Kingston High School “Tigers”

Kingston School

Kingston, IL

Kingston School Building Photo – 1900

A large house with trees in front of it

Description automatically generated with low confidence

Submitted by Marcia Uplinger Lochner

The History of Kingston High School

Kingston (population 980) is located in northeastern Illinois and may soon (if it isn’t already) be considered a western suburb of Chicago. The town is situated in northern Dekalb County on IL Rt. 72 at Five Points Road. This places Kingston about 15 miles southeast of Rockford. The Soo Line Railroad runs through town as does the Kishwaukee River. A great web site for more on the history of Kingston can be found at http://www.villageofkingston.org/history.html .

Kingston was officially recognized as a town in Illinois in 1886. The school system probably started a little before that time. Kingston supported its own high school until the 1940’s when consolidation talks with nearby Genoa were started. The talks became a reality in 1947 with the creation of the Genoa-Kingston School District. The high school and most of the grammar school students attend school in Genoa. There is still an elementary school in Kingston supporting grades 2 and 3 for the Genoa-Kingston School System.

The Kingston School building that housed high school education, pictured above, burned down in a fire in 1954. A replacement building was soon built on the same grounds. Pictured at the bottom of this page are two schools: the top picture was the Kingston School of the 1800s, and the bottom picture is the Kingston Elementary School today.

Kingston High School Quick Facts

Year opened: late 1800’s

Year closed: 1947

Consolidated to: Genoa-Kingston School District

School nickname: “Tigers”

School colors: Red & White

(Black & White through approximately 1940)

School Fight Song: unavailable

Athletics

There is very limited information regarding the athletic accomplishments of Kingston High School. Basketball was definitely offered and it is probable that baseball and track were, too. Kingston did at one time also have a baseball team called the Kingston Tigers, but the capacity in which they played is unknown.

Boys Basketball

The Kingston High School boys’ basketball program earned one District Championship during its existence. Unfortunately, the coaches’ name and team record are not available. We are sure there were many great teams in Kingston HS history. If you have any knowledge of the basketball or other athletic accomplishments at Kingston High, please drop us a line. The District Chazmpionship is listed below.

1931-32 Dekalb District Tourney Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd Beat Maple Park 17-12

2nd Rd Beat Kaneville 47-12

Semi-Final lost to Waterman 29-22

Sycamore beat Waterman in title game

1932-33 Dekalb District Tourney Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd Beat Lee 20-19 (2 O/Ts)

2nd Rd lost to Waterman 67-10

Sycamore beat Waterman in title game

1933-34 Dekalb District Tourney Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Shabonna 18-17

Sycamore beat Dekalb in title game

1934-35 Dekalb District Tourney Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd Beat Genoa 36-15

2nd Rd lost to Leland 27-17

Waterman beat Dekalb in title game

1935-36 Rockton District Tourney Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd Beat Poplar Grove 53-11

Semi-Final Rd lost to Pecatonica 31-29 (O/T)

Pecatonica beat Kirkland in title game

1936-37 Pecatonica District Champs Coach’s name & record needed.

1st Rd Beat Seward 39-20

Semi-Final Beat Hononegah 28-14

Title Game Beat Pecatonica 35-28

Rockford Regional Tourney

1st Rd lost to Marengo 24-22 (O/T)

Rockford beat Harlem in title game

1937-38 Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1938-39 Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1939-40 Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1940-41 Monroe Center District Tourney Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Winnebago 36-19

Winnebago beat Kirkland in title game

1941-42 Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1942-43 Kirkland District Runner-Up Coach’s name & record needed.

Semi-Final Beat Pecatonica 38-34 (O/T)

Title Game lost to Kirkland 57-31

1943-44 Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1944-45 Monroe Center District Tourney Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to South Beloit 30-26 (O/T)

Kirkland beat South Beloit in title game

1945-46 Monroe Center District Tourney Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Winnebago 28-26 (O/T)

Kirkland beat Winnebago in title game

1946-47 Monroe Center District Tourney Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Monroe Center 50-33

Monroe Center beat Kirkland in title game

1947-48 Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1948-49 Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

Band

The Kingston High School students participated in band for certain. Below is a photo showing Laura and Thelma Vandling wearing their Kingston High School band uniforms. Kingston High School had a band program from at least the late 1930s through the 1940s.

Kingston HS Band Members

Submitted by Marcia Uplinger Lochner

MEMORIES & INFORMATION

**From Paul Perry:

“The Kingston High School Mascot was the Tigers and they played basketball for sure. I attended Genoa Kingston Schools from 1978-1990 and my 6^th grade basketball team actually wore the old red and white uniforms from the old Kingston High School with the name Tigers on them. The school is still a grade school in the district and the gym is still used as a practice gym for youth basketball teams. It still has the original old clock on the wall and some other really cool old features from the past.”

Need Your Assistance

If you have information to share regarding Kingston High School and its many great years of service to the Kingston community, we are hopeful that you will share it with us. Photos of teams and the school building along with the team nickname and colors, the fight song, and many more bits of information would be interesting and fun to share. You can e-mail these items to us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net or you can write to us at:

Illinois HS Glory Days

6439 N. Neva St.

Chicago, Il. 60631

Kingston HS Student Photos 1912