Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/15

 KINGSTON banks with an aggregate capital of $1,125,000, and three savings banks. It is divided into nine wards, and is governed by a mayor and 18 aldermen. The recorder holds a police court, and there is a volunteer fire depart- ment. The streets are lighted partly with gas and partly with kerosene. The disburse- ments for the year ending March 9, 1874, were $90,518 29. The bonded debt at that date amounted to $650,660, of which $600,660 was contracted to pay for stock in railroads. Be- sides the county buildings, there are the music hall, the almshouse, the city hall (in progress), and several hotels. The educational institu- tions, besides several large private schools, embrace a number of graded and ungraded public schools, having in 1873 46 teachers ; pu- pils enrolled, 3,291 ; average attendance, 1,951. The number of children of school age (5 to 21) was 7,235 ; expenditures for school purposes, $55,380, of which $32,248 were for teachers' wages. There are one daily and five weekly newspapers, and 21 churches, viz. : Baptist, 2; Episcopal, 2; Ger- man Evangelical Lu- theran, 2; Jewish, 2; Methodist, 4; Presby- terian, 2 ; Reformed, 3 ; Roman Catholic, 3 ; children's church, 1. Kingston was incor- porated as a city by act of March 29, 1872. It was formed from a portion of the town of the same name, and in eludes the greater part of the former villages of Kingston (pop. in 1870, 6,315), incorpo- rated in 1805, and Ron- dout (pop. in 1870, 10,- 114), incorporated in 1849, and the unincorporated village of Wil- bur. The first permanent settlement was made soon after 1665. The first state convention of New York adjourned from Fishkill to Kingston in February, 1777, and here framed the first con- stitution of the state. In September following the state legislature met here, but dispersed on the approach of a British force under Sir Hen- ry Clinton, which on Oct. 17 plundered the village and burned every house but one. ' KINGSTON, a city, port of entry, and the capital of Frontenac co., Ontario, Canada, situ- ated at the head of the St. Lawrence river, . where it issues from Lake Ontario, and at the mouth of Cataraqui creek, 175 m. W. S. W. of Montreal, and 150 m. E. by N. of Toronto ; pop. in 1844, 6,840 ; in 1861, 13,743 ; in 1871, 12,407. The apparent decrease is due to the removal of the garrison. The city is regularly laid out, the streets crossing each other at right angles. Most of the houses are built of blue limestone, which is quarried in the vicin- ity. Water is supplied partly from the river and partly from wells, some of which are im- pregnated with mineral substances, and the city is lighted with gas. There are many fine public buildings, among which are the city hall and market, the custom house, the court house and jail, the post office, and the me- chanics' institute. The Grand Trunk railway passes within 2 m. of the city, and a freight branch extends to the harbor. A railway is in course of construction to Pembroke, 120 m. N. The harbor is deep and commodious, and is protected by Wolfe and Garden islands, which lie opposite the city at a distance of 3 m. On the west is the entrance to the bay of Quinte, and on the east the terminus of the Rideau canal, which connects the port with Ottawa. Haldimand cove, E. of the city, be- tween Point Frederick or Navy Point and Point Henry, forms a deep and well sheltered Kingston, Canada haven. On both these promontories there are fortifications which command the whole har- bor. Fort Henry is the principal work of de- fence ; there are several rnartello towers near it, and as a military post Kingston is the strong- est place in Canada after Quebec and Halifax. Steamers ply to Cape Vincent, N. Y., on the opposite bank of the St. Lawrence. The num- ber of vessels entered from the United States for the year ending June 30, 1873, was 2,009, with an aggregate tonnage of 380,665 ; cleared for the United States, 1,655 vessels of 269,299 tons. The value of imports was $8,978,459 ; of exports, $1,358,202, making Kingston the second port of the province in the value of foreign commerce. Ship building and boat building are largely carried on, and there is a marine railway for repairing vessels. The other principal manufactures are of iron cast- ings, mill machinery, steam engines, locomo- tives, leather, soap and candles, boots and