KEENE

19th century to 20th century

Railroad development in Keene began with unsuccessful proposals in 1829 and 1835, before the Cheshire Railroad was chartered in 1844. A depot was constructed near lower Marlboro Street in 1847, along with laying of the track and the building of the Stone Arch Bridge at West Keene. The railroad formally opened to Keene on May 16, 1848, when a decorated train from Boston arrived before a crowd reported to number more than 5,000 people. Regular passenger and freight service between Keene and Bellows Falls, Vermont, began in January 1849. The Ashuelot Railroad ran its first trains in December 1850, while the Manchester and Keene Railroad reached the city in 1878. The resulting connections to Massachusetts, Vermont and New York contributed to industrial growth, and by 1890 Keene had become a regional railroad center.

Keene's railroads were subsequently incorporated into larger regional railways. The Cheshire Railroad consolidated with the Fitchburg Railroad in 1890, while the Ashuelot Railroad consolidated with the Connecticut River Railroad that year and was taken over by the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1893.

The city's own electric street railway began regular service in 1900, and eventually operated lines connecting central Keene with West Keene, Marlborough and Swanzey Factory. The Keene Electric Railway was authorized to replace its rail lines with motor buses in 1926 and continued operating until 1929. Passenger rail service declined during the mid-20th century, with the last passenger train departing Keene for Bellows Falls on May 31, 1958, ending 110 years of passenger service in the city.

In 1920, Keene's population stood at 11,210 and increased as the city's industrial economy and economy grew, with the town becoming a regional institutional center of southwestern New Hampshire. During the Great Depression, Keene's banks closed temporarily and federal assistance subsequently supported highway, water, sewer and park-improvement projects in the town. In 1936, there was serious flooding and the 1938 New England hurricane affected the city, damaged homes and factories and destroyed nearly 1,000 elm trees; the resulting flood-control program included Surry Dam, which was completed in 1942.

In the postwar period, Keene's educational and service functions expanded with Keene Teachers College, which became Keene State College in 1963. In 1987, the city spent approximately $2 million improving Main Street and Central Square to create a more pedestrian-oriented downtown.

21st century to present

Beginning in 2000, Keene inventoried nearly 200 historic properties and then set up a municipal heritage and downtown historic-district body to support the restoration and reuse of prominent historic buildings.

In 2011, Massachusetts man Thomas Ball immolated himself on the steps of a courthouse in Keene to protest what he considered the court system's abuse of divorced fathers' rights.