Kingston, Utah
Encyclopedia
Kingston is a town in Piute County
Piute County, Utah
Piute County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. The population in 2000 was 1,435, and by 2005 had been estimated to decrease to 1,365. It was named for the Paiute tribe of Native Americans. The county seat is Junction and the largest city is Circleville.-Geography:According to the U.S...

, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 142 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Kingston is located at 38°12′27"N 112°11′12"W (38.207524, -112.186668).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the town has a total area of 5.3 square miles (13.8 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 142 people, 47 households, and 38 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 26.7 people per square mile (10.3/km²). There were 59 housing units at an average density of 11.1 per square mile (4.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.59% White, 0.70% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 0.70% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.70% of the population.

There were 47 households out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 80.9% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, and 19.1% were non-families. 19.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.02 and the average family size was 3.50.

In the town the population was spread out with 29.6% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 22.5% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 108.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 112.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $23,750, and the median income for a family was $27,083. Males had a median income of $16,667 versus $16,750 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the town was $12,492. There were 22.0% of families and 32.8% of the population living below the poverty line, including 51.4% of under eighteens and none of those over 64.

Creation

Kingston is named for Thomas Rice King, who moved from Fillmore
Fillmore, Utah
Fillmore is a city in Millard County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,253 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Millard County. It is named for the thirteenth US President Millard Fillmore....

 to Piute County
Piute County, Utah
Piute County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. The population in 2000 was 1,435, and by 2005 had been estimated to decrease to 1,365. It was named for the Paiute tribe of Native Americans. The county seat is Junction and the largest city is Circleville.-Geography:According to the U.S...

 with his five sons and their families specifically to find a place where they could establish a United Order
United Order
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the United Order was one of several 19th century church collectivist programs. Early versions of the Order beginning in 1831 attempted to implement the Law of Consecration, a form of Christian communism, modeled after the New Testament church which had "all things...

. In the 1870s Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...

 was encouraging communal living in United Order communities. The King families' United Order functioned from 1876 to 1883. Kingston town was incorporated September 21, 1926 in order to facilitate the public services and leadership which municipal governments provide.

Functions

Utah municipal governments perform numerous functions, including the maintaining of law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

 and order
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...

, guarding public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...

 and sanitation
Sanitation
Sanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes. Hazards can be either physical, microbiological, biological or chemical agents of disease. Wastes that can cause health problems are human and animal feces, solid wastes, domestic...

, managing public services and promoting community development. The Kingston town council has focused much energy on maintaining a municipal water system. The council has managed the upkeep of the town cemetery and a land fill site. They have organized community beautification and clean up projects, maintained a park, and contracted for public utilities and services. The town council has supported or sponsored holiday celebrations for July 4th and Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

.

Administration

A town board president (or mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

) and four trustees provide leadership for Kingston. The board president, who is elected by general municipal election, is the chief executive officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...

. He presides over council meetings and supervises all other city officers. He signs all city ordinances and official contracts on behalf of the city. The town council functions as a legislative governing body for the community, and is responsible for all aspects of community management, such as appointing officials, levying tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...

es, establishing a budget
Budget
A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...

, maintaining public services and utilities, and regulating activity within the community.

Organizational history

During the 1960s and 1970s the Kingston town council hired a town clerk. Whether or not the council appointed any other municipal offices or continued to maintain the clerk is not apparent from the minutes and ordinances available.

Town council presidents (mayors)

  • Eldon L. Coats (1961)-1964
  • Alton Sudweeks 1964-1965
  • Cyrus Coats 1966-1969
  • Dwain Luke 1969
  • Melvin Allen 1970-1973
  • Leslie G. Neilsen 1974-1981
  • Andre Millett 1982-1985
  • Dee Anderson 1986-1989
  • Len Mills 1990-1997
  • Carlos Jessen 1998-2009
  • Bill Sudweeks 2010-
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