Originally the George Noble Jones House, Kingscote was constructed between 1839 and 1841 for George Noble Jones by architect Richard Upjohn. Jones was a plantation owner and enslaver from Savannah, Georgia and summer visitor to Newport. Done in the Gothic Revival style, Kingscote was one of Newport's first summer cottages and its construction marked the beginning of the cottage boom which would continue through the 19th century. Originally a cottage orné, or “a relatively small house intensely decorated,” the wooden structure has been expanded twice (Jordy 2018). Upjohn utilized medieval motifs in his design, including high-pitched gables, a polygonal tower, diamond-paned windows, sawn serpentine bargeboards, crenellated balcony rails, and trefoil droplets under the porch roof. Originally a sand-textured, buff-colored paint, the house is now a darker grey. A red slate roof has also replaced the original wood shingles (Jordy 2018).

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Jones, a southern enslaver and his family left Newport permanently. In August 1861, Jones sold the home to Richard Sullivan, through his lawyer and brother-in-law, Robert Hallowell Gardiner, Jr. (Deed of sale from George Nobles Jones to Richard Sullivan, 31 August 1861, Land Records Volume 35, City of Newport Land Evidence Office, Newport, Rhode Island). Sullivan sold the home in November 1861 to Sarah Fenwick Gardiner, Robert Hallowell Gardiner Jr.'s wife (Deed of sale from Richard Sullivan to Sarah Fenwick Gardiner, 4 November 1861, Land Records Volume 35, City of Newport Land Evidence Office, Newport, Rhode Island). The couple sold the home to William Henry King, a merchant in the China trade, in April 1863 (Deed of sale from Richard Hallowell Gardiner Jr. and Sarah Fenwick Gardiner to William Henry King, 29 April 1863, Land Records Volume 37, City of Newport Land Evidence Office, Newport, Rhode Island). William Henry King was a member of the prominent Newport King family. His brothers included George Gordon King, Dr. David King, a local physician, and Edward King, who was also involved in the China trade. The Edward King house, another Richard Upjohn home, remains on King Street, near Kingscote. William Henry King contracted architect George Mason Jr. to update the dining room and service wing after purchasing it (Jordy 2018).

In 1866, William Henry King experienced a mental health episode which prompted his brothers to commit him to McLean Asylum for the Insane in Somerville, Massachusetts, now McLean Hospital. King would remain institutionalized in both Massachusetts and Rhode Island until his death in 1897. After William Henry King's commitment, his nephew David King Jr. took stewardship of the house. David King Jr. has previously worked in the China trade with the trading firm Russell & Co. before settling between Washington, D.C. and Newport. David King Jr. and his wife, Ella Louise Rives, moved to Kingscote in 1875. The couple had two children, Maud Gwendolen King, who went by Gwendolen, in 1876, and Philip Wheaton Rives King, in 1878.

In 1880, David King Jr. contracted the architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White for renovations to Kingscote. Architect Stanford White moved the dining room and service wing back from the original structure and inserted an updated dining room on the first floor and bedrooms on the second floor into the space. White's dining room combines Colonial American details and Eastern influenced ornamentation and includes an early installation of opalescent glass bricks by Louis Comfort Tiffany (Jordy 2018). On the exterior, White included a picturesque roofline and textured shingles in keeping with Upjohn's original design (Jordy 2018).

David King Jr. died in 1894 in Washington, D.C., at which point his widow, Ella Rives King, began expressing interest in purchasing Kingscote. She sold the family's Washington, D.C. home and lived the remainder of her life between Newport and Europe. In 1897, William Henry King died and left Kingscote in shares to 15 descendents, including Ella Rives King's two children, Gwendolen and Philip. In 1900, Ella Rives King would purchase Kingscote from King's descendants through five separate transactions (Deed of sale from Maud Gwendolen King to Ella Rives King, 6 February 1900, Land Records Volume 74, City of Newport Land Evidence Office, Newport, Rhode Island. Deed of sale from George Gordon King, Mary LeRoy King, Louis B. McCagg, Edith Edgar McCagg, William D. King, Sarah G. K. Birckhead, Annie E. King, Georgiana G. King, Annie M. King, and Helen M. H. Pomeroy to Ella Rives King, 22 January 1900, Land Records Volume 75, City of Newport Land Evidence Office, Newport, Rhode Island. Deed of sale from LeRoy King, Frederick Rhinelander King, and Ethel Marjorie King to Ella Rives King, 31 January 1900, Land Records Volume 75, City of Newport Land Evidence Office, Newport, Rhode Island. Deed of sale from Samuel Wyllys Pomeroy Jr. to Ella Rives King, 31 January 1900, Land Records Volume 76, City of Newport Land Evidence Office, Newport, Rhode Island. Deed of sale from Phillip Wheaton Rives King to Ella Rives King, 20 June 1900, Land Records Volume 76, City of Newport Land Evidence Office, Newport, Rhode Island). On her death in 1925, Ella Rives King placed Kingscote in a trust, allowing her daughter, Gwendolen King Armstrong, to remain living in Kingscote until her death in 1968, at which point ownership of Kingscote passed to Gwendolen King Armstrong's daughter and only surviving child, Gwendolen Armstrong Rives (King, Ella Rives, Last will and testmant, 17 March 1925, Probate Recrods Volume 88, City of Newport Probate Court, Newport, Rhode Island). In 1949, the city of Newport planned to demolish Kingscote and Stone Villa, another estate on Bellevue Avenue, to construct a new high school. Gwendolen King Armstrong, among other community members, opposed this decision and the city selected another site. After her mother's death, Gwendolen Armstrong Rives lived in Kingscote until her death in 1972, when she bequeathed the property to the Preservation Society of Newport County (Rives, Gwendolen Armstrong, Last will and testament, 23 October 1972, File No. 11894, City of Newport Probate Court, Newport, Rhode Island).