Kingston Then and Now is designed to be a self-guided tour to the more than 20 significant historic sites in and near Kingston, GA.
Hidden in the upper west corner of Bartow County lies the town of Kingston - really now just a sleepy hamlet, but there once was a day when Kingston played an important part in our nation's history.
Kingston wasn't then, nor is it now just about the events that occurred there. It's about the people who made history happen. This is their story. If you get a chance to visit in person, take the time to visit with the folks who now call Kingston home. It was their family who made this history, and it is their family stories that preserve it.
Settled in the 1830's while the area was Cherokee Indian territory. In 1849 the Memphis Branch Railroad was opened connecting Savannah and Charleston with the Mississippi and Chattanooga to the North. Major supplier for Confederate gunpowder with the mineral saltpeter mined nearby. Home to Georgia's most significant cave, the Kingston Saltpeter cave. The Great Locomotive Chase was sidetracked and impeded at Kingston on April 12, 1862. Confederate hospital center that included a "Wayside Home" for rehabilitation which served more than 10,000 men. During the Atlanta Campaign, Confederate and Federal armies marched through Kingston. Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman spent May 19-23, 1864, in Kingston planning his attack on Atlanta. The beginning of Sherman's March to the Sea. Served as a supply base for the Federal army. Kingston was the birthplace of Memorial Day. The final surrender of Confederate troops east of the Mississippi. Michelle Obama's great great great grandmother lived in Kingston and is buried there. Post-War, a number of other people of note have ties to Kingston. oLovick Pierce oClement Evans oMiss Martha Berry oMrs. Kate Strong oDr. D. H. Felton oRebecca Latimer Felton oLottie Moon oSam Jones oEverett B. D. Fabrina Julio oSimon Peter Richardson oBishop George F. Pierce oDr. William Harrell Felton"