Editing Kinston, North Carolina (section)

== History ==
===Early history===
[[File:Peebles House.JPG|thumb|[[Harmony Hall (Kinston, North Carolina)|Harmony Hall]], the oldest building in Kinston, was owned by North Carolina's first governor, [[Richard Caswell]].]]
At the time of English settlement, the area was inhabited by the [[Neusiok]] people. Preceding the historic tribe, [[indigenous peoples of the Americas|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]] [[Christian mission|mission]].

Kinston was created by an act of the [[North Carolina General Assembly]] in December 1762 as "Kingston", in honor of [[George III of the United Kingdom|King George III]],<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9V1IAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA176 | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=176}}</ref> 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 County, North Carolina|Glasgow (now Greene)]] Counties. At that time, Kinston was designated the county seat for Lenoir County.

Kinston was incorporated as a town through an act of the legislature in January 1849, after which the population grew rapidly. In 1850, the population was estimated at 455 people, and just 10 years later, it had more than doubled to over 1000.

===Civil War===
During the onset of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], Camp Campbell and Camp Johnston were established near the city as training camps, and a bakery on Queen Street was converted to produce [[hardtack]] in large quantities. Also, a factory for the production of shoes for the military was located in Kinston. The [[Battle of Kinston]] took place in and around the city on December 14, 1862.

From February 5 to February 22, 1864, 22 Union soldiers of the [[2nd North Carolina Union Volunteer Infantry Regiment]] were executed by [[hanging]] in the city.<ref name=Woodworth>{{cite book |last1=Woodworth |first1=Steven E. |title=The Art of Command in the Civil War |date=1998 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |pages=52–66 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZH63_gUdUaEC}}</ref> These men had been captured in the [[Battle of New Bern (1864)|Battle of New Bern]] by Confederate troops, and were found to have previously served in North Carolina [[Partisan Ranger Act|Partisan Ranger]] units. General [[George Pickett]] ordered that they should be court martialed for desertion from the Confederate Army, and the subsequent hangings were carried out by the 54th Regiment, North Carolina Troops, under the command of General [[Robert Hoke]]. Fifteen of these men were from [[Jones County, North Carolina|Jones County]], and had all started their service in the 8th Battalion North Carolina Partisan Rangers.

The [[Battle of Wyse Fork]], also known as the Battle of Southwest Creek (March 7–10, 1865), took place near the city. At this later battle, the Confederate [[ironclad warship#Ram craze|ram]] ''[[CSS Neuse|Neuse]]'' was scuttled to avoid capture by [[Union Army|Union]] troops. Remnants of the ship have been salvaged, and were on display at Richard Caswell Park on West Vernon Avenue. A climate-controlled museum has been built on downtown Queen Street, and has moved the hulk there to prevent further deterioration of the original ship's remains. A full-scale replica vessel (''Ram Neuse II'') has been constructed near the original's resting place (known as the "Cat's Hole") beside the bank of the Neuse River on Heritage Street in Kinston. Union Army forces occupied the city following the battle. United States troops were assigned to the area through the [[Reconstruction era]].

===After Reconstruction===
[[File:Annual Catalogue of Rhodes Military Institute and Kinston Business College, Kinston, N.C. (1904-1906) - DPLA - c0ebafb8180499bc6492e09ac6c64bf8 (page 77) (cropped).jpg|thumb|Kinston's Orion Knitting Mills (1906)]]
Despite the hardships of war and Reconstruction, the population of the city continued to grow. By 1870, the population had increased to 1,100 people and grew to more than 1,700 within a decade.

During the late 19th century, an expansion into new areas of industry occurred, most notably the production of horse-drawn [[carriage]]s. Kinston also became a major [[tobacco]]- and [[cotton]]-trading center. By the start of the 20th century, more than 5 million pounds of tobacco were being sold annually in Kinston's warehouses. Along with the growth in population and industry came a growth in property values. Some parcels increased in value more than five-fold within a 20-year period.

On April 6, 1916, Joseph Black was taken from the Lenoir County Jail and lynched by a mob of armed men.  He was accused of assisting his son in an escape attempt.<ref>''Cincinnati Enquirer'', April 6, 1916</ref>

===20th century===
New industries were founded, including [[lumber]] and cotton mills, as North Carolina businessmen invested in processing their own crops. Professional sports were introduced in the form of a minor league [[baseball]] team. Later growth came from a [[DuPont]] plant for the manufacture of [[polyester]] fibers, and manufacturing plants for [[pharmaceuticals]]. Growth finally slowed following the 1960s, with the shift in textile production overseas. Efforts to reinvigorate the economy through various means have had limited success.

Kinston was heavily impacted by flooding in 1996 and 1999. [[Hurricane Fran]] struck the North Carolina coast on September 5, 1996, and brought {{convert|16|in}} of rain to the area,<ref>[http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical/rain/fran1996.html Hurricane Fran - September 3-9, 1996<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> causing the Neuse River to flood portions of the city. On September 16, 1999, [[Hurricane Floyd]] struck the area, bringing {{convert|17|in}} of rain. It caused what locals have called a flood of the century.<ref>[http://www.neuselibrary.org/schoolvideocatalog/northcarolinasv.html North Carolina School Video Catalog<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723112156/http://www.neuselibrary.org/schoolvideocatalog/northcarolinasv.html |date=2008-07-23 }} The Neuse River (35.270676, -77.585130)</ref>

The [[National Register of Historic Places]] lists these Kinston sites: [[American Tobacco Company Prizery]], [[Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad Freight Depot]], [[Baptist Parsonage]], [[Robert L. Blalock House]], [[B. W. Canady House]], [[CSS Neuse]], [[Hill-Grainger Historic District]], [[Hotel Kinston]], [[Jesse Jackson House]], [[Kennedy Memorial Home Historic District]], [[Kinston Apartments]], [[Kinston Baptist-White Rock Presbyterian Church]], [[Battle of Kinston|Kinston Battlefield]], [[Kinston Commercial Historic District]], [[Kinston Fire Station-City Hall]], [[Lenoir County Courthouse]], [[Mitchelltown Historic District]], [[Peebles House]], [[Peoples Bank Building]], [[Queen-Gordon Streets Historic District]], [[Standard Drug No. 2]], [[Sumrell and McCoy Building]], [[Trianon Historic District]], [[Tull-Worth-Holland Farm]], and [[Dempsey Wood House]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>