| History | The City | Central | West End | North Side | East End | South | Government |
| Media | Places | Restaurants | Bars& Clubs | Stores | |||
| Location: Carlysle Co. |
| Population: 20,000 in 2000 (up 15% from 1990) |
| Demographics: White 86.4%; Black 6.2%; Hispanic 4.4%; Asian and Pacific Islander: 1.9%; Native American 0.6% Other: 0.5% |
| History |
| Kingston was established in 1777 by Henry King, a wealthy businessman whose politics dictated he find some land in the countryside, quickly. His son-in-law, war hero Thomas Harrison, became one of the leading men of the young county. The small town became an agricultural center, and with the opening of Kingston College in 1799 it drew the sons of wealthy landowners from across western North Carolina. |
| While the Civil War may not have struck Carlysle County as deeply as it did many southern counties, there were some telling blows. Yankee raiders came through on more then one occasion, although the local sharpshooters gave almost as good as they got. Still, Union troops arrived in force towards the end of the war, resulting in some small engagements and severe damage to Kingston and the college. The war left the economy in shambles and much of the land either fallow or in the hands of “outsiders”. Rebuilding of the town was slow in coming, and it wasn’t until the 1880’s that wealth returned to the county. |
| With new investment and economic growth the town prospered by the turn of the century, and except for the Great War years it grew rapidly, becoming one of the chief towns in the region. Growth peaked in the 1920’s, making the economic collapse of the following decade all the harder. Many Kingstonians left for larger cities; even the richest families faced ruin. Fortunes picked up briefly during the Second World War, but the post-war period didn’t bring the prosperity enjoyed by the rest of the country. Hickory and other nearby cities overshadowed the languishing town for decades. |
| In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s the city made an effort to revitalize its fortunes by encouraging local business and “beautifying” the town. Local elements managed to steer the council away from demolition and modernization in favor of restoring facades to those of Kingston ’s heyday. Now the town continues to expand at a rate not seen in 80 years. |
| Rival towns like Hickory and Lenoir are above Kingston in economic and political importance, yet most native Kingstonians are content with their town. |
| In the years after the WWII, the county seemed to lag behind the rest of the state, languishing in a time gone by. Outside events, such as the Vietnam War or Watergate, touched Carlysle more lightly than its neighbors. When something strange cropped up –like folk music festivals in the ‘60s – the county seemed to jerk awake, shift, and then slip back into its daydream. Hickory , Kingston ’s southern rival, took up the industrial slack and quickly surpassed Carlysle in population and political influence. |
| Now, progress is beginning to catch up. Since the early nineties, Carlysle County has seen steady increases in population as well-off yuppies buy up beautiful countryside with their stock market earnings. Some locals favor growth, with improved services and increased jobs, while others dread the pollution, crowding, crime, and other attendant changes which urbanization promises. |
| The City |
|
The town is roughly diamond shaped, with the principle directions of growth being along Hwys 16 and 90. |
| What follows is an overview of the town, broken down by area. Included are some of the Kingston neighborhoods of architectural or historical interest. |
| Central |
| Downtown, the heart of business and social life for Kingston , is a mix of ** |
| Like many southern communities, the town center features a park-like square with the requisite statues to the dead of various wars. The Victorian/Neoclassical courthouse sits on one end of the square, where it glowers across the grass at the more austere city hall(**style). A city museum and visitor center is also located on the edge of the square. The western end of downtown includes more tourist-oriented business, including a plethora of antique stores and an ice-cream shop. South of the square features most of the nightlife, such as clubs, bars, restaurants, and an old one-screen dollar theater. Despite the hopes of the redevelopers, downtown Kingston is largely deserted after dark. |
| Taylor began as the village of Taylorsville, which vied for county seat status with Kingston . It suffered tremendous destruction during the Civil War when a fire set during a Yankee raid blazed out of control and eventually leveled most of the town. It languished until the building boom of the 1880’s. It was annexed by its western neighbor in 1916. The neighborhood went into a gradual decline since the 1950s. It is now a fairly poor part of town, providing stylishly cheap housing for students and struggling families. |
| West End |
| The largest non-academic employers are furniture manufacturers, most of which are located in the west side of town. It’s largely working-class except for the Wicker St. neighborhood in the north. |
| Wicker is so-named because of Wicker Street , one of the early furniture manufacturing districts. Most of the warehouses and factories have been torn down, replaced by apartments and a thriving retail community. The neighborhood gentrified in the 1980’s, and is sometimes called “Collegetown for grown-ups.” |
| Riverside was first opened to development in the early 1900’s. The Riverside district contains a mix of architectural styles spanning the century, including rows of mill houses. Though drawn from a wide range of backgrounds, the typical resident is working class. No real effort at preservation of the historic fabric has been made, so many of the houses feature a hodgepodge of additions and updates. |
| North Side |
| Most of the recent growth has been in the northside district, as abandoned fields sprout new subdivisions and schools. The city limits recently grew around the municipal airport. A bitter debate over a proposed bypass grows more intense as each new development causes further congestion. |
| Cranston was named after the man who developed the neighborhood in the 1870’s. However, a handful of the homes date back to the antebellum era. The neighborhood fell into decay, and effort to revive it have met with less success than in other neighborhoods. |
| East End |
| Chester was originally a small village just east of Taylor . Founded in 1830, none of its buildings survived the Civil War. A few houses were rebuilt in the 1870’s, but most of these fell to fire or storms, and were torn down around 1910. The land was bought up by developers in the 1920’s, and houses sprang up before the Stock Market Crash. Development resumed (at a slower pace) in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The northern section of the neighborhood is Craftsman style, gradually changing to newer styles as one goes south and east. |
| Hillside is probably the swankiest, most exclusive neighborhood in town, centered around the 200 foot rise of Linney Mt. Interestingly, the neighborhood is stratified by both wealth and elevation, with the grandest homes near the summit ( Hillside Court , or simply “The Court”) and the pricey-yet-less-exclusive homes clustered around lower on the slope. Most of these extravagant homes date to the 1890s, although at least two (the Bowman House and Highview House) are antebellum; the land was originally a Bowman plantation before being subdivided. The largest is a Victorian-style mansion owned by the Harrisons . |
| South |
| Collegetown was originally a nickname for the houses, stores, pubs, etc. which sprang up along College St. to service the students and faculty of Harrison College . First built in the 20’s, the area declined in the 70’s, but shared in the general revival of Kingston and Harrison . Now it is a rather quaint neighborhood, with a concentration of New Agey stores – massage therapists, tea shops, crystal stores, organic grocery and goods, and so on. |
| Wayfair, east of Collegetown, is a small, relatively nondescript neighborhood. |
| Government |
| Mayor: Bob Moore |
| Manager: John Taylor |
| Clerk: Jasper Williamson |
| City Council: |
| Police chief: Wes Palmer |
| Media |
| Newpaper: Kingston Herald |
Radio
Call Sign |
Frequency |
Signal Strength |
Source |
Format |
WHAR |
90.1 |
Strong |
Kingston |
College |
WFHE |
90.3 |
Moderate |
Hickory |
Public Radio |
WKNC |
91.5 |
Strong |
Kingston |
Public Radio |
WSTL |
92.1 |
Moderate |
Kingston |
Gospel |
WXRC |
95.7 |
Strong |
Hickory |
Classic Rock |
WOBG |
99.5 |
V.Strong |
Kingston |
Easy Listening |
WLYT |
102.9 |
Moderate |
Hickory |
Adult Contemporary |
WFMX |
105.7 |
Strong |
Statesville |
Country |
WARP |
107.1 |
V.Strong |
Kingston |
Pop/Rock |
| Places of Interest |
| Restaurants |
|
The Airdrome – a mid-scale restaurant with a WWII theme. The owner’s father, Charlie Fry, was a fighter pilot in England and came back to open a restaurant (Fry’s Diner) in his home town. Over the years, he collected war memorabilia which he put on his walls. His son, Harry, renamed and renovated the place, turning it into a theme restaurant. Booths feature headphones to listen to local radio traffic. Next to the Airport |
| Blackwater Cafe–Fare from the Mississippi Delta, from backwater Cajun to New Orleans . Downtown |
| The Basement-- Below-the-street cramped cafe, with local live music and absurdist plays [Think Downstairs]. Collegetown |
| The Bolton House– Bed and Breakfast in a fine Victorian house. Lunch buffet of various southern dishes. Hillside |
| Cafe Claire--Pleasant cafe with high-backed booths. [Think larger version of old Yudys]. |
| Captain Tony's--bar and resturant on the river. steak and seafood with a south coastal ambiance (Tony is a Buffet fan, and holds a parrothead party on the eve of spring break). |
| The Corner Deli – Sandwiches, light food, snacks. Downtown. |
| Flying Fox Café – Features fine sandwiches on artisan breads, with fresh-baked cookies and classy coffees for afters. Owned by Denny Fox. Downtown |
| Golden Horn – Mediterranean-American cuisine. Wicker St. |
| Great Wall – Garden variety Chinese restaurant. Riverside |
| Guillaume's– Ritzy, expensive but quite good French restaurant. Wicker St. |
| Harvest House-- Small restaurant with classy organic cuisine; the owners grow most everything they serve. East Side |
| Musashi’s – Japanese steak house. Wicker St. |
| Nolan’s Pub – Owned by Oscar and May Nolan, recent immigrants from Northern Ireland . The place is an authentic Irish pub, with pub grub and a dog or two. He bartends, she cooks. Their blind daughter, Fran, plays piano or guitar some nights. Once every couple of weeks a corner is given over to a Celtic band. There are enough expatriates from the Isles to keep the small place afloat, and some college students make it a regular hangout as well. East Side |
| Palace Pizza – Pizza joint with locations in Kingston and Hickory. Taylor, Riverside , Collegetown |
| Red Sombrero – Sit-down Mexican restaurant. Cranston |
| Redwood Steak House– Locally-owned (by one of the MacIntosh clan) with an excellent reputation. A little pricey, but the beef is local, grass-fed Angus from the MacIntosh farms. North Side |
| Rhine Haus– German food. Wicker St. |
| Stefani’s– Mid-range Italian. South of Downtown |
| The Skillet – Basic diner, cheap and open long hours to draw in students. Collegetown |
| The Taco Hut–A student favorite, featuring cheap but edible Mexican. South End |
| This Ain't Wendys–A rather rude greasy spoon with irregular hours, usually dark-to-light. Collegetown |
| West & Main – Diner frequented by working-class, non-student types. Downtown |
| Bars, Clubs |
| The Tempest – Beer, wine, breadsticks, and frequent live music. |
| Callahan's – Drinks from around the world including a good selection of microbrews. British motif. |
| Cassidy’s Rest – This bar was a speakeasy in the 20’s. The name comes from Pat Cassidy, a local gangster who was gunned down in the place. Owned by Ronnie McCrae. Downtown |
| The Dugout – Sports bar. Wicker Street |
| Coffee over Coltrane – Coffee bar with a jazzy ambiance. South Downtown |
| Common Grounds– Coffee bar. Collegetown |
| John Barleycorn’s – Upscale bar. Wicker Street |
| Mac’s Bar – Working class bar. West End |
| Nolan’s Pub – See entry under restaurant. |
| Antique Emporium– General antiques. Chester |
| Bavarian Bake Shop –sells cookies, cakes, breads, etc. Taylor |
| Bygones – Antiques and collectables. Downtown |
| Center of Balance–Massage, pain therapy and holistic healing. Collegetown |
| Blue Moon Body Art – The only legal tattoo and piercing parlor in the county. It dates from 1969, and the story of its exemption is too interesting to go into here. |
| Earth Fare– A grocery store featuring organic and “all-natural” products. Collegetown |
| Eclectic Company –Store sells used books, used and new CDs, records, and tapes, comics and assorted collectables, and gaming stuff. Salvadore O'Brian, proprietor College Street |
| Flying Rowan –Features books on natural and occult subjects, herbal teas, incense, some organic health foods, etc. Collegetown |
| House of Wine |
|
Quaint And Curious Book Shop – Used and antique books. For those who know to ask, the place also houses volumes of occult interest. Downtown |
| The Sweet Spot – Cookies, cakes, and ice cream. Downtown |
| Underground Records – sells new and used music, almost exclusively from independent labels. Downtown |
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Except as otherwise indicated, all original material © 2000-2006 Forrest B. Marchinton. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any of the material contained herein without express permission is prohibited. |