If one thing was clear in this class, it is that every week I wrote an article, Upstate New York is embedded with a bunch of small facts that are often unappreciated and overlooked in everyday conversation.

The overall goal of this website is to provide you with those facts, but I want to do something special with you all who have been reading my articles by giving you a story each day for five days straight. Think of it as a small series built to highlight pieces of history you probably never learned in school, but absolutely should know.

Consider this a countdown before I give you a very detailed story that won’t be released until, well… the day it is released. I have to keep you on your toes somehow and make sure there is a reason to come back each day.

So let’s get into the story of Kingston, New York.

Photo from https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/fhk/id/95/rec/98

Kingston, New York, was the first capital of New York after the state ratified its state constitution in June 1777. At this time in United States history, the United States was still at war with the British Empire and did not yet have its own Constitution. The Articles of Confederation had not yet been fully ratified, meaning the country was still in a very early and unstable stage of government.

Now I can hear people screaming, “That’s not upstate!” My answer is… it kind of is.

“Upstate” by itself is just the top part of the map, and Kingston was in that upper portion of the state during a time when New York was still forming its identity, its government, and even its long-term political structure. Definitions shift depending on history, and this is one of those cases where geography and time overlap.

When New York ratified its first constitution, the Constitution of New York, it selected Kingston because it was considered the safer alternative compared to New York City or Albany at the time. Both cities were seen as more vulnerable during the Revolutionary War, while Kingston offered a more secure location for government operations.

New York has had four state constitutions, with the current one being ratified in November 1894. Each version reflected major political changes in the state’s development, as New York evolved from a wartime colony into a structured and powerful state government with lasting influence.

And what makes Kingston interesting is not just that it was once a capital, but that most people drive through or hear about it without ever realizing how much early American history is tied to it. That’s exactly the kind of hidden detail this series is about—small facts that change how you see the map entirely.