Timeline of Kingston, Ontario history

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

• 1673 – Established as Fort Cataraqui; later renamed Fort Frontenac
• 1688 – The Iroquois siege, the French destroyed the fort, but rebuilt it later

• 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)

• 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

• 1914 – Camp Barriefield, now McNaughton Barracks, was constructed
• 1914–1917 – Fort Henry served as an internment camp for “enemy aliens”
• 1936 – Fort Henry restoration, now part of a World Heritage Site^[5]
• 1937 – Vimy Barracks was established for the Royal Canadian School of Signals
• 1939–1943 – Fort Henry was again an internment camp (Camp 31)^[18]
• 1959 – The Royal Military College of Canada became the first military college in the Commonwealth with the right to confer University degrees^[19]
• 1995 – Kingston General Hospital was designated a National Historic Site of Canada because it is “the oldest public hospital in Canada still in operation with most of its buildings intact”^[20]
• 1998 – Amalgamation with Kingston and Pittsburgh Townships

• 2024 – The La Salle Causeway, including a bascule lift bridge, was demolished (temporarily replaced by a modular bridge)^[21][22]