Kingsley, Pennsylvania

He fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill, just outside Boston, at the age of thirteen as a drummer boy.

He moved to present day Kingsley in 1809, where he built a fulling (wool) mill and a house.

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.

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.

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 was an African American who served in the Revolutionary War and is said to have been an attendant to General George Washington.

In 1820, with the help of his neighbors, he applied for a pension based on his service in the Revolutionary War.

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 Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad track was built on present day Route 11 in about 1870 (Benning 2).

The Martins Creek Viaduct is 1,600 feet (490 m) long and has ten 150-foot-high (46 m) arches (Bridges to the Future).

Walter Tiffany was then appointed postmaster and the post office was moved again, to its current spot, in 1933.

The club held many ice cream socials and dances in the Klan Hall.

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.

Before the mill was built Coe sold feed out of the red barn (mentioned above) for four years.

In 1918, George sold his interests to his brother and moved to Camp Hill, Pennsylvania to work for the State Department of Education.

Richard ran the mill for about ten years until he sold it to Ross Brothers (Masters).

Ross Brothers continued to sell feed in town at a warehouse near the current railroad tracks until they moved to Hop Bottom.

If you go to the site of Stearns Mill today, you can find actual pieces of the concrete floor still in the ground.

The Messrs. Porter and Bayless Company of Binghamton, New York built an acid factory in town in 1900(Benning 5).

If you ever look at a picture of Kingsley in the Acid factory days, you will notice a lot of cut down trees.

Some townspeople did not like that the Hotel Kingsley served alcohol, so they built the Aqua Inn.

In 1926, just after nightfall the dam at Hall Pond broke and sent a torrent of water that rushed down into town.

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.

The forest on the hill on the east side of town was completely destroyed, and the damage is still noticeable today.