Keene

Keene is a city in, and the seat of Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,047 at the 2020 census, down from 23,409 at the 2010 census. It hosted the state's annual pumpkin festival from 1991 to 2014, several times setting a world record for most jack-o'-lanterns on display. Keene is home to Keene State College and Antioch University New England. The grocery wholesaler C&S Wholesale Grocers is based in Keene. The city retains a considerable inventory of fine Victorian architecture from its mill town era. It was named after Sir Benjamin Keene, English minister to Spain and a West Indies trader. The town is located on an ancient lake bed surrounded by hills, the valley with fertile meadows was excellent for farming. The Ashuelot River was later used to provide water power for sawmills, gristmills and tanneries. After the railroad was constructed to the town in 1848, numerous other industries were established. In the early 1900s, the Newburyport Silver Company moved to the city to take advantage of its skilled workers and location. The Manchester & Keene Branch was abandoned following the floods of 1936. Beginning in 1945, Keene was a stopping point for the Boston & Maine's streamlined trainset known at that time as the Cheshire. In 1962, F. Nelson Blount chose the city for the site of his Steamtown, U.S.A. attraction. But Blount's plan fell through and the museum was relocated to nearby Bellows Falls, Vermont.

History

Keene is the primary city name, but also North Swanzey, Roxbury, Surry are acceptable city names or spellings, N Swanzey on the other hand no longer accepted or obsolete and are no longer used as a designation. The official name is Keene, New Hampshire. Upper Ashuelot was established as a fort town in 1736 to protect Massachusetts Bay from the French and Indian Wars. In 1747, during King George's War, the village was attacked and burned by Natives. Keene became a manufacturing center for wooden-ware, pails, chairs, sashes, shutters, doors, pottery, glass, soap, woolen textiles, shoes, saddles, mowing machines, carriages and sleighs. The city was incorporated as a city in 1874, and by 1880 had a population of 6,784. In 1962, F. Nelson Blount chose the city for the site of his Steamtown, U.S.A. attraction. But Blount's plan fell through and, after one operating season in Keene, the museum was relocated to nearby Bellows Falls, Vermont. Since the late 20th century, the rail beds through town have been redeveloped as the Cheshire Rail Trail. In 2011, Massachusetts man Thomas Ball immolated himself on the steps of a courthouse to protest what he considered the court system's abuse of divorced fathers' rights. In 2012, a man shot himself in the head in the parking lot of the Keene Public Library to protest the court's "abuse of divorced father's rights" in the divorce case against his ex-wife. In 2013, a woman shot herself in the stomach in the courthouse parking lot in protest of what she thought was the abuse of the divorce system in the case against her husband.

Geography

Keene is located at 42°5601N 72°1641W (42.9339, 72.2784). The highest point in Keene is the summit of Grays Hill in the city's northwest corner, at 1,388 feet (423 m) above sea level. The city is entirely within the Connecticut River watershed, with all of the city except for the northwest corner draining to the Connecticut via the Ashuelot. State highways converge on Keene from nine directions. DillantHopkins Airport is located just south of Keene in Swanzey. The town has a total area of 37.3 square miles (96.7 km²) of which 37.1 square miles are land and 0.3square miles (0.7km²) is water. The latter comprises 0.69% of the town, and the city is drained by the Ashuelot River. Keene has a population of 2,816. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates Keene's population will reach 2,917 in the year 2050. The population of the state in 2010 was 2,715. The state's population at the time of the 2010 Census was 3,813. The number of people living in the state was 2.7 million, with the majority of that population living in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Rhode Island. The majority of the population lives in the northern part of the county, where the state's largest city, Concord, lies.

Climate

Keene is located in a humid continental climate zone. It experiences all four seasons quite distinctly. The average high temperature in July is 82 °F (28 °C), and the record high for Keene is 102°F (39°C) During the summer, Keene can get hit by thunderstorms from the west, but the Green Mountains to the west often break up some of the storms, so that Keene doesn't usually experience a thunderstorm at full strength. The last time a tornado hit Cheshire County was in 1997. The most recent such winter was 2002-2003, when Keene received 112.5 inches (2,860 mm) of snow. The majority of the snowfall in Keene comes from nor'easters, areas of low pressure that move up the Atlantic coast and strengthen. Many times these storms can produce blizzard conditions across southern New England. Keene's first snowfall usually occurs in early November. Significant rain events can occur in the spring and fall. For example, record rainfall and flooding with the axis of heaviest rain (around 12 inches (300 mm) near Keene occurred in October 2005. Another significant flood event occurred in May of the following year. In addition to the cold temperatures, Keenes can receive biting winds that drive the wind chill down below 30 °C (34 °C). Even in the warmest of winters, Keene will typically experience at least one night below 0 °F [18 °C]. During January 2004, Kenese saw highs below freezing 25 of the days, including five days in the single digits and one day with a high of zero. Overnight lows dropped below zero 12 times, including 7 nights below 10 °F.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 23,409 people, 9,052 households, and 4,843 families residing in the city. There were 9,719 housing units at an average density of 260.6 per square mile (100.6/km²) The racial makeup of the city was 95.3% White, 0.6% African American, 0,2% Native American, 2.0% Asian, 0.,004% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.6%. The estimated median income for a household in theCity was $52,327, and the median incomes for a family was $75,057. The per capita income for the city is $29,366. About 6.7% of families and 16.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16. 5% of those under age 18 and 11.5 per cent of those age 65 or over. The city is located on the U.S.-Mexico border and was once part of the state of New Mexico. It was the site of the Battle of the Bulbous, which was fought in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The town is now part of Mexico and is known as one of the most popular tourist destinations in the state. It has a population of about 23,000, with the majority of its residents living in or near the city center.

Government

Keene's government consists of a mayor and a city council which has 15 members. Two are elected from each of the city's five wards, and five councilors are elected at-large. Keene is a strongly Democratic-leaning city at the presidential level, as no Republican presidential nominee has carried the city in over two decades. The city is in New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District and is currently represented by Democrat Ann McLane Kuster. It is also in the 10th District of the New Hampshire Senate and is represented by Democrats Jay Kahn and Cinde Warmington. It also is in the 2nd District of New Hampshire’s Executive Council and isrepresented by Democrat Jay Kahn. The mayor of Keene, New Hampshire, has been a Democrat since 1988. The current mayor is Democrat John McKeever, who has been in office since 2008. The council has been elected for a total of 15 terms, the most recent of which was in 2010. The last time Keene was represented by a Democrat was in 1998. The U.S. House of Representatives has a seat in Keene that has been held by a Republican since 1998. It has also had a seat on the Executive Council since 1998, when it was in the 3rd District. It currently has one Democrat on the executive council and one Republican on the state Senate. It was the first city in the state to win a presidential election in more than 30 years, and the first in over 20 years for a Democrat.

Education

Keene is the largest community in Cheshire County, New Hampshire. Keene State College and Antioch University New England are located in the city. The city has one high school, one middle school, and four elementary schools. The town is part of New Hampshire's School Administrative Unit 29, or SAU 29. It has a population of about 2,000 people, making it one of the smallest towns in the state. It is home to the largest high school in the county, with about 1,850 students. It also has a middle and elementary school, as of 2014. The elementary school was downsized to only pre-school and administration offices, and the middle school to a single middle school. The high school has a total of 1,800 students, and serves about 1.850 of those students. The middle school is called Keene Middle School and the elementary school is known as Wheelock Elementary School. It was also known as Jonathan Daniels Elementary School, until it was shut down in 2014. It now has four schools: Fuller Elementary, Franklin Elementary, Symonds Elementary, and Wheelock elementary School. The Middle School is the only one in the town that is not a middle school or elementary. The Elementary School is called Fuller Elementary. The High School is known for its large number of students, with more than 1,000 students. Keenes State College is located in Keene, and is the site of the city's largest college, with students making up a substantial portion of the town's population.

Culture

Keene has more than 20 churches, mostly Protestant, and one synagogue. The city hosts an annual pumpkin festival, locally known as Pumpkin Fest. The 1949 movie Lost Boundaries, starring Mel Ferrer, tells the true story of a black Keene physician who passed as white for many years. Much of the 1995 movie Jumanji, starring Robin Williams, was filmed in Keene in November 1994. The Parrish Shoe sign served as a focal point for a temporary Robin Williams memorial in the days following the actor's death on August 11, 2014. Keene is the seat of the Roman Catholic Parish of the Holy Spirit, whose pastor is the Dean of the Monadnock Deanery. In 1979, First Lady Rosalynn Carter dedicated the bandstand in Central Square as the E. E. Bagley Bandstand, after the noted composer of the National Emblem March, who made Keene his home until his death in 1922. Many community groups perform on a regular basis, including the Keene Chamber Orchestra, Keene Chorale, the Greater Keene Pops Choir, and the Cheshire Singers. The local chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society meet every Tuesday at 6:30 pm at 25 Roxbury Street. Every year Keene branch of the Lions Clubs of Cheshire County performs a musical at the Colonial Theatre (a restored theatre dating back to 1924), to raise money for the community theatres and auditorium. The Keene Pumpkin Festival set world records several times for the largest simultaneous number of jack-o'-lanterns on display.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Keene, Cheshire County, New Hampshire = 97.2. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 73. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 80. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Keene = 3.3 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 23,047 individuals with a median age of 37.1 age the population grows by 2.44% in Keene, Cheshire County, New Hampshire population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 621.35 residents per square mile of area (239.90/km²). There are average 2.23 people per household in the 9,179 households with an average household income of $45,060 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 5.40% of the available work force and has dropped -4.45% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 25.70%. The number of physicians in Keene per 100,000 population = 163.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Keene = 40.4 inches and the annual snowfall = 60.9 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 128. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 197. 83 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 11.1 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 53, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Keene, Cheshire County, New Hampshire which are owned by the occupant = 55.57%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 50 years with median home cost = $166,320 and home appreciation of -7.26%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $26.07 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $8,129 per student. There are 11.1 students for each teacher in the school, 333 students for each Librarian and 205 students for each Counselor. 5.66% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 20.30% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 11.77% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).