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Kingsley, Pennsylvania facts for kids

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Kingsley is in Harford Township, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. Kingsley was named after Revolutionary War veteran Rufus Kingsley, who had been the first settler in the area.

Kingsley is located in the Endless Mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania. It is in rural Susquehanna County. The population in 1900 was 75, and the current population is about 50. The town itself is very small but the outskirts extend up to ten miles outside the actual town. The population in the outskirts of the town is over two hundred. Kingsley is located about a half-hour from the cities of Binghamton, New York and Scranton, Pennsylvania. Most of the residents have lived in the town their whole lives.

Kingsley is served by area codes 570 and 272.

Rufus Kingsley

In 1809, a man named Rufus Kingsley, his wife Lucinda, and their four children John, Nancy, Rufus, and Lucretia moved from Windham, Connecticut to what was then Harford Township (Benning 1). Rufus was born in Windham, Connecticut on February 1, 1763. He fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill, just outside Boston, at the age of thirteen as a drummer boy. He was one of three drummer boys in the battle. He married Lucinda Cutler on October 12, 1786. He moved to present day Kingsley in 1809, where he built a fulling (wool) mill and a house. His home still stands today and so does a maple tree that he and his family planted. He died on May 26, 1846 at the age of eighty-three (Kesteloot). His wife died three days later. They are both buried in the Universalist Cemetery in Brooklyn, Pennsylvania because they attend the Universalist church all their lives.

John, Rufus’s son, lived in town his whole life. He married Edith Chase. He and Edith had at least one daughter. He built a “mansion” next to his father’s home (Benning 1). His house burnt while another family lived in it, long after he died. John and his wife are buried in the Harford Cemetery, Harford, Pennsylvania. John had at least one daughter named Ellen. She married another town resident Manning Perigo. She and Manning had at least two children named Bert and Edith. Nancy and Lucretia, Rufus’s daughters, moved out of town. They both, at different points in time, taught at a school in Brooklyn. Not much is known about Rufus’s other children.

Prince Perkins

Technically, Rufus was not the first person to settle in the area. In 1793, a free African American, Prince Perkins (1750–1839), his wife Judith, son William, and daughter Phebe moved to a place just outside the current town of Kingsley, from Connecticut. There is no record as to whether or not he was ever a slave, but if he had been, he was free according to the laws of Connecticut, which abolished slavery in 1780. Perkins enlisted and fought in the Revolutionary War. His daughter, Phebe Perkins, married Revolutionary War veteran, Bristol Budd Sampson, a comrade and close friend of Perkins' who served with him in the 4th Connecticut of the Continental Army and endured the long winter at Valley Forge. Prince Perkins' son William Perkins inherited his property and upon William's death, it passed to William's widow, Melinda Perkins who upon her death, bequeathed it to their daughter, Angeline Perkins Dennis (1832–1873). Angeline and her husband Henry W. Dennis (1815–1882) expanded the property in the mid-19th century and it has been known as the Dennis Farm ever since. Both Prince Perkins and Bristol Budd Sampson and members of their families are buried in the Perkins-Dennis Cemetery on the Dennis farm. The farm has remained in the stewardship of the Dennis family to the present day and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Bristol Budd Sampson eventually moved to Kingsley himself. Bristol was an African American who served in the Revolutionary War and is said to have been an attendant to General George Washington. He married Phebe Perkins and they had several children. Sampson lost his sight, after he moved to Kingsley. In 1820, with the help of his neighbors, he applied for a pension based on his service in the Revolutionary War. He was eventually awarded a pension of ninety-six dollars a year. Phebe Perkins Sampson continued to receive his pension after his death. She also received a land grant after which, she and one of their daughters left Pennsylvania. Before they left, they sold the Sampson property to Melinda Perkins, William Perkins' widow.

The land where the Perkins-Dennis family settled is now the Dennis Farm Charitable Land Trust and was created by Denise Dennis and the Dennis family, direct descendants of Prince Perkins. It was established in 2001 for the historical preservation of the farmhouse, stone fences, and cemetery on the Dennis Farm where Bristol Budd Sampson and Prince Perkins are buried. The cemetery contains forty others including members of the Perkins Dennis family and a black Civil War veteran. During the spring and summers of 2008 and 2009, students from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton uncovered thousands of artifacts during archaeological research on the property, on behalf of the Dennis Farm Charitable Land Trust. The history of the Prince Perkins family is fully documented in the Susquehanna County Historical Society and the Brooklyn, PA Historical Society.

Post Office

The first post office in town was built in 1886. The first postmaster was Will Whitney (Benning 12). He was followed by Clark Tiffany. Clark was followed by Stephen E. Tiffany. The post office was moved and R.J. Alexander took over. George Finn was the next postmaster. Frank Tiffany was the next postmaster he moved the post office. It was moved to a building that is currently a garage. Walter Tiffany was then appointed postmaster and the post office was moved again, to its current spot, in 1933. Linda Hunter is the current postmaster.

Kingsley Civic Club

The Kingsley Civic Club was founded in 1928 by the women of the town (Benning 5). The club arranged many gatherings and fundraisers. The club held many ice cream socials and dances in the Klan Hall. They also sponsored roller skating in the Klan Hall. The civic club still exists today.

Woman's Christian Temperance Union

Kingsley also had a Woman's Christian Temperance Union. The union was created to educate people of the harmful effect of alcoholic drinks. The union also held fundraisers. An article in a newspaper on February 12, 1909 said “The ladies of the W. C. T. U. will hold an apron sale in the basement of the Universalist church, Feb. 17th. The date is in honor of the birthday of Miss Frances Willard, who was the founder of the organization of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. A supper will be served of substantial eatables, including warm biscuits, honey and maple syrup. There will be aprons and other articles for sale, also homemade candy. Supper 10 cents, all welcome.” (100 Years Ago).

Ku Klux Klan

The Ku Klux Klan was founded in Kingsley by John Tyler. It is unknown how long the Klan existed. At the height of prosperity they had between three hundred and four hundred members. They built a two story hall. The Klan continued until the middle of the 1930s. The hall still stands today. It is located on Main Street next to Masters. The hall is not used now.

Stearns Mill

In 1900, George and Coe Stearns built the Stearns Mill on Parsonage Street. Before the mill was built Coe sold feed out of the red barn (mentioned above) for four years. The mill was built by local carpenter Warner Wilmarth. The mill was built for grinding feed and selling western grain (Richardson 368). In 1918, George sold his interests to his brother and moved to Camp Hill, Pennsylvania to work for the State Department of Education. Coe continued the mill until he handed over the mill to his grandson, Richard Masters. Richard ran the mill for about ten years until he sold it to Ross Brothers (Masters). Ross Brothers owned the mill until in burned on September 7, 1966 (Benning 4). During the interview with Mr. Masters, he said of the fire, “I was there that night. I remember it very plainly. I talked with Mr. Ross and he was sure he would go out of business.” Mr. Masters continued saying he helped Mr. Ross find a mill in Hop Bottom, Pennsylvania (Masters). Ross Brothers continued to sell feed in town at a warehouse near the current railroad tracks until they moved to Hop Bottom. Ross Brothers is now owned by three partners. They still use their mill in Hop Bottom. They have a small mill, located in Kingsley, on Mill Street. If you go to the site of Stearns Mill today, you can find actual pieces of the concrete floor still in the ground. The site is now owned by the Scott family. The site is now the Scott's front yard.

Acid factory

The Messrs, Porter, and Bayless Company of Binghamton, New York built an acid factory in town in 1900(Benning 5). An 85-foot-tall (26 m) smokestack was built. Cheap houses were also built to house the workers. The company also purchased the timber in the vicinity of the factory. If you ever look at a picture of Kingsley in the Acid factory days, you will notice a lot of cut down trees. All the timber the company owned was cut down. The factory produced wood alcohol and acetate. The acetate was exported to Germany. The factory could only use certain woods. So all the wood they could not use was sent down Martins Creek, to a saw mill. The factory was soon sold to Ballard-Rought Chemical Company in February 1903 for $60,000. In April 1905, the factory was sold to M. J. Corbet & Son of Conklin, New York, and the name of the company was changed to Kingsley Chemical Company. In 1912, when all the timber was cut, the factory was packed up, except the smokestack, and moved to Shinhople, New York. The factory was located on Tannery Street. Remnants from the factory are still found today.

Town water

Kingsley once had town water. Alva J. Masters, Richard Master’s father, ran and owned the water company (Masters). A.J. used Hall Pond as a reservoir. Hall Pond is located above town. A.J. ran water pipes to each home. Most homes still have the pipes in them. Kingsley no longer has town water.

Floods and 2014 Tornado

Kingsley has suffered from two major floods. In 1926, just after nightfall the dam at Hall Pond broke and sent a torrent of water that rushed down into town. The water went down Main Street and flooded many homes. It caused a lot of damage but no homes were lost. The Department of Forest and Waters rebuilt the dam.

On June 28, 2006, Kingsley suffered another major flood. The town experience rainfall of a couple inches an hour. Martins Creek overflowed its banks in the middle of the night. The culvert next to Main Street filled with rocks and overflowed down Main Street. All the townspeople were evacuated to the Mountain View High School by three that morning. Only a few houses were completely saved from water. One home was lost and five homes were severely damaged. At the Community Church, the ground was so saturated water came through the floor.

On July 8, 2014, a series of severe thunderstorms struck Susquehanna County. A tornado warning was issued for the county around 6:30 PM that evening. As one storm moved towards Kingsley from Hop Bottom, it began to rotate. Witnesses say that a twister touched down in the swamp just north of the Martins Creek Viaduct and struck Kingsley around 6:45 PM. No injuries or fatalities occurred, but many buildings, including the original Kingsley Post Office, were destroyed. Hundreds of trees were uprooted and power lines were ripped down. The town was without power for about 4 days. The forest on the hill on the east side of town was completely destroyed, and the damage is still noticeable today. The national weather service ranked the twister as an EF-2.

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