The Town of Kingston is a small municipality nestled in the valley between the City of Kingston and Woodstock. Originally, it surrounded the City and included the Town of Ulster, part of Woodstock and Hurley. The heart of the town began to be settled by the late 17th century, mainly by small farmers and millers who used the Sawkill Creek for grinding grain and making gunpowder. In 1696 a tract of land along the Sawkill Creek was conveyed by the Trustees of Kingston to William Legg for 50 schipples of wheat.

Throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries, the town was primarily a self-sufficient community which was engaged in some commercial trade on the Hudson River with Sawkill as the center of town. It changed dramatically with the discovery of Bluestone and with the influx of immigrants who came to live in the town and work the quarries. Extensive quarrying of Bluestone began with the opening of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, which facilitated the transport of heavy rock slabs, and accommodated the increased demand of growing Northeast cities for stone to pave sidewalks and streets.