Source: Joseph Cushman Finney Papers MC11

Naval Constructor Melvin Simmons, born in Kingston on April 19, 1806, served as Master Carpenter for the first steam (or screw) frigate the USS Merrimack. Launched in June 1855 from the Charlestown Navy Yard, she was christened by Simmons’ daughter Mary Elizabeth, then 23. When Virginia seceded from the Union in ...

“Elder’s Spring was the water supply for the house-holds of Isaac Allerton, the Mayflower Pilgrim, and of other occupants of the farm, until it came into possession of Elder Thomas Cushman, for whom the present name was given. The old spring was a lovely spot, shaded by huge willows, and ...

  We only have a few of these, but they’re in the Local History exhbit case for a short time only. Stop by to see if you’re in a photo from the 1951 or 1952 Halloween party at Kingston Elementary School.

  In 2018, a new farmer’s market opened in Kingston. The Library’s usually there; check us out! It’s a great new venture with some interesting echos of the past. In  1917, Kingston also had a new community market, this one located at the Point, right where Summer Street splits from Main. The Old Colony ...

Source: Emily Fuller Drew Collection MC16

Gray’s Beach Park is named for Edward Gray, who arrived in Plymoth Colony in the 1642 and eventually became one of the the richest men around. He owned land along what later became Kingston’s shoreline, including as this notable land record,  the site of  Kingston’s little beach. And we know it’s ...

Our distinguished and beloved Town Historian!   Source: MC11 Joseph Finney Collection

  Here’s a detail of an early brochure for the summer cottage development called Ah-De-Nah, circa 1930.  The name was pitched as a Native American term, but descendants of the developers, Edgar and Waldo Loring, might tell you it was just made up.

Why, thank you! It’s good to be back.

In 1888, Henry R. Glover, a wealthy manufacturer of mattresses and “curled hair” from Cambridge, donated the “Henry Glover Watering Trough” to the town for public use at the Point, the triangular plot of land at the intersection of Main and Summer Streets. Glover was the son of Rev. Samuel Glover, ...

The following is a portrait of Frederick G. Brackett (1854-1941). In 1889, he purchased the house at 126 Brookdale Street, built by the Chandler family around 1790, along with the sawmill located off Hall’s Brook just east of the house. Brackett continued to operate the mill (which burned down in 1924) ...

  Source: Image from the Mary Hathaway Collection MC21.

In honor of Father’s Day this weekend, here is a sweet moment captured by Kingston historian and photographer Emily Fuller Drew of her niece, Norma, jumping into the waiting arms of her father, Clarence Drew (Emily’s brother).   Source: Image from the Emily Fuller Drew Collection MC16.

This photo from June 1924 shows an especially happy bunch of schoolchildren from the Center Primary School, renamed the Faunce School later that same year in honor of Walter H. Faunce, a former teacher, superintendent of schools, and town selectman.   Source: Image from the School Photograph Collection IC5. 

In this photo, a group of people (unidentified) appear to be enjoying the shade on a nice, sunny day.  One of the women is holding a small dog in her arms. They’re gathered in front of the Elbridge G. Windsor House at 60 Main Street, built around 1860.   Source: Image from the ...

  On January 1, 1857, Hannah Thomas Adams married Azel Washburn, a 27-year-old fisherman. Her mother, Hannah Thomas Brewster Adams, wrote her a note which reads: To Hannah on the day of her marriage Dear and only daughter in part Farewell! Ever since your birth you have been with me and an object ...

Who’s ready for a day at the beach? Maybe not like this, but the weather sure looks nice here!   Source: Image from the Local History Room Image Collection IC7.

Take a look at this snapshot of the 1946 Memorial Day parade as the procession, led by marshall Winfield Keene, exiting Evergreen Cemetery.   Source: Image from the Local History Room Image Collection IC7.  

  Today, we may see gypsy moths outside our homes or in our woodlands and think nothing of them, but this insect has a tumultuous history in the United States. In 1869, an amateur entomologist imported this species from Europe to his home in Medford, Massachusetts. He intended to use the moths to ...