Under the regency of Margaret R. Lamson Griffin (1896-1899), the chapter placed its first memorial tablet on the historic Wyman Tavern.
Isaac Wyman born in Woburn, Massachusetts, moved to Keene, New Hampshire, as a young man. He married Mary Pollard and in 1762 he opened a tavern on lower Main Street in Keene.
On October 22, 1770, the trustees of Dartmouth College held their first meeting in the tavern.
On April 21, 1775, Keene responded to the Lexington Alarm. Under the command of Captain Wyman, thirty men gathered at this tavern and marched onward to Boston.
Wyman would later be appointed to colonel of the New Hampshire militia. Following the Revolutionary War, he would serve as a justice of the peace until he died on March 31, 1792.
The tablet reads, "Built 1750. Thirty men set forth from this house at sunrise, April 21, 1775, for Lexington to fight for our independence. This tablet erected by Ashuelot Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, April 1897."
Keene's oldest existing burial ground was established on February 23, 1761, by the town proprietors. Ash Swamp Yard was developed around the burial site of Isaac Clark and Amos Foster. Clark and Foster, in addition to being two of the town's original proprietors, also died of smallpox. This gave rise to the yard being referred to as the "small pox cemetery."
Under the regency of Emeline Joslin Colony (1899-1901), the chapter placed a memorial boulder at the site of the ancient cemetery. On May 30, 1900, a boulder was dedicated and reads, "The second public burial ground 1762, and in memory of the many early settlers, Keene. Ashuelot Chapter DAR, 1900."
In 2004, local Boy Scout Michael Hill built a set of stairs to the cemetery as part of his Eagle Scout project.
Under the regency of Marilyn Pratt-Holmquist (2001-2004), the chapter recognized Michael's accomplishment. The stairs grant the chapter members easy access to the cemetery to place flags on the Revolutionary War soldiers' graves.
Under the regency of Clara Burnham Abbott (1901-1903), the chapter placed a large boulder at the corner of Main and Baker Streets to mark the Boston Road.
Captain Wyman and his group of militia, after gathering down the street at the tavern, took this road in response to the Lexington Alarm. The boulder is etched with the words, "Erected by the Ashuelot Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, April 21, 1902, to mark the beginning of the old road to Boston over which the soldiers of the Revolution from Keene marched under Captain Isaac Wyman, April 21, 1775, in response to the Lexington Alarm."
Mrs. Abbott also led her chapter in creating a bronze plaque honoring the men from Keene who fought in the American Revolution.
In September of 1902, the Ashuelot Chapter presented to the trustees of the Keene Public Library a large bronze tablet commemorating the names of the soldiers of the Revolutionary War. This plaque lists the names of 141 men, and hangs in the Keene Public Library.
The original settlers of Upper Ashuelot (now Keene) arrived after 1733. During King George's War, the settlers experienced many tensions with the Indians. To protect themselves, they constructed a fort on lower Main Street. A 90 foot square, double-stockade fort was built with twenty barracks and two wells.
In 1746, the town was attacked by Indians. Several townspeople were killed and Nathan Blake was captured and taken to Canada. By 1747, the settlers had abandoned the town and did not return until the end of the war in 1750.
Under the regency of Ida J. Colburn Shedd (1909-1911), the site of the Old Fort was marked.
A boulder with a bronze tablet was erected and reads, "This boulder marks the site of the Old Fort, built in 1738 by the early settlers of Upper Ashuelot as a refuge from the Indians. This memorial erected in 1906 by Ashuelot Chapter DAR and Keene Chapter SAR."
The Prison Street Yard (now Washington Street) was made a town cemetery in 1795. This yard replaced the South Yard on lower Main Street.
Chapter Regent Barrett (1903-1905) focused her efforts on restoring the Washington Street Cemetery. The chapter repaired old tombs and collected broken and unsafe gravestones. The chapter also raised funds to erect new stone posts and wrought iron-gates at the entrance to the cemetery.
At Keene's 150th Anniversary, the new gates were received by the mayor. Inscribed on a bronze plaque is, "This gate was placed by the Ashuelot Chapter DAR, 1904."
The South Yard, Keene's first burial place, was located on lower Main Street and was part of the original grant to the First Church of Keene. In 1846, new property owners obliterated these original gravesites. Only ten of them were identified and removed to the Washington Street Cemetery, where they were reinterred by Steven Barker.
The Ashuelot Chapter marked these gravesites with a memorial stone, which now stands under a flag pole in the rear of the cemetery. The stone reads, "In grateful memory to the brave settlers of this town, these stones are placed here from the church yard on Main Street. Ashuelot Chapter DAR, 1904."
Under the regency of Louise Morrison Brooks (1905-1907), the chapter commemorated the site of the oldest house in Keene. Located on Marlboro Street, the old Heaton House was built in 1750 by Seth Heaton, who was one of the original pioneers of the town.
Heaton built the first dwelling house in 1736, a log cabin that was subsequently burned by the Indians. He built the present home across the street from that cabin in 1750. The chapter marked the site in 1905. The home is privately owned.
As was custom in New England, many early settlements combined their meeting house with their graveyard, and Keene was no different. Known as the "Town Yard" or "South Yard," the first such site was located on lower Main Street on the west side, on what was a convenient location near the Boston Road.
Records indicate this burial ground was established in 1762. Over the decades, the stones were broken by livestock, stolen for door sills, or destroyed by vandals. By the end of the Civil War, the old yard was in great disrepair. In 1846, the remaining headstones were removed to the Washington Street Cemetery; however, many of the original grave sites were lost forever.
Under the regency of Maria A. Holt Howes (1911-1915), a granite marker was set to commemorate the site.
The stone reads, "The first meeting house in upper Ashuelot, now Keene, was built on this knoll in 1736-7. Here also was located the burying ground of the original settlers. Erected by Ashuelot Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution in 1913."
Under the regency of Lucy Dennings Dickinson (1927-1929), the chapter marked the first log cabin built in Keene.
Constructed in 1736 by Nathan Blake, the first home was the site where the first meeting was held to plan the new church. Ten years later, the log cabin was captured by Indians. Nathan's son later built a brick home on the location which is now owned by Keene State College.
The chapter placed this marker on June 14, 1929. The marker was unveiled by two descendants of Nathan Blake; Mrs. Emilie Blake Tenney Leahy and Miss Phillis Blake Barrett. The tablet reads, "Site of the first log house built by Nathan Blake, 1736, He was captured by Indians and taken to Canada, ransomed by his wife, Elizabeth Graves, 1749, Six Generations of Blakes lived on this spot. This marker placed by Ashuelot Chapter, 1929."
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