“The cove closely resembles the historic bay of Monterey in California, and the town will one day become more popular as a resort than Monterey.”

Charles Cicero Calkings, an entrepreneur and real estate dealer, wrote these words about Kingston in 1890 for a Washington magazine puff piece entitled “Kingston, the Monterey of Washington.”

In his book, “Little City By the Sea,” Kitsap historian Harold Osborne tells the story of the expansive vision Calkings and his business partner, Samuel Brierly, had for a summer resort at Kingston. To realize their ambitions they needed publicity, and buyers. Together with a group of investors they chartered the Kingston Land and Improvement Company in 1890, and set about implementing their plan.

The original KLI plat map laid out a roughly fan-shaped town with a main street, central business district, park and 428 individual lots. Anticipating strong demand from Seattle residents for resort properties, Calkings and Brierly set up shop, built the Kingston Hotel, and prepared to make a killing. But Seattleites weren’t buying, and within a few years the men abandoned their master plan for other pursuits, leaving the future of Kingston in the hands of local settlers.

Residents proved capable stewards of the ultimate shape and feel of the community. Unlike the large-scale master-planning efforts of Calkings and Brierly, the local development model evolved in concert with pragmatic economic considerations, like most small turn-of-the-century towns. Instead of a vision implemented overnight, Kingston grew over time, influenced by two historical forces: the skid road and the Mosquito Fleet.

Kingston was the site of one of the first skid roads in Washington, established in the early 1850s. Skid roads brought logging crews and oxen teams deep into the forest and provided a means to get downed trees to the water, where they could be maneuvered, milled and transported. Over time, as the forest disappeared, skid roads evolved into thoroughfares linking settlers and outlying homesteads to commercial hubs. Former skid roads are often characterized by an original logic – such as very steep grades – that served a need to move huge logs downhill, but made for interesting vehicular effects later. Today, some of Kingston’s roads still reflect this origin.

The Mosquito Fleet – a collection of launches, ferries and skiffs that plied the Puget Sound transporting people and goods – also influenced Kingston’s development. By providing a connection to the cosmopolitan world of Seattle and beyond, the Mosquito Fleet influenced the culture of the community. According to Osborne, Kingston was known as a friendly place, open to strangers and new ideas. Downtown Kingston also reflected a strong sense of place, and the interdependent relationship between residents and visitors, with Kingston’s Hotel, post office, and general store oriented toward the cove and the boat dock.

Auto ferries and the end of a walkable downtown

By the early 1920s, Kingston was a diverse community with a vibrant local economy and a thriving downtown core. Then, on May 16, 1923, an event occurred that changed downtown Kingston in a powerful way: car ferry service arrived. The first car ferry was modest, and could carry only 12 cars. Named “City of Edmonds” it carried no vehicles on its first run, only the Edmonds Park Band and a full load of walk-on passengers with picnic baskets. Edmonds and Kingston both declared the day a holiday, and the communities’ residents walked to the beach picnic grounds together for a special program before lunch. The historical record does not reflect the subject of the special program, but most likely it had something to do with the idea of “progress” and reflected the belief that the car ferry was entirely a positive development.

But there were unintended consequences. Through the Great Depression and World War II, cars and people co-existed in Kingston, and the town continued to thrive. In 1952, Kingston got a breakwater and a new ferry dock, increasing the cross-Sound auto traffic. Between the mid-1950s and early 1970s, car traffic increased, and pedestrian traffic dwindled. Subdivisions well beyond the traditional boundaries of town drew more residents to the area, and more cars. Eventually, the road through town was widened to accommodate the flood of people heading to and from the Olympic peninsula, and without sidewalks, vegetation buffers and a safe speed limit, walking became impractical and unpleasant. Kingston’s business core, like that of countless small towns around the United States, began to disappear.

The folks picnicking on the beach in May of 1923 most likely did not foresee the long-term negative effects of increasing auto ferry traffic. They probably could not imagine cars idling for hours as they crawled toward the ferry, or envision thousands of vehicles streaming west on their way to the Olympic peninsula, the traffic cutting Kingston in half and endangering pedestrians and cyclists. If they had, they might have kept the band, the holiday, and the community spirit, and left their cars permanently at home in favor of finding more sensible ways to travel.

Of course, the negative impacts are not the end of the story. For some time now, activity has been underway to revitalize and reclaim Kingston’s commercial district. Take a look the next time you’re in town: new buildings are going up, and people are organizing to address the need for better pedestrian access and a more diverse economic base. Kingston may never be as popular as Monterey – and most locals will probably tell you that’s fine with them – but it will always be as beautiful: especially to those who live here.

(Sources used in this article: “Little City By the Sea,” by Harold Osborne, Kingston Centennial Publication, 1990, Apple Tree Press; “Kitsap County History,” Kitsap County Historical Society, 1977, KCHS Committee.)

Commercial revitalization in Kingston:

taking the Main Street approach

Across the United States, communities are seeking ways to reestablish the street as part of their social fabric, a place to meet and greet neighbors, shop, have a cup of coffee, and watch the world – not just the cars – go by. In response to requests for assistance in this effort, the National Trust for Historic Preservation developed the Main Street Program to help communities revitalize their traditional business districts. It also provides resources such as training, tax incentives and credits, grants and other economic development assistance.

The Main Street approach advocates a return to community self-reliance, local empowerment, and the rebuilding of traditional commercial districts based on their unique assets: distinctive architecture, a pedestrian-friendly environment, personal service, local ownership, and a sense of community.

In Kingston, the non-profit Kingston Downtown Association is taking the lead in bringing the Main Street Program here. For more information or to get involved, contact Nancy Martin nanjmartin@aol.com or visit www.mainstreet.org.