Timeline of Kingston, Ontario history
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The timeline of Kingston history shows the significant events in the history of Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
- About 500 CE to 1600s – The First Nations settlements
17th century
- 1673 – Established as Fort Cataraqui; later renamed Fort Frontenac
- 1688 – The Iroquois siege, the French destroyed the fort, but rebuilt it later
18th century
- 1758 – The British destroyed the fort during the Battle of Fort Frontenac (Seven Years’ War) and its ruins remained abandoned
- 1783 – The British took possession and partially reconstructed the fort
- 1783 – The Crawford Purchase, an agreement with the Mississaugas, to purchase land east of the Bay of Quinte,[1][2] to lay out a settlement for displaced British colonists, or Loyalists, who were fleeing north because of the American Revolutionary War[3]
- 1784 – Influx of Loyalist settlers
- 1787 – Cataraqui was referred to as “the King’s Town” in honour of King George III
- 1788 – The name was abbreviated to “Kingston”[4]
- 1792 – The first high school (grammar school) of Ontario was established (evolved into Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute)
19th century
- 1812 – The first Fort Henry was built to protect the dockyards in Navy Bay[5]
- 1812, November – American naval forces attacked the British sloop Royal George in Kingston harbour but the ship took refuge in the harbour and the American forces withdrew[6]
- 1813 – Fort Henry was replaced by a more extensive fort on Point Henry[7] (Kingston population was 2,250[8])
- 1832–1836 – The construction of Fort Henry’s limestone citadel[9]
- 1832 – Rideau Canal completion
- 1835 – Kingston Penitentiary, Canada’s first large federal penitentiary, was established (operated until 2013)
- 1838 – Kingston incorporated as town
- 1840, April 18 – a dock fire, fanned by high winds, resulted in explosion and spread of the fire throughout the city’s downtown area, destroying a large number of buildings, including the old city hall[10][11][12]
- 1840s and later – “the Limestone Revolution” (to prevent similar incidents from occurring in future), Kingston’s nickname became “The Limestone City” since then
- 1840s – Construction of several defensive fortifications because of tensions with the United States (among them are Fort Henry, four Martello towers – Cathcart Tower, Shoal Tower, Murney Tower, and Fort Frederick – and the Market Battery)[13]
- 1841–1844 – Kingston served as the first capital of the united Canadas (the capital then was moved to Montreal)[14]
- 1841, June 13 – The first meeting of the Parliament of the Province of Canada was held on the site of what is now Kingston General Hospital
- 1842 – Queen’s University (originally Queen's College) first held classes[15]
- 1844 – The City Hall completed[16]
- 1846 – Kingston incorporated as city (with a population of 6,123)
- 1847 – North American typhus epidemic; Hotel Dieu and Kingston General Hospital cared for victims[17]
- 1856 – The Grand Trunk Railway reached Kingston
- 1876 – The Royal Military College of Canada was founded
- 1881 – A telephone system began operation; at that time the population was 14,091
- 1888 – Electricity reached Kingston
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