The Kingston Port District was formed in 1919, creating a public dock at the end of the main street. Car ferry service from Edmonds began in 1923. Commuters paid 25 cents each way as passengers, or 1 dollar and 50 cents for a car and driver. These cars drive through Kingston after disembarking from the ferry, soon after 1923.
By 1925, the Joyce Brothers operated two boats serving the Edmonds route, and Harry Crosby owned and operated a run to Ballard using a smaller boat. This photo from 1925 shows cars in two ferry lines; one on the right heading to Ballard, and another on the left for service to Edmonds.
This 1965 photo shows cars stretching up Highway 104, nearly blocking it completely, some things never change! The Port added a large holding lot in 1967. The tavern and restaurant are now a parking lot and Aviators Coffees and Teas.
The San Mateo was the last steam ferry operating on the West Coast in 1969. Built in 1922 in San Francisco, the boat steamed the Bay Area waters for years before Washington acquired her. Her capacity of 55 cars was not sufficient for a steady run so she was semi retired and handled overloads in 1969. She operated at 1,400 horsepower of steam which moved the 230 foot steel craft through the water at a leisurely nine knots. A crew member observed, “She’s got real character…More character than all of them put together.