Kingston is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada. It is located on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River(south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is located midway between Toronto andMontreal. The Thousand Islands tourist region is nearby to the east. Kingston is nicknamed the "Limestone City" because of the many heritage buildings constructed using locallimestone. Growing European exploration in the 17th century and the desire for the Europeans to establish a presence close to local Native occupants to control trade led to the founding of a French trading post and military fort at a site known as "Cataraqui" in 1673. This outpost, called Fort Cataraqui, and later Fort Frontenac, became a focus for settlement. After the British conquered New France, the village was renamed Kingston. Kingston was named the first capital of theProvince of Canada on February 10, 1841.[2]While its time as a political centre was short (ending in 1844), the community has remained an important military installation. Kingston was the county seat of Frontenac County until 1998. Kingston is now a separated municipality from the County of Frontenac.