Keene, a city, capital of Cheshire co., New Hampshire, on the left bank of the Ashuelot river, at the junction of the Cheshire and Ashuelot railroads, 43 m. W. S. W. of Concord, and 80 m. N. W. of Boston; pop. in 1870, 5,971. It is pleasantly situated, well built, and laid out with great regularity, the principal streets radiating from a central square, near which stands a handsome court house. An active trade is carried on with the surrounding country, and there is a large number of manufacturing establishments, including woollen mills, machine shops, tanneries, and establishments for manufacturing carriages, chairs, furniture, sashes, doors, and blinds, earthenware, etc. The railroad repair shops employ a large number of workmen. There are three national banks with an aggregate capital of $500,000, two savings banks, graded public schools, including a high school, two weekly newspapers, and seven churches. Keene was settled about 1735, and called Upper Ashuelot. It received its present name in 1753, and was incorporated as a city in 1874. The population is rapidly increasing.