Kinston

History

At the time of English settlement, the area was inhabited by the Neusiok people. Preceding the historic tribe, indigenous peoples of a variety of cultures had lived in the area for thousands of years. Before the English colonists established the city, the area was called "Atkins Bank", referring to a bluff once owned by Robert Atkins just above the Neuse River; it was the site of farms, a tobacco warehouse, and a Church of England mission. Kinston was created by an act of the North Carolina General Assembly in December 1762 as "Kingston", in honor of King George III, who had just recently ascended to the throne. The bill to incorporate it was introduced by Richard Caswell, who made his home there and later served as the first governor of the state of North Carolina from 1776 to 1780. After victory in the American Revolution, the citizens renamed the city "Kinston" in 1784 to show the population's disavowal of royalty. In 1833, Kinston briefly became "Caswell", in honor of Governor Caswell, but the name Kinston was restored the following year. Commissioners appointed to design the town began to accept "subscriptions" for numbered lots. To keep a lot, subscribers were required to build brick homes of specific dimensions within three years or lose their rights to the property. The town was laid out with border streets named East, North, and South, with the western border the Neuse River. The two principal roads within these borders were named for King George and Queen Charlotte. They remain King and Queen Streets to this day. Other streets were named in honor of Governor Arthur Dobbs (later renamed Independence Street) and the commissioners. In December 1791, an act was passed in the General Assembly to abolish Dobbs County and form Lenoir and Glasgow (now Greene)…

Geography

Kinston is in the Atlantic coastal plain region of North Carolina. It is mainly on the northeast side of the Neuse River, and is northeast of the center of Lenoir County. It is east of Goldsboro, south of Greenville, and west of New Bern. The Atlantic Ocean at Emerald Isle is to the southeast, and Raleigh, the state capital, is to the northwest. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city of Kinston has a total area of , of which , or 0.95%, is covered by water. According to the Köppen climate classification, Kinston has a humid subtropical climate, Cfa on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Kinston was on July 20, 1977, and August 20–22, 1983, while the coldest temperature recorded was on January 21, 1985. |source 2 = National Weather Service }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,905
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  1,808
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,711
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,591
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,581
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,425
• Eastern Bluebird

  Sialia sialis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,284
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,239

Largest nearby schools

• North Lenoir High
  High · La Grange · 975 students · 18.1:1 ratio
• Contentnea-Savannah School
  Elementary · Kinston · 859 students · 15.1:1 ratio
• Kinston High
  High · Kinston · 713 students · 17.4:1 ratio
• Woodington Middle
  Middle · Kinston · 577 students · 15.2:1 ratio
• Northwest Elementary
  Elementary · Kinston · 478 students · 17.1:1 ratio
• Rochelle Middle
  Middle · Kinston · 466 students · 16.6:1 ratio
• Banks Elementary
  Elementary · Kinston · 462 students · 14:1 ratio
• Northeast Elementary
  Elementary · Kinston · 442 students · 14.3:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2014-02-11
  7 km NW of Hobucken, North Carolina