by Doug Stevens
At the intersection of Vinland, Getchell, and Highland streets,
a mystery bridge crosses Keene Creek. Why was the bridge
built and abandoned? Who was the creek named for? After
months of searching, here is what I found out.
A man by the name of Freeman Keene came to the village of
Oneota in April of 1854. He was born in Oxford County,
Maine, on November 20, 1831. He was a lumberman and a
lawyer enjoying life until the Civil War in 1861. At President
Lincoln’s first call for 75,000 men, Freeman Keene took a
steamboat for Detroit and at once enlisted in the First Michigan
Battery.
After 3 long years of fighting, Mr. Keene returned to Oneota
in the fall of 1864 to live with the family he had started. Not
all men who went off to war made it back; he was one of the
lucky ones. He lived in Oneota until he died on August 21,
1902, and was laid to rest in Oneota Cemetery along with his
mother, wife, and children.
There is no higher honor than to have something named after
you. Keene’s last name will be forever remembered as the
decades go by. Hopefully we can pass this information along
so people will remember for whom Keene Creek was named.
