Kinston North Carolina
Welcome to Kinston, North Carolina! The area known as Kinston was populated by Neusiok Indians (a branch of the Tuscarora tribe) prior to Sir Walter Raleigh’s 1584 commission to survey the coast of North Carolina. Originally known as Adkins Bank, in 1759 the General Assembly of North Carolina established three tobacco inspection warehouses in what was then Dobbs County. One of these warehouses on the Neuse River was designated as “Kingston”, named after King George the III of England. After the Revolutionary War, the “King” was dropped because of anti-Royalty sentiment, and the name of the township became Kinston. As a small town on the banks of the picturesque Neuse River, Kinston slowly grew into a tobacco and cotton market center for Eastern North Carolina. During the Civil War, Kinston was the site of two separate minor skirmishes between Union and Confederate forces due to its location between the more important cities of New Bern and Goldsboro. After the Civil War, Kinston continued to grow and thrive during the Reconstruction Era; with the town’s population increasing to 1700 people in 1870.Kinston eventually became a regional manufacturing and distribution center for the area, with textiles and the pharmaceutical industry driving the growth of the city. The Global TransPark airport and transportation hub is currently located in Kinston, North Carolina. Downtown Kinston is well known for its collection of Civil War antiquities and beautiful antebellum homes, including Harmony Hall, the former home of Governor Richard Caswell (Richard Caswell was the first governor of the State of North Carolina, serving from 1776-1780 and again from 1784-1787) located on Queen Street.
Kinston North Carolina is also the home of the original CSS Neuse, a Civil War era ironclad ram and one of 22 ironclad ships commissioned by the Confederate government. The only Confederate-flagged vessel remaining above water (it was destroyed by its own crew, so it never was captured), the CSS Neuse remained underwater for almost 100 years. In 1961, a group of local citizens uncovered the remnants of the 158 foot long ship and spent 2 years digging it out of the mud and silt of the Neuse River. The CSS Neuse is on display on Vernon Avenue in the same park as the Richard Caswell Memorial. A full sized replica of the Ram Neuse, the CSS Neuse II, has been built and serves as a Civil War museum and educational exhibit downtown on Heritage Street, a few blocks away from the Farmer’s Market.
Every year, Kinston hosts a few events of regional note, including the “Hog Happening,” which includes an Eastern North Carolina pig cooking contest and fun and entertainment for young and old alike. Also, a series of summer concerts in a festival atmosphere titled “Sand in the Streets” takes place all summer long with local and regional music talent providing the entertainment. Kinston is also home of the Carolina League’s Kinston Indians, a Class 2A professional baseball team in the Cleveland Indians farm system where players including C.C. Sabathia and Manny Ramirez played baseball early in their professional careers. Opening day at Historic Grainger Stadium this year is April 9, 2009. In addition, the second Saturday night of each month is East Carolina Bluegrass at Lenoir Community College, where talented musicians from all over North Carolina and the Southeast come together to play and socialize, with a Bluegrass Festival taking place in mid-February.
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