Kingston

Kingston is a coastal town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 13,708 at the 2020 census. Kingston is home to the longest continuously run boat yard in North America, now named the Jones River Landing. The American Revolutionary War era brig, USS Independence, was built by Kingston shipbuilders on the Jones river and has emerged as a town icon, featured on the Kingston town seal. In the early-to-middle 19th century, Kingston flourished as a center for shipbuilding, as well as ice harvesting. Kingston has seen the construction of four industrial-sized wind turbines, located along Route 3. The town is approximately 18 miles (29 km) southeast of Brockton and 35 miles (56 km) south-southeast of Boston. There is a state forest in the southern portion of the town, which is commonly used for biking, hiking, and hunting. There are three exits for Massachusetts Route 3, also known as the Pilgrims Highway, which runs through the eastern portion of town. The highest natural point in the town is Monk's Hill, with an elevation of 313 feet (100 meters) The town's highest natural high point is Mount Nook, with a elevation of 300 feet (120 meters) in the eastern part of town, just north of the Plymouth County line. It is also the site of a Unitarian Universalist church, called Gray's Beach, in a neighborhood called Rocky Nook. It was first established as Plymouth's northern precinct in 1717 upon the creation of First Parish Kingston.

History

Kingston was first established as Plymouth's northern precinct in 1717. It was incorporated as a distinct town on June 16, 1726, following a tax dispute between the residents of north and south Plymouth. The American Revolutionary War era brig, USS Independence, was built by Kingston shipbuilders on the Jones River and has emerged as a town icon. Kingston is home to the longest continuously run boat yard in North America, now named theJones River Landing. In the early-to-middle 19th century, Kingston flourished as a center for shipbuilding, as well as ice harvesting. Jones River Pond, the largest body of freshwater in town, was used during the long New England winters to harvest ice. The harvested product was then shipped throughout the world, and retains the name today. Kingston saw its largest population growth in the 1990s when the Old Colony Railroad was reopened as a commuter rail line, connecting once-rural Kingston with Boston. More recently, Kingston has seen the construction of four industrial-sized wind turbines, located along Route 3. The town is located on the Massachusetts Turnpike, which links Boston to Cape Cod and the New England seaport of Charlestown. It is the home of the first co-op store in North American, which was closed when the Silver Lake Post Office shuttered operations in 1954. It has been home to a U.S. Air Force base since the 1950s, which is located near the town's center. It also has a National Park Service ranger station.

Geography

Kingston lies on Kingston Bay, an inlet to the larger Plymouth Bay. The Jones River runs through the town from its source, Silver Lake, to the bay. Kingston is bordered by the town of Pembroke to the north, Duxbury to the northeast, Plymouth to the south, Carver to the southwest, and Plympton to the west. There is a state forest in the town, located in the southern portion of the town which is commonly used for biking, off-roading, and hunting. Kingston's highest natural point, with an elevation of 313 feet, is Monk's Hill, just north of the Plymouth town line. It is approximately 18 miles (29 km) southeast of Brockton and 35 miles (56 km) south-southeast of Boston. The town has a total area of 20.5 square miles (53.1 km²), of which 18.6 squaremile (48.3 km²) is land and 1.9 square mile (4.8km²), or 9.02% is water. It has a population of 2,816. The city of Kingston is located on the Massachusetts Turnpike, just south of the New Hampshire border. It was the site of the U.S. Civil War Battle of New Hampshire, which took place in 1775. The Battle of Kingston was fought between the American Revolution and the American Civil War, which ended in 1781. The battle was won by the American Revolutionary Army, which was led by General George Washington.

Transportation

Massachusetts Route 3, also known as the Pilgrims Highway, runs through the eastern portion of town. There are three exits for Kingston: at the Independence Mall, now called the Kingston Collection, at Route 3A, and on the Kingston/Duxbury town line. Commuter rail service from Boston's South Station is provided by the MBTA with a stop in Kingston on its Plymouth/Kingston Line. Regional air service can be reached at Plymouth Municipal Airport; the nearest national and international air services can be found at Logan International Airport in Boston. The Claire Saltonstall Bikeway runs for 135 miles from Boston to Cape Cod with about 3 miles through Kingston. The town is located on the 42nd parallel, recognized by a roadside memorial on Loring Street near the Bay Farms area. It is also on the route of U.S. Route 44, which passes through the southern portion of the town, along the edge of the state forest, on its way to its new intersection with Route 3. The Kingston/Plymouth line of MBTA's Commuter Rail system is located just off Route 3 north of the mall. It also has a stop on the Plymouth and Brockton Street Railway Company's Plymouth-Kingston line, which runs from Plymouth to Boston and stops in Kingston. It runs along Route 80, a bikeway that runs for about three miles through the town along the Boston-to-Cape Cod stretch of the Massachusetts Turnpike. It ends in Kingston at the intersection of Route 27 and Route 106.

Demographics

As of the American Community Survey of 2009, there were 12,484 people, 4,363 households, and 2,940 families residing in the town. There were 4,707 housing units at an average density of 254.5 per square mile (98.1/km²) The racial makeup of the town was 97.3% white, 0.1% Black or African American, 0,3% Native American, 2.3%, Asian, 0.,1% Pacific Islander, 0, 7% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.6% of the population. The median income for a household in theTown was $79,045, and the median income. for a family was $99,438. The per capita income for the town is $36,771. About 3.3%. of families and 5.4% of people were below the poverty line, including 3.7%. of those under age 18 and 12.5% of those age 65 or over. The town is located on the U.S.-Mexico border and is located near the border of the state of New Mexico. It is located at the junction of the New Mexico Turnpike and New Mexico State Route 4. The U.N. Census estimates that the town has a population of 12,483, with 4,788 of those living in households. The average household size is 2.73 and the average family size is 3.36.

Government

Kingston operates under the open town meeting form of government, led by a town administrator and a board of selectmen. The town is patrolled by the First (Norwell) Barracks of Troop D of the Massachusetts State Police. Kingston is a part of Massachusetts's 9th congressional district, and is currently represented by Bill Keating. The state's senior (Class II) member of the United States Senate, elected in 2012, is Elizabeth Warren. The junior (Class I) senator,elected in a special election replacing John Kerry in 2013, is Ed Markey. Kingston has a single post office, located along Route 3A. The Kingston Public Library is located just across the street from the old town hall. It is part of the Old Colony Library Network and is located on the corner of Route 3 and Main Street in the town of Plymouth. It has a free public library service, which is available to the public at no cost to residents of Kingston and surrounding areas. It also offers a free, 24-hour emergency services service, including EMTs and animal control and highway department facilities. Kingston's town offices moved into a new building in 2003, on the opposite side of Evergreen Cemetery from the original building. It operates its own police and fire departments, and the town's EMT service brings its patients to nearby Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital- Plymouth. The town's public library is located in the same building as the town hall, on Evergreen Street. The public library's website is at http://www.kingstonpubliclibrary.org/.

Education

Kingston is a member of the Silver Lake Regional School District along with Halifax and Plympton. Silver Lake's teams are known as the Lakers, and their colors are red and silver. Pembroke High School, whom they play in the annual Thanksgiving Day football game, was previously part of the district but withdrew in 2005. The private Roman Catholic Sacred Heart School is located along Bishops Highway (Route 80) just south of Route 44. It serves students from kindergarten through eighth grade. It was named one of the 30 smartest public high schools in Massachusetts in 2008 by Boston Magazine, based on criteria including student achievement, college preparation, athletics programs, electives and the overall cost per community. A new Silver Lake High School building finished construction in January 2006. The school operates its own vocational facilities; if a trade is chosen that is not supported by Silver Lake students are sent to South Shore Vocational Technical High School in Hanover. The town of Kingston is home to the Kingston Elementary School and Kingston Intermediate School for students from Kindergarten through sixth grade. The elementary school is located on the corner of Route 80 and Route 44, near the junction of the Massachusetts Turnpike. The high school is on the Turnpikes, on the opposite side of the highway from Kingston. It is located near the intersection of Route 46 and Route 80, just north of the town of Plymouth. It operates a new high school building that was completed in 2006, which is located in the same location as the elementary school.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Kingston, Plymouth County, Massachusetts = 85.1. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 27. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 30. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Kingston = 3.3 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 16,225 individuals with a median age of 39.8 age the population grows by 2.19% in Kingston, Plymouth County, Massachusetts population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 670 residents per square mile of area (260/km²). There are average 2.44 people per household in the 2,244 households with an average household income of $59,488 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 8.80% of the available work force and has dropped -4.07% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 23.06%. The number of physicians in Kingston per 100,000 population = 154.6.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Kingston = 48.7 inches and the annual snowfall = 34 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 123. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 204. 82 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 19.4 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 50, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Kingston, Plymouth County, Massachusetts which are owned by the occupant = 66.96%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 52 years with median home cost = $314,030 and home appreciation of -3.47%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $13.98 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $5,581 per student. There are 15.5 students for each teacher in the school. 6395.96% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 21.04% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 9.12% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).