Town of Keene History #1

Being a resident in the Town of Keene for fourteen years, I felt that learning about the history of my community was a good way to spend my free time. After reading numerous books and talking to lifelong residents I have accumulated a vast knowledge of the community I call home. Now that I have joined the journalism class I thought it would be a good idea to write segments of history for the students at KCS. Each week I will write a section on Keene history. Each section will be on a new topic. If you want to learn more of the history I strongly suggest you read the book “Two Adirondack Hamlets in History: Keene and Keene Valley” By Richard Plunz. I have done a lot of research using this book and it is full of good information.

The first settlers to arrive in the town of Keene came as early as 1797. But it wasn’t until 1808 when land was taken from the towns of Elizabethtown and Jay that Keene became an official town. In 1808 the town was divided into three hamlets, each with their own post office. Keene Center, which is now present day Keene, was the first section. The next section was the Keene Flats, which is currently Keene Valley. The last section was Cascadeville, which is present day Cascade Lakes. Benjamin Payne was the first settler in Keene Center, he came over from Westport, using marked trees. Upon arriving, he started building his home along the Ausable river, which flows right through the Town of Keene. The first to move south from the center and settle in the Keene Flats was Eli Hull. The flats provided very good land for farming and raising livestock. Some settlers also started moving north west to Edmond’s Ponds (Cascade Lakes) and created the hamlet of Cascadeville.

During the early growing stages of the Town of Keene, logging and forging were the town’s main activities for the residents. Various sawmills were constructed throughout the valley on the AuSable, as well as many forges. Most logging took place on the west side of the valley on the slopes of Porter mountain, and in the John’s Brook river valley south of Porter. The logs would be floated down John’s Brook to the Ausable River. During this time the Ausable was lined with many saw mills, with the closest being the Beede saw mill at the site of the present day Keene Valley Country Club. Most of the wood was not shipped to other areas, but sold to people in town for their houses and other structures. Most of the lumber produced there never left the town. The forges would be supplied with iron ore from the Arnold bed in

Ausable Forks. The forges would build the necessary tools for the farms in the Keene Flats.

Next week there will be a new segment of Keene History.