Adams County Mississippi
Kingston2
The town of Kingston was situated about sixteen miles southeast
of Natchez and about two miles from the Homochitto River, which
is the boundary line between Adams and Wilkinson counties.
In the year 1771 Samuel and Richard Swayze, of New Jersey,
bought of Capt. Amos Ogden 19,000 acres of land, which had been
granted to the said Ogden by the English Government in 1768.3
After locating and surveying their estate, which has since been
known as "Ogden's Mandamus Grant," the Swayze brothers, early in
1772, sailed from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, for their new home,
with their families and kindred, in all about fifteen families.
They settled at a place about one mile from old Kingston,
building their cabins close together, and erecting a log
stockade for the protection of the women and children in case of
an attack by the Indians.
In 1784 Caleb King located and built his house about a mile from
where the colonists first settled. He called this place Kingston
and laid it off into lots, giving names to the streets. Dr. C.
F. Farrar, of Kingston, Miss., a grandson of Caleb King, has the
original map of the place as drawn by its founder. The county
around was soon thickly settled, and from 1800 to 1824 Kingston
was a prosperous town, having three stores, a tailor shop, a
shoe shop, a saddler's shop, a blacksmith shop. It had about one
hundred and fifty inhabitants. About 1820 a church was built
there, which was free for the use of all denominations. Many of
the pioneer ministers held services in it, among them Lorenzo
Dow, who preached in it twice.
About 1830 Kingston began to go down. Many of its citizens
disposed of their property and moved away. There now remains at
this place only one dwelling, a doctor's office, wherein is a
post office, and a Methodist church, and nearby two stores and
two steam gins. Some of the descendants of the first settlers,
who are still living in the neighborhood, are, the Swayzes,
Foules, Ashfords, Byrds, Davises, Farrars, Thomases, and
Sojourners.
Extinct Towns|
AHGP Mississippi
Footnotes:
2. This sketch is based
upon information obtained from Dr. C. F. Farrar, of Kingston,
Mississippi.
3. An account of this will
be found in Claiborne's Mississippi as a Province,
Territory, and State,
pp. 106-'7.
Source: The Mississippi Historical
Commission Publications, Volume V, Edited by Franklin L. Riley,
Secretary, 1902.
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