Keene is a city in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,409 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Cheshire County. Keene is home to Keene State College and Antioch University New England, and hosts the annual Pumpkin Fest. In recent years, Keene has gained attention as being a popular location for members of the Free State Project. The community was granted as Upper Ashuelot in 1735 by Colonial Governor Jonathan Belcher to 63 settlers who paid five pounds each and whose properties were assigned by lot. Settled after 1736, it was intended to be a fort... town protecting the Province of Massachusetts Bay during the French and Indian Wars. When New Hampshire separated from Massachusetts in 1741 Upper Ashuelot became part of New Hampshire. During King George's War, the village was attacked and burned by Indians. Colonists fled to safety, but would return to rebuild in the early 1750s. It was regranted to its inhabitants in 1753 by Governor Benning Wentworth, who renamed it Keene after Sir Benjamin Keene, English minister to Spain and a West Indies trader. Located at the center of Cheshire County, it became county seat in 1769.
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| Founded: | 1753 |
| County: | Cheshire County |
| State: | New Hampshire |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Population: | 22,407 |
| Area: | 37.6 sq. mi. |
| Time zone: | North American Eastern Time Zone |
| Also known as: | Keene, New Hampshire, Cheshire County / Keene city, Keene |