It is at the confluence of Rondout Creek and the Hudson River, 91 miles (146 km) north of New York City and 59 miles (95 km) south of Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grouped with the New York metropolitan area around Manhattan by the United States Census Bureau.
Kingston became New York's first capital in 1777. During the American Revolutionary War, the city was burned by the British on October 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga. Albany was designated the state capital in 1797, years after the colonies achieved independence.
In the 19th century, Kingston became an important transport hub after the discovery of natural cement in 1825 in the region. The city's connections to other markets through both the railroad and Erie Canal made it strong economically. Today many of the older buildings associated with this era are considered contributing as part of three historic districts, including the Stockade District uptown, the Midtown Neighborhood Broadway Corridor, and the Rondout-West Strand Historic District downtown.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Kingston, New York” as city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q868660. VIAF identifies the subject as 152440976. The Library of Congress control number is n80065553. Authority coordinates are 41.925, -74.000. 2 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1777, 1797 and 1825.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Kingston, New York”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Kingston, New York primary sources, Kingston, New York archive and Kingston research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Kingston, New York”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Kingston, New York” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.