In 1759 the General Assembly of North Carolina passed an act to establish three tobacco inspection warehouses in what was then Dobbs County. It was at the site of one of these warehouses, located along the banks of the Neuse River, that "Kingston" was originally established.
Kinston was originally named Kingston, named for King George III of England, but the name was changed in 1784 following the Revolutionary War. Not only was Kinston here before the Revolutionary War but was a major battlefield of the Civil War giving it a wealth of over two hundred years American history.
During World Wars I and II, tens of thousands of soldiers from military bases throughout Eastern North Carolina chose the friendly town of Kinston to visit for rest and recreation before being deployed overseas. During the Korean War, thousands of pilots were trained at nearby Stallings Air Force Base. This property today is now the North Carolina's Global Transpark.
North Carolina was the first colony to declare its independence from England well before July 4, 1776. The Flag bears two dates in its blue field on the left. May 20, 1775 was the year North Carolina signed the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence was issued and April 12, 1776 is the date of the Halifax Resolves.