Brief History of Keene United Church
Keene United Church is a member congregation of the United Church of Canada.
The current Church building was built in 1884 as a Presbyterian Church, replacing a smaller church building that had been built in 1845 which was the first church to be constructed in Keene. The construction of this Presbyterian Church was representative of the large number of settlers who immigrated from Scotland and England to locate in what was to become the Township of Otonabee-South Monaghan.
A new Methodist Church was also built in Keene in 1875.
In 1925 the congregations of the Keene Presbyterian and Methodist Churches voted to join together to become part of the newly created United Church of Canada. The congregation of the newly formed Keene United Church chose the Presbyterian Church as its new home as it was the larger of the two church buildings and therefore able to accommodate the large congregation created by the newly formed "United Church".
In 1963 a large Church Hall was added to the westerly end of the Church building. The Hall includes a large activity area, a large kitchen, a multi-purpose room and washrooms.
The Church Hall and the Church Basement are used by many groups within the Church and the broader community for a wide variety of activities.
Those interested in learning more about the Church's history may wish to reference a book prepared by Gayle Nelson which provides interesting insights into the Church's history from the time that "missionary circuit riders" of the early 1800's served the spiritual needs of the early settlers, through to 1983, the 150th anniversary of the Church's congregation.