Freedom Community Historical Society Historical Society
Keen Hall

Built ca. 1850 and located at the intersection of Main Street and Rt 137 (Belfast Road) in Freedom, in close proximity to the recently restored Freedom Mill, Keen Hall was once the family residence of Carter B. Keen. Keen attended Freedom Academy, practiced law in Washington D.C., and, in the 1910s, became the first director of the Postal Savings System, a part of the U.S. Postal Service that provided an alternative to traditional banking for immigrants and the working class. Even prior to this success, Keen regularly donated to Freedom Academy, funding the repairs to the 1836 Academy building (which no longer stands). Later, Keen conferred ownership of Keen Hall to the Academy for use as the Principal's house. More recently, the building housed the offices of Farmstead Press before it resumed the function of a private residence.

Keen Hall has sat vacant for more than 5 years, and was recently acquired by the town of Freedom due to tax foreclosure. When the town placed the property up for bid in the summer of 2014, the Freedom Historical Society presented the only bid for the abandoned building. Issues with the title delayed conveyance of the property from the town to the Historical Society, setting back the proposed renovation plan. While the roadblocks for transfer of the title have been cleared up, Freedom Historical Society is now in the process of rehabilitating the distressed property. (Planning & Progress) (Recent History)
 

One of the ten “Most Endangered Historically Significant Properties in Maine.”

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