Kinston, North Carolina history

Richard Caswell, the first governor of North Carolina, lived there and was one of its original trustees, and the town was briefly (1833–34) called Caswell.

General Lenoir died in 1839.

By 1885, Kinston was home to a number of merchants, three carriage factories, a harness factory, two turpentine distilleries, gristmills, sawmills, and several doctors and lawyers.

The first elevator in North Carolina opened in a downtown Kinston bank in 1924, and for decades, it seemed the town on the banks of the Neuse was always on the rise.

One house that was on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens in 1936 is for sale for under $200,000 – a fraction of what a comparable home with 3,500 square feet would sell for in Raleigh.

And Wilbur King, whose family started the famous barbecue restaurant in 1947, told them the history of the town.

And in 1953, years before Research Triangle Park opened, DuPont opened a Kinston plant that made Dacron – the first plant to commercially produce polyester fiber.

The chemical industry was the first to arrive in Lenoir, with DuPont establishing a polyester manufacturing plant there in 1954.

Lenoir Community College was opened there in 1958.

By 1960, Kinston’s population reached 24,819 – almost five times what it was at the turn of the century.

And in 1999, Hurricane Floyd swelled the waters of the Neuse, destroying hundreds of homes.

Fueled by the opening of Chef & the Farmer restaurant in 2006, Kinston is seeing some new businesses open and downtown starting to perk up.

“History of Lenoir County.” Lenoir County, North Carolina – About Lenoir County. http://www.co.lenoir.nc.us/history.html (Accessed on August 2, 2011)

The population got older as young people fled – nearly 19 percent of Lenoir County was 65 years old or older as of 2016.