History can be a funny thing. Some towns thrive, some stagnate, and some vanish from the map entirely, like Kingston. We hear its story, today on KVPR’s Central Valley Roots.
Around 1855 Lucious Whitmore started a ferry crossing on the south bank of the Kings River, around 9 miles north of present-day Hanford, and just southwest of the current town of Laton. Back then Visalia was the only other town in the area. In 1858, the Butterfield Overland Mail made Whitmore’s Ferry one of their stops.
Then in 1859, Whitmore was murdered in his home by an angry mob. Whitmore was reportedly opposed the removal of Native Americans from the area, and the mob sought revenge against him for his views. After his death, Whitmore’s Ferry became known as Kingston. The town had a hotel, post office, a school and several businesses.
Soon the ferry was replaced by a bridge over the river. Then in 1873, Tiburcio Vasquez, the noted bandit or folk hero, (depending on your point of view) robbed the entire town, just a few years before his execution on murder charges.
Meanwhile Kingston started to fade away. The Central Pacific Railroad's arrival to the Valley in the 1870s made the old river crossing town less relevant to trade and commerce. The decline continued with the arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad a few decades later. A new railroad town of Laton was established just 1 mile away. After 1908, Kingston simply vanished. Today, the Laton-Kingston Regional Park is located near the old townsite.
