text extracted from wikipedia.org

Kingston, Ontario, is located at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, where the lake runs into the St. Lawrence River and the Thousand Islands begin. The central part of the city is located between the Cataraqui River to the east and the Little Cataraqui Creek to the West, with outlying areas extending in both directions. Kingston is the county seat of Frontenac County. According to the 2001 Canadian census, the population of the city proper was 114,195, while the population of the metropolitan area as a whole was 146,838 in 2001. Kingston is nicknamed the "Limestone City" because of the many historic buildings built from limestone. Canadian Forces Base Kingston (CFB Kingston) houses CFSCE (Canadian Forces School of Communications and Electronics), the Canadian Armed Forces' military communications training centre. Canada's largest group of federal prisons, including Kingston Penitentiary, is located in the immediate area of the city. Olympic Harbour, site of the 1976 sailing olympics with Kingston Penitentary in background.	Kingston city hall. In 1843 the architect George Browne, was commissioned to design a city hall in keeping with Kingston's status as a provinical capital.  The building was completed in 1844 at a cost of 20,000 pounds. Student working at Old Fort Henry. Fort Henry was built after the war of 1812 to defend Kingston and the  entrance of the Rideau Canal.  The fort however, never fired a shot in anger.  It is a popular tourist attraction throughout the summer, employing many college students from the Kingston area.
Wolfe Island ferry and a Martello tower  located in the Confederation basin.   The Martello towers were built after the war of 1812 to guard Kingston and the entrance of the Rideau Canal.	The French originally settled upon a traditional Mississaugas First Nation site called Katerokwi (Cataraqui in the common transliteration which uses French pronunciation rules, is pronounced CAT - AH - RAH - KWAY) in 1673 and established Fort Frontenac. The fort was captured and destroyed by the British in the Battle of Fort Frontenac near the end of the Seven Years' War in 1758. A receiving centre for fleeing refugees from the American Revolution, it became the primary community of south-eastern Upper Canada. New settlement from the United Empire Loyalists (UEL) and Mohawks from the Six Nations in New York, led by Molly Brant (the sister of Six Nations Leader Joseph Brant - Thayendanegea), formed a significant part of an expanding population in the area at the end of the 18th century. During the War of 1812, Kingston was the base for the Lake Ontario division of the Great Lakes British naval fleet which engaged in a vigorous arms race with the American fleet based at Sackett's Harbor, New York for control of Lake Ontario. After the war, Britain built Fort Henry and a series of distinctive Martello towers to guard the entrance to the Rideau Canal. Fort Henry still stands and is a popular tourist destination.
Kingston's location at the Rideau Canal entrance to Lake Ontario, after canal construction was completed in 1832, made it the primary military and economic centre of Upper Canada. Incorporated as a town in 1838, Kingston had the largest population of any centre in Upper Canada until the 1840s. Kingston was incorporated as a city in 1846 Kingston was the first capital of the united Canadas before Confederation from 1841 to 1844, and hosted the first meeting of the Parliament of the United Canadas on June 13, 1841. The city was considered too small and lacking in amenities, however, and its location made it vulnerable to American attack. Consequently, the capital was moved to alternating locations in Montreal and Toronto, and then later to Ottawa in 1857. Kingston was the home of Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A.  Macdonald. The Old Flag   The Old Policy   The Old Leader	Bellevue House was built in the early 1840s for Charles Hales, a successful Kingston grocer. Asymmetrical in shape, with decorative balconies and a three-storey central tower, Bellevue contrasted with the traditional Georgian architecture of Kingston houses. Macdonald spoke of it as "the most fantastic concern imaginable." Other Kingstonians, inspired by Hales' occupation, nicknamed it "Tea Caddy Castle", "Molasses Hall", and "Pekoe Pagoda." Macdonald rented the house, motivated by the chronic ill-health of his wife, Isabella. He wrote of the "...complete quiet and seclusion of the house, which is completely surrounded by trees and has a fresh breeze ever blowing on it from Lake Ontario..." that, he hoped, would bring about an improvement in her condition. But their stay was brief. Isabella's health continued to be precarious. Macdonald himself was increasingly troubled by financial concerns. In September 1849, the couple moved again to smaller quarters in downtown Kingston.
Student working at Bellevue House during summer tourist season	During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Kingston was an important Great Lakes port and a centre for shipbuilding and locomotive manufacturing, including the Canadian Locomotive Company, at one time the largest locomotive works in the British Empire. Most heavy industry has now left the city, and employment is now primarily in the institutional, military, and service/retail sectors. The term "Cataraqui", from the original native name for Kingston, today refers to an area around the intersection of Princess Street and Sydenham Road where a village of that name was located. Cataraqui is also the name of a municipal electoral ward.