| Keene | |
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| — Town — | |
| Mount Marcy from Mount Haystack | |
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Keene
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| County | Essex |
| Government | |
| • Type | Town Council |
| • Town Supervisor | William F. Ferebee (R) |
| • Town Council |
Members' List
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| Area | |
| • Total | 156.6 sq mi (405.7 km2) |
| • Land | 156.0 sq mi (404.2 km2) |
| • Water | 0.6 sq mi (1.5 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,358 ft (414 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 1,063 |
| • Density | 6.8/sq mi (2.6/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 12942 |
| Area code(s) | 518 |
| FIPS code | 36-39067 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0979113 |
Keene is a town in central Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 1,063 at the 2000 census. Keene is the home of Mount Marcy, the highest mountain in New York state, as well as the Great Range and 15 of the 46 High Peaks, and the Ausable Lakes, the source of the Ausable River. Trailheads for many of the High Peaks are located within the town, along with the Johns Brook Lodge of the Adirondack Mountain Club. All of the town is in the Adirondack Park, the largest state park in the nation.
The Town has completed a grassroots project to bring broadband service to more than 90% of the homes in Keene, and installing the service in every home with a student in the Town's award winning public school. The deep reach of this network into rural areas makes it unique in the Adirondack Park.
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The town of Keene was created from splitting parts of the towns of Jay and Elizabethtown on March 19, 1808. This originally included current North Elba, but that was split in 1848 from the original Keene. The area had been made up of a mountainous and rocky surface, with a low population due to the unstable soil in the region. A nearby highway was extended to Keene Center via the towns of Lewis and Jay, but it was deemed unusable due to the structure of the area. The area had been a stronghold with the lumber and iron industries. However, exporting the items made by these industries was hard, because there was a lack of transportation in the area. Business began to grow around 1820, when the town then had sawmills, forges and gristmills being built. The riverbed region of Keene soon became the location of the first community, and the town began to grow, with Keene Flats becoming a community by 1840. The area continued to grow for several more decades after. In 1882, when the Adirondack Park was created as a protected area in the state, a privately tolled and maintained road to lower Ausable Lake was constructed.[1][2]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 156.6 square miles (406 km2), of which 156.1 square miles (404 km2) is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2) (0.37%) is water.
Many of the High Peaks of the Adirondack Park are in or near the town, including Mount Marcy, the highest elevation in New York. The Garden, one of the most popular trail heads in the Adirondacks, is located in the hamlet of Keene Valley, and is the eastern end of the Johns Brook Trail, leading to Johns Brook Lodge, Mount Marcy, and the heart of the High Peaks Region.
The East Branch of the Ausable River passes through the hamlets of Keene and Keene Valley, and Hull Falls near Keene is an attractive view.
New York State Route 9N changes from north-south to east-west south of Keene hamlet. New York State Route 73 changes from east-west to north-south in the same place.
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 1,063 people, 443 households, and 279 families residing in the town. The population density was 6.8 people per square mile (2.6/km²). There were 984 housing units at an average density of 6.3 per square mile (2.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.68% White, 0.09% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.09% from other races, and 0.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.38% of the population.
There were 443 households out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the town the population was spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 22.3% from 25 to 44, 30.4% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 85.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $34,226, and the median income for a family was $44,250. Males had a median income of $35,417 versus $22,083 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,037. About 1.4% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.
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