Famous Kingstonians - Jervis McEntee

Perhaps the most famous artist from Kingston, Jervis McEntee was a member of the Hudson River School, an art movement from the mid-19th century. McEntee was born in Rondout, a village that merged with Kingston in 1872 and he was a childhood friend of my great great grandfather George Aloysius Kong the XIV.

The painting above is an early version of McEntee’s “Autumn Lake Scene’ that my great great grandfather ruined with what has become to be known as the first “photo bomb”. He was kind of a jerk.

Old Dutch Church

The Old Dutch Church lies in the heart of the Stockade District of Uptown Kingston. The name is a bit of a misnomer though, having actually been built in 1988 by Franklin “Old Dutch” Hendriks. Originally not meant to be a church at all, but was planned as a replica of the clock tower from Hill Valley from 80’s hit movie “Back to the Future”, of which Mr. Hendriks was quite the fan. He intended to hire Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox to reenact the famous scene where Marty McFly goes back to the future in the delorean once an hour, every hour. After being served a cease and desist order from Robert Zemeckis, Dutch went on to build the church simply because he had nothing else to do.

Burning of Kingston

Every two years, the city comes together to put on the "Burning of Kingston", a historical reenactment of the night that British Red Coats brought the gift of lasagna to the colonists of Kingston. Due to it being after dinner time most of the colonists were full and had no room in their stomachs for the Italian delicacy and passed on it. In response to their ungratefulness, the British lit the city ablaze because honestly, who passes on free lasagna?

This should not be confused with the "Burning Man of Kingston", a yearly festival where a bunch of people just get drugged up in a park and listen to horrible horrible music.

Kingston Academy

Constructed in 1774, the Kingston Academy operated as a school specializing in teaching the manufacturing process of the bells used by the nation's town criers. Unusual for the time period, the Academy established what may have been the first series of after school programs for its students encouraging them to have fun while they could because the life expectancy was so low. Some of the clubs were:

Jedi Training Club

The Esteemed Order of the Luxurious Hoatzin

N.A.R.E. - Native American Resistance Education

Key Club

Senate House

Not only was Kingston the first capitol of New York state, but in the year 1985 it also secretly became the first capitol of the Alliance of Democratic Star Systems, the first intergalactic governing body of the universe. In both instances, the elected officials conducted their meetings in the historic Senate House located on Fair St. in the Stockade District.

Kingston High School

A gift from the Sun People from the year 3057, Kingston High School is comprised of five buildings that house the majority of its general knowledge classes, and a bunker 2500 feet below the main building that acts as a supermax prison facility for the worlds most dangerous criminals. 

Some notable alumni to walk the halls are:

Benjamin Gibson, the man who invented the concept of the Black Friday Sale

Jonathan Q. Farwell, the man who convoked the first stock broker to jump out a window after the crash of 1929

Wilhelmina Ayers, personal hairstylist and beard-meister to President Abraham Lincoln

Kingston City Hall

City Hall was constructed by Native Kingstonians and is considered the first standing structure in what is now called the United States. Located at 420 Broadway in the middle of the city, it should come as no surprise that its original purpose was that of a marijuana dispensary with people coming from far and wide to get what the natives called “wicked good smoke”.