History of Kingston . . .

Settled in 1835 by the Pottowatomie Indians, Kingston was one of the first townships in DeKalb County. The post office was established in 1837 with Levi Lee as postmaster. With the opening of the post office and the construction of the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul railroad, the settlement of Kingston grew. It became a prosperous village after 1876 when the Stuart brothers, James and Lyman, platted the town. Both men built houses in 1876, both out of brick, and both are still standing today. James built the house at 501 S. Main Street, and Lyman built the house at 300 S. Main Street. Kingston officially became a Village in 1886.

With Kingston being a major “hub” for two railroads, business flourished throughout the area. By the 1900’s, Kingston had many businesses, including a hardware store, department store, grocery, meat market, paint shop, hotel, bank, bakery, shoe store, barber shop, pool room, saloon, general store, creamery, undertaking parlor, saw mill, coal and lumber yard, two blacksmith shops, two livery barns, stock yards, and two confectioneries. Kingston even had its own baseball team, the Kingston Tigers. Some of the businesses mentioned above were destroyed in the fire of 1908, which engulfed a large part of town on the west side of Main Street.

W. H. Bell, an early resident of Kingston, instigated the first Kingston Picnic while he was Village President. The picnic was held every year and in 1912, when The Kingston Township Park opened, the picnic had a permanent home. The annual Kingston Picnic was held for over 100 years and celebrated it’s centennial in 1976.