History
The village was originally called Little Rest, but was renamed Kingston in 1726. It was the county seat for Washington County (formerly Kings County) from 1752 until 1894, when a new courthouse was built in nearby West Kingston. West Kingston is also the site of the historic 120-year-old Kingston Railroad Station, which is served by Amtrak on its Northeast Corridor.
South Kingstown established the Kingston Historic District in 1959, and much of Kingston village became a National Register historic district in 1974 as Kingston Village Historic District. The historic district is located just outside of the campus of the University of Rhode Island, and contains many fine examples of 18th and 19th century architecture. The historic district includes 38 buildings.
The University of Rhode Island was established at Kingston in 1888 as the Rhode Island Agricultural School and Agricultural Experiment Station, by funding from the Hatch Act of 1887. In 1892 the Agricultural School became the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts with funding from the Second Morrill Land Grant Act of 1890, later becoming Rhode Island State College in 1909 and the University of Rhode Island in 1951.
Read more about this topic: Kingston, Rhode Island
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